Most Japanese distance teams head north to Hokkaido for the summer to escape the heat and get ready for ekiden season. Part of that summer is the Hokuren Distance Challenge , a series of track meets in different towns across the island geared toward producing fast times, a domestic alternative to the European circuit. It's been a cooler and wetter summer than usual this year, but with the Doha World Championships coming later in the calendar that in normal years this time around the HDC has expanded from four to five meets. The first three meets in the series have come and gone, and with the two biggest still to come here's a summary of some of the better results so far. Hokuren Distance Challenge Chitose Meet Chitose, Hokkaido, 7/6/19 complete results Women's 3000 m A 1. Hellen Ekalale (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 8:48.73 2. Nozomi Tanaka (Toyota Jidoshokki TC) - 9:01.54 3. Momoka Kawaguchi (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 9:16.01 4. Nao Yamamoto (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 9:17.31 5...
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