japan running news

http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/item/144738
http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/SEB201001070003.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The 30th and final edition of the Miyazaki Women's Road Race took place Jan. 6 in Miyazaki city. Running the event's half marathon for the first time, Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) won in a time of 1:10:27. 27 seconds behind in 2nd place was Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera), with Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) another 30 second back in 3rd. 2009 Berlin World Championships marathoner Yoshiko Fujinaga (Team Shiseido) was 4th in 1:11:33. Women's 1500 m national champion Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) won the 5 km in 16:15.

The Miyazaki Road Race began in 1981 and has seen world records set on its fast course. Past winners of the race have included many famous runners such as Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), Sydney Olympics silver medalist Lidia Simon (Romania), Elana Meyer (RSA), Akemi Masuda, Masako Chiba…

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20090806k0000m050098000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

The organizing committee of the Miyazaki Women's Road Race announced on Aug. 5 that they plan to bring the event to a close following its 30th anniversary edition in January, 2010. The committee's press release cited the proliferation of high-quality races and the resulting difficulty in attracting top talent in explaining its decision.

Since its inception in 1981 the Miyazaki Women's Road Race has been known for being the first women's distance competition of the year. Past winners in the half marathon included Athens Olympics marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi and two-time World Championships bronze medalist Masako Chiba.

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?key=&k=200801/2008010600071&rel=j&g=spo
http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?key=&k=200801/2008010600076&rel=j&g=spo
http://www.the-miyanichi.co.jp/contents/?itemid=4557

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Kenyan Julia Mombi won the 28th Miyazaki Women's Road Race half marathon on Jan. 6 in a PB time of 1:09:34. She followed her pre-race plan precisely, attacking with 2 km to go and dropping Hiroko Miyauchi of Team Oki.

Mombi attended Aomori Yamada High School and now runs for Team Aruze. She is preparing for the Jan. 27 Osaka International Women's Marathon, where she hopes to run 2:25 to qualify for the Kenyan marathon team at the Beijing Olympics. Mombi enthusiastically smiled, "I ran easily today. My legs have gotten stronger."

Miyauchi finished 20 seconds behind Mombi in 2nd place, while Miyauchi's sister Yoko, also of Team Oki, finished 3rd. 2006 Asia Games women's marathon bronze medalist Kayoko Obata of Team Acom did …