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Showing posts with the label Ombeche Mokamba

Mogusu to Join Team Aidem

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=200806/2008061500199&rel=j&g=spo

translated by Brett Larner

On June 15 Team Aidem announced that three-time Sapporo International Half Marathon winner Mekubo Mogusu of Kenya will join its ranks following his graduation from Yamanashi Gakuin University next March. Mogusu will follow Yamanashi Gakuin`s previous star Kenyan runner Ombeche Mokamba to Team Aidem.

In January Mogusu set the stage record on the second leg of the Hakone Ekiden, marking him as the strongest of the university runners in Japan. In July he plans to compete in the Kenyan 10000 m Olympic Trials. His long term goals include running the marathon in the 2012 London Olympics.

Translator`s note: Team Aidem includes only a handful of athletes, all graduates of Yamanashi Gakuin University, and has a focus on the full marathon rather than on ekidens. In such it is potentially a good move for Mogusu. The major contraindication is the relative lack of marathoning success experienced by Mokamb…

Noguchi, Takaoka, Fujiwara and Njoroge to Compete in Sendai International Half Marathon (updated)

by Brett Larner

On May 8, the Sendai International Half Marathon released the names of the invited runners for this year`s 18th edition, to be held May 11 in Sendai. Headlining the field are Japanese national marathon record holders Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and Toshinari Takaoka (Team Kanebo).

Noguchi will be using Sendai as a tune-up for the Beijing Olympics after a spring season which saw her drop out of her other preparatory races after a series of minor setbacks. She is the defending champion, having won last year`s Sendai in a strong 1:08:54, and is also the overwhelming favorite in a somewhat limited women`s field which includes only one other Japanese runner with a PB under 1:10. Her strongest competition will likely come from Yuko Machida (Team Nihon ChemiCon), a member of Japan`s team at last year`s World Road Running Championships, and Kei Terada (Team Tenmaya), 2nd place finisher at last year`s Universiad Half Marathon Championships. Machida`s teammate Hiroko Shoi also ha…