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Ozaki, Onishi, Kizaki Crack World Half Top 10 as Women Take 5th-Straight Bronze

by Brett Larner

2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) and 2010 National Corporate 10000 m champion Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) led the way for the Japanese women to secure their fifth-straight bronze medal at the Oct. 16 World Half Marathon Championships in Nanning, China. In a relatively slow race, Ozaki and Kizaki ran together with Chinese rival Xiolin Zhu in a second pack behind the exclusively Kenyan and Ethiopian lead group. While winner Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) ran 1:08:24 to win by a margin of 10 seconds over Ethiopian Dire Tune, Zhu, Ozaki and Kizaki finished over a span of only two seconds with Zhu taking 8th in 1:11:01. Ozaki's teammate Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei), a former pro XC skiier, rounded out the scoring for the Japanese women with a 13th-place finish in 1:11:35.

Fresh from running the top 10000 m time of the year by a Japanese man, 27:50.72, former Toyo University captain Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) del…
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Ozaki Leads Team of Ten for World Half Marathon

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20100706k0000m050081000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

On July 5 Rikuren announed the names of the five men and five women who will make up the Japanese national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships, to be held Oct. 16 in Nanning, China. In selecting the team federation officials considered results from this year's National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon, Sendai International Half Marathon, Sapporo Half Marathon, and, in a new develoment, the National Track and Field Championships 10000 m. 2009 World Championship marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) was included on the women's team.

Team members:

Men
Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 5th, Jitsugyodan Half, PB: 1:01:58 (2010)
Osamu Ibata (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 5th, Sendai Half, PB: 1:02:08 (2008)
Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 10th, Sapporo Half, PB: 1:02:37 (2005)
Tomoya Onishi (Team Asahi Kasei) - 5th, Nat'l 10000 m, PB: 1:02:51 (2009)
Tsuyos…
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Hokuren Distance Challenge Sapporo Meet - Results

by Brett Larner

The six-part Hokuren Distance Challenge series of summer meets got underway June 14 in Sapporo. Held in towns across Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the Hokuren Distance Challenge has become an important part of the calendar for the hundreds of university and corporate runners who relocate to Hokkaido for summer base training to escape the heat. Top results of this year's Sapporo Meet are reproduced below.

2010 Hokuren Distance Challenge Sapporo Meet - Top Finishers
click here for complete results
Men's 5000 m A-Heat
1. Edward Waweru (Kenya/Team NTN) - 13:25.18
2. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 13:42.50
3. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) - 13:44.43
4. Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo) - 13:45.66
5. Norio Kamijo (Team Aichi Steel) - 13:55.00

Women's 5000 m
1. Felista Wanjugu (Kenya/Team Universal Ent.) - 15:15.27
2. Kazue Kojima (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:41.96
3. Risa Takenaka (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:42.96
4. Maiko Kushima (Niigata Albirex AC) - 16:07.61
5.…
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Mathathi Breaks One Hour in Half Marathon Debut

by Brett Larner
On a warm and windy day, 2007 World Championships 10000 m bronze medalist and 10 mile junior world record holder Martin Mathathi (Kenya/Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) performed up to expectations in his half marathon debut at the May 9 Sendai International Half Marathon. Already on his own after a quick 14:03 first 5 km, Mathathi ran a solo race. He was consistent through 15 km, clocking 14:04 from 5 to 10 km and 14:07 from 10 to 15 km, on pace at that stage to run 59:24. Only after 15 km did he slow, dropping to a 14:30 split from 15 to 20 km. Mathathi finished in 59:48, just 5 seconds off Samuel Wanjiru's 5 year-old course and Japanese all-comers record. His outstanding debut was a prelude to a planned marathon debut in the upcoming winter season.

Still yet to regain his university form, runner-up Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) was nearly 2 minutes behind in 1:01:34. The top Japanese runner, Osamu Ibata (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) was another 2 minutes back in 1:03:39, finishin…
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Ono and Obare Win in Hokuren Distance Challenge (updated)

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009071100344

translated by Brett Larner

At the fourth meet in the Hokuren Distance Challenge series, the July 11 Kushiro meet, Athens Olympian Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei) took the men's 10000 m in 28:27.20. Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo), who will run the marathon at August's World Championships in Berlin, was 9th in 28:38.44.

Kenyan Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi) won the women's 3000 m in 9:03.32, with Berlin World Championships 5000 m runner Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) 3rd in 9:11.32.

2009 Hokuren Distance Challenge Kushiro Meet - Top Finishers
click here for complete results
Men's 10000 m A-heat
1. Ryuji Ono (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:27.20
2. Ryo Yamamoto (Team Sagawa Express) - 28:29.67
3. Takuya Noguchi (Nittai Univ.) - 28:30.06
4. Tsuyoshi Makabe (Team Kanebo) - 28:31.16
5. Michael Gichinji (Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 28:32.40
6. Daisuke Matsufuji (Team Kanebo) - 28:33.12
7. Kazuya Deguchi (Nittai Univ.) - 28:34.02
8. Shota Yamaguch…
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