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World Half Team Members Ito and Kawauchi Win Shibetsu Half Marathon Titles

by Brett Larner

Just three weeks after winning the Sapporo International Half Marathon, 2012 World Half Marathon Championships team member Mai Ito (Team Otsuka) returned to add another half marathon title to her collection, winning the 26th running of Hokkaido's Shibetsu Half Marathon in 1:11:20 over the Miyauchi twins Yoko and Hiroko of Team Kyocera.  Although her time was 28 seconds slower than her Sapporo time it was still the third-best in Shibetsu history.  Independent men's World Half Marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) likewise took the win, prevailing over a tight pack of corporate and collegiate runners in 1:05:00 in another of the fourteen half marathons he plans to race this year.

In the women's 10 km, Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex), one of the year's leading Japanese women, had an an easy win in 33:38.  Click here for a collection of photos of the race via the Shibetsu city government site.

26th Shibetsu Half Marathon
Shibetsu, Hokkaido, 7/22/12
complete results coming soon

Women
1. Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:11:20
2. Yoko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:11:43
3. Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) - 1:12:00
4. Yuki Mitsunobu (Team Kyocera) - 1:13:18
5. Chihiro Takato (Team Wacoal) - 1:13:19

Men
1. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 1:05:00
2. Tomonori Ikebuchi (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 1:05:04
3. Kohei Ogino (Team Fujitsu) - 1:05:06
4. Kenta Chiba (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:05:11
5. Yasunori Onuma (Asia Univ.) - 1:05:14

Women's 10 km
1. Ai Igarashi (Team Sysmex) - 33:38
2. Ayumi Sakaida (Team Daihatsu) - 33:44
3. Yui Okada (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 34:00

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
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