Nittai University still has the special annual women-only edition of its time trial series coming up Dec. 21, but Saturday's Edion Distance Challenge in Osaka is the last full-on long distance track time trial meet of the year. Streaming starts at 11:50 a.m. local time and will show all 13 races, mostly heats of women's 3000 m, 3000 mSC, 5000 m and 10000 m with four heats of men's 5000 m near the beginning. The meet schedule and live results can be had here, with entry lists here.
The first race of the day, the women's 3000 mSC at 12:00, only has 3 entrants, but all-time Japanese #9 Miu Saito from Nittai is among them. The men's 5000 m fast heat at 15:35 is led by Toyota's 13:07.99 man Felix Korir, with recent sub-13:30 men Cosmas Mwangi, Ryuto Igawa and Nganga Waweru at the top of the list.
The women's 5000 m fast heat at 16:00 has a lot of good names, including sub-15 Kenyans Margaret Akidor and Tabitha Njeri Kamau, Kae Gyu from the national champion Japan Post team, Queens Ekiden runner-up Sekisui Kagaku's Chikako Mori, Rina Sasaki, Rina Kusu, Tomoka Kimura and Yuma Yamamoto, 2023 collegiate national champ Meijo University's Nanase Tanimoto and Nanaka Yonezawa, track Olympian Haruka Kokai, and many more.
The women's 10000 m heat at 16:25 is also packed, including Japan Posts's Miyaka Sugata, Caroline Kariba and Ririka Hironaka, Meijo's Saki Harada, collegiate record holder Seira Fuwa, 1:06:07 half marathoner Dolphine Omare, and 2:21:18 marathoner Yuka Ando.
© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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