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Suzawa Wins Yamazaki Women's Half Marathon

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20090107k0000m050022000c.html
http://www.47news.jp/CN/200901/CN2009010601000557.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

On Jan. 6, 20 year old Maki Suzawa (Team Kyocera) won the 29th Yamazaki Women's Road Race half marathon, breaking her PB by 1:07 to take her first victory in 1:11:22. 46 elite women ran the course from the Prefectural Office building in Miyazaki city along Kusunamiki Street to the Miyazaki Prefectural Sports Park. With 200 m to go Suzawa broke from the lead pack of four to win a sprint finish. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) and Ruth Wanjiru (Second Wind AC), both in training for the Jan. 25 Osaka International Women's Marathon, were 2nd and 3rd, with Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Oki) coming in 4th. Yukari Soh, daughter of marathon great Takeshi Soh, who now coaches her at Team Asahi Kasei, was 10th in her half marathon debut.

Temperatures at the start were 15 degrees with 43% humidity and northerly winds at 0.7 m/s.

2009 Mi…
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Nagoya International Women's Marathon Announces Elite Field

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/feature/niwm/CK2008022802191336.html

The organizing committee of the 2008 Nagoya International Women's Marathon, sponsored in part by Rikuren and the Chunichi Newspapers Group, announced the names of the 20 invited elite runners for this year's Olympic selection edition of the race. The field of 325, including 305 individual entrants, will start the 42.195 course at 12:15 p.m.

The domestic elite field includes 2000 Sydney Olympics marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi (Team Phiten), 2006 Nagoya winner Harumi Hiroyama (Team Shiseido), 2004 Athens Olympics marathon team member Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya), and 8-time Nagoya competitor Takami Ominami (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) along with 11 others. The foreign elite field of 5 is led by Kenya's Joice Kirui.

Invited Domestic Elites
Naoko Takahashi (Team Phiten), 35, PB: 2:19:46
Naoko Sakamoto (Team Tenmaya), 27, PB: 2:21:51
Harumi Hiroyama (Team Shiseido), 39, PB: 2:22:56
Takami Ominami (Team Toyota …
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Heavy Snow Stops Ome Marathon

by Brett Larner

Heavy snowfall in the Tokyo area on Feb. 3 caused race organizers to cancel this year's Ome Marathon. This was only the second time in the event's 42 years that the race has been cancelled due to inclement weather, the last time being in 1996. Ome is one of the most popular races in Japan, with 15000 runners in the 30 km distance and another 5000 in the 10 km. This year's race was to be a tuneup for men's marathon national record holder Toshinari Takaoka and for Olympic women's marathon hopeful Akane Taira. The winner of last week's Osaka International Women's Marathon, Mara Yamauchi, and 30 km course record holder Toshihiko Seko were also scheduled to appear.

The poor weather also forced the cancellation of numerous other races throughout the Kanto area, including the 30th running of the Kanagawa Half Marathon in Yokohama. Seoul Olympic marathon gold medalist Gelindo Bordin was to appear in Kanagawa as a guest speaker.

(c) 2008 Brett Larner
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Akane Taira Hopes to Step Up From Ome to the Olympic Marathon

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20080201-OHT1T00015.htm

translated by Brett Larner

Akane Taira (25, Team Panasonic) is a runner with plans to be in Beijing this summer. She will be running her debut marathon on March 9 at the Nagoya International Women's Marathon against world-class athletes such as Naoko Takahashi (Team Phiten) and Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC), a race which will be her chance to join the world stage. "The marathon is something I can't imagine. I have no idea what kind of time I am capable of," says Taira. To help get an idea of her potential she has chosen the Ome Marathon 30 km road race as a step toward her marathon debut.

Taira's first glimpse of 'the world' came four years ago, the same year as the Athens Olympics. In April of that year she ran on the Japanese national team at the Beijing International Women's Ekiden, her first overseas race. Taira ran 33:47 for the 10 km 3rd stage, beating the Chinese team's run…
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Race Weekend in Japan: Beppu-Oita, Ome and Marugame

by Brett Larner

The first Sunday in February is one of the busiest days in the elite Japanese racing world. Three major events take place across the country, the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, the Ome Marathon 30 km road race, and the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon.

The Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon has historically been one Japan's top marathons, having seen four sub-2:09 performances and one world record, and sometimes serving as a selection race for Olympics and World Championships teams. This year Betsudai, as the race is commonly known, was not chosen as an Olympic selection race; as a result the field is somewhat softer than usual. The top domestic marathoner in the field is Team Kanebo's Michitane Noda with a PB of 2:09:58 from the 2003 Fukuoka International Marathon; Team Fujitsu's Takayuki Ota has been running well of late and looks set to make a mark in his debut marathon. Overseas contenders include four-time Chunchon Marathon winner Elijah Mutai of Kenya, Ruggero Pe…
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Takaoka to Try for Comeback at Ome Marathon

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20080124-OHT1T00032.htm

translated by Brett Larner

On Jan. 23 the organizing committee of the Ome Marathon* announced the elite field for this year's 42nd running on Feb. 3. Headlining the men's 30 km race is Japanese marathon national record holder Toshinari Takaoka (37, Team Kanebo). In the women's race, last year's World Road Running Championships competitor Akane Taira (25, Team Panasonic) will take part. The guest starter for the 30 km will be course record holder Toshihiko Seko (51, Team S&B). 20000 people entered this year's race.

Having failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics with a disappointing 10th place finish at December's Fukuoka International Marathon, Takaoka will be trying to launch a comeback. Before running a spring marathon, either in Japan or overseas, Takaoka decided to tackle Ome. "If I can win here it will give me renewed strength and confidence," Takaoka told reporters. He was sch…
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Atsushi Sato Sets New Japanese and Asian Half-Marathon Record

http://www.iaaf.org/WRU07/results/gender=M/discipline=HMAR/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/index.html

written by Brett Larner

Atsushi Sato set a new Japanese and Asian half-marathon record of 1:00:25 at the World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy on Oct. 14, 2007. Sato placed 9th overall.

Japan-based half-marathon world record holder Samuel Wanjiru, suffering from a knee injury, finished 51st in 1:03:31, behind Japan`s Sato; Kazuhiro Maeda, 30th in a PB of 1:02:08; and Kenji Noguchi, 33rd in a PB of 1:02:20. Tetsuo Nishimura was close behind Wanjiru, finishing 54th in 1:03:41. The Japanese team placed 7th out of 17 teams.

Japan`s women`s team finished 3rd of 8 teams led by Chisato Osaki`s 7th place finish in a PB time of 1:08:56. Other Japanese results included Akane Taira, 12th in 1:09:17 (PB); Yoshimi Ozaki, 13th in 1:09:26 (PB); Yuko Machida, 26th in 1:11:55; and Yurika Nakamura, 39th in 1:13:13.
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