by Brett Larner The 2009 Hokuren Distance Challenge Sapporo meet took place on June 6, the first in a six-part series of meets in June and July in towns across Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. Hokkaido is a major summer training spot for Japanese professional and university teams, one of the only places in the country where summer temperatures allow quality workouts. The first half of the Hokuren Distance Challenge series in June serves as a tuneup each year for the National Track and Field Championships, while the July segment helps runners prepare for world-level events later in the summer. At the Sapporo meet, the three heats of the men's 5000 m were all fast and competitive. Kyoto Sangyo University's Taiki Mitsuoka broke 14 to win the C-heat. The top eight men in the A-heat all ran PB times, with Team Kanebo's Shinji Kanagawa edging out Waseda University second-year Yuki Yagi for the win in 13:42.57. Yagi, the 2007 national high school 5000 m champion, was t...
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