The Suffolkland Shibetsu Half Marathon took place on July 12 in Shibetsu, Hokkaido, with corporate league runners, collegiate athletes and amateur runners all taking to the city streets under breaks in the cloudy skies. A total of around 1900 people entered the event's 39th edition. In the men's race, Yu Miyazaki of Toyo University won in 1:02:22, the 6th-fastest time in Shibetsu Half history. Kaede Hagitani , a 2021 Tokyo Olympian in the 5000 m, won in 1:13:02 as a step toward next month's Hokkaido Marathon. "This was a good run that helped me figure out what areas I need to work on for the Hokkaido Marathon," she said post-race. "The scenery along the course was relaxing." Miyazaki, who took 3rd on the opening leg at the 2023 National High School Ekiden while at Ibaraki's Toyodai Ushiku H.S. and anchored Toyo at last fall's Izumo Ekiden, took 27 seconds off the PB he had run at November's Ageo City Half Marathon. It was his second PB i...
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