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Teammates Tanui and Chepyego Take National Corporate 10000 m Titles

by Brett Larner

Kenyan teammates Paul Tanui and Sally Chepyego of the Kyushu-based Team Kyudenko swept the 10000 m A-heats on the first day of this year's National Corporate Track and Field Championships, Sept. 21 at Hakatonomori Field in Fukuoka.  Holding the home-soil advantage, Tanui and Chepyego ran virtually identical races, going out solo and leading throughout the race to take the win unchallenged, Tanui in 27:30.22 and Chepyego in 31:33.76.  For Tanui it was a successful defense of his 2011 national corporate 10000 m title.

In both the men's and women's races a pack of three pursued the leader.  In the men's race the pack included Kenyans Edward Waweru (Team NTN) and Patrick Muwaka (Team Aisan Kogyo) along with 21-year-old Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota), the sixth-fastest Japanese man ever over 10000 m with a best of 27:41.57 from last November.  Miyawaki fell off the pace of Waweru and Muwaka but, as with his PB run last fall, ran a fast final km, closing in 2:38 to finish just behind Waweru and Muwaka who clocked 27:40.25 and 27:41.39.  Enigmatically, Miyawaki exactly tied his 27:41.57 best, 9 seconds better than the previous Championships best by a Japanese runner but later kicking himself on Twitter that he could not have squeezed out another 1/100th of a second.  2010 national 5000 m champion Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) was 5th, getting under 28 for the first time in 27:59.78.  With a 1:00:53 half-marathon debut to win March's National Corporate Half-Marathon Championships Miyawaki is the leading Japanese man at next month's World Half Marathon Championships, and with a solid tune-up run like this he may well have a shot at the national record there if the course and weather allow.

In the women's race the chase pack included 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki), multiple national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) and 20-year-old newcomer Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo).  Fresh off the official announcement that she will run November's New York City Marathon, Fukushi initially tried to pursue leader Chepyego before falling back in with Kobayashi and Hagiwara.  Once forming a trio the three stayed together until near 8000 m when Hagiwara made a move to break away.  Kobayashi, who made the move up to the 10000 m this spring, responded with a surge of her own to which only Fukushi could respond.  The two traded attacks until the final 200 m when Kobayashi managed to get away, claiming 2nd in a new PB of 31:51.91, Fukushi with a solid 31:52.54 for 3rd.  The relatively unknown Hagiwara took 30 seconds off her best and just missed going under 32 as she finished 4th in 32:00.73.  National 10000 m champion Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) never factored in the race but managed 32:09.10 for 5th.

The 2012 National Corporate Track & Field Championships continue throughout the weekend.

2012 National Corporate Track & Field Championships Day One
Hakatanomori Field, Fukuoka, 9/21/12
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 27:30.22
2. Edward Waweru (Kenya/Team NTN) - 27:40.25
3. Patrick Muwaka (Kenya/Team Aisan Kogyo) - 27:41.39
4. Chihiro Miyawaki (Team Toyota) - 27:41.57 - PB tie, JPN MR
5. Yuki Matsuoka (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 27:59.78 - PB
6. Micah Njeru (Kenya/Team Toyota Boshoku) - 28:00.90
7. Desta Alemu (Ethiopia/Team Yasukawa Denki) - 28:06.06
8. Takuya Fukatsu (Team Asahi Kasei) - 28:06.28
9. Alex Mwangi (Kenya/Team YKK) - 28:20.24
10. Ryuji Kashiwabara (Team Fujitsu) - 28:21.58

Women's 10000 m A-Heat
1. Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) - 31:33.76
2. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 31:51.91 - PB
3. Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 31:52.54
4. Ayumi Hagiwara (Team Uniqlo) - 32:00.73 - PB
5. Mika Yoshikawa (Team Panasonic) - 32:09.10
6. Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 32:27.70
7. Hiroko Shoi (Team Nihon ChemiCon) - 32:30.83
8. Kayo Sugihara (Team Denso) - 32:38.03
9. Yuki Mitsunobu (Team Kyocera) - 32:45.72
10. Madoka Ogi (Team Juhachi Ginko) - 32:45.96

Men's 10000 m B-Heat
1. Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 28:10.74
2. Masato Imai (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:29.29
3. Keita Baba (Team Honda) - 28:36.69
4. Tomoyuki Morita (Team Kanebo) - 28:40.12
5. Ryo Matsumoto (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 28:42.09

Women's 10000 m B-Heat
1. Misaki Katsumata (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 32:26.55
2. Yuko Mizuguchi (Team Denso) - 32:30.33
3. Eri Sato (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) - 32:34.51
4. Aya Nagata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:42.68
5. Michi Numata (Team Toyota Jidoshokki) - 32:45.86

Men's 10000 m C-Heat
1. Hiroyuki Ogawa (Team Yachiyo Kogyo) - 28:52.36
2. Yuki Oshikawa (Team Toyota Kyushu) - 28:53.94
3. Taichi Takase (Team JFE Steel) - 28:54.91
4. Takuji Morimoto (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 28:55.56
5. Mahoro Ikeda (Team Aichi Seiko) - 28:56.69

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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