The 53rd Sapporo International Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, July 4. Defending champions Gideon Ngatuny (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) and Yurika Nakamura (Team Tenmaya) return to take on 2008 winners Mekubo Mogusu (Kenya/Team Aidem) and Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC), and foreign competition including 2009 World Championships marathon gold medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya), 2:05 marathoner Vincent Kipruto (Kenya), #1-ranked British woman Mara Yamauchi, and young American Antonio Vega. For domestic runners a spot on the national team for this year's World Half Marathon Championships is on the line, meaning many of the current top Japanese runners including Yu Mitsuya (Team Toyota Kyushu), Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) and Ryoko Kizaki (Team Daihatsu) will be in the field.
The Sapporo International Half Marathon will be broadcast live nationwide on Nihon TV at 1:30 p.m. on July 4. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online for free through Keyhole TV, available here. JRN will be doing live English commentary through our Twitter feed JRNLive.
mzungo says: big thanks to Brett for keeping everyone on top of all things running in Japan!
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