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News10 Jan 2002


Mizuki Noguchi wins Miyazaki Women’s Half Marathon

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Mizuki Noguchi wins Miyazaki Women’s Half Marathon
K. Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
9 January 2002 - Mizuki Noguchi once again showed that she is the best half marathon runner in Japan by winning the 2002 Miyazaki Women’s Half Marathon, the first major road race of 2002 in Japan.  Not only she kept her unbeaten streak against Japanese runners at the half marathon (she has not lost one since the 2000 Sapporo Half marathon), she improved her personal best from the World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol to 1:08:22.   Her position in the world scene is one of the highest of any Japanese athlete, for she has consistently finished near the top in the world half marathon championships.  Unfortunately, perhaps because the status of the half marathon is much less than that of the marathon, she is far from a household name unlike many of the top marathon runners in Japan.  In the annual Japanese athlete of the year voting, she was virtually ignored.  Last year, Noguchi was ranked only 28th despite finishing fourth in the World Half Marathon Championships. 

The 22nd Miyazaki women’s half marathon was contested on the one-way course from Ocean Dome in Miyazaki Sea Gaia to Miyazaki Track & Field stadium on January 6.   On an almost windless day Mizuki Noguchi started really fast.  She took the lead immediately and passed the 5Km mark in 15:42, not too far off her track 5000m personal best of 15:34.36.  By 5Km, the race turned into a duel between Noguchi and Olveira Jevtic.  The duel continued until 8Km at which point Jevtic had to drop out of the race with stomach cramp.  Noguchi continued to push the pace and passed 10Km in 31:48, faster than her track 10,000m personal best, 31:51.13.   These splits may not be as fast as those of Masako Chiba’s record run of 1:06:43 in the now defunct Tokyo City Half Marathon in 1997, however, while the course where Chiba passed the 5Km in 15:34 and 10Km in 31:17 was mostly downhill for the first 7Km of the race, the Miyazaki Half marathon course has mild undulations.  

After Jevtic was gone, Noguchi ran alone.  However, on the undulating part of the course Mikie Takanaka started to close the gap with the leader and by 15Km, she was only two seconds behind Noguchi (48:21 for Noguchi and 48:23 for Takanaka).  Noticing the challenge, Noguchi increased her pace and drew away from her competition.  Noguchi won in the personal best, as well as the course record time of 1:08:22.   Takanaka finished 10 seconds behind in 1:08:32, a personal best for her as well. 

Finishing fifth in the race was Yoko Shibui, who has run the fastest marathon debut in the 2001 Osaka Ladies Marathon.  Shibui entered the race without tapering and 3Kg above her normal racing weight.  She vowed that she would return to racing after a stint of altitude training at Kunming in China.  Her goal for the season includes the national record at the 10,000m in the spring as well as a new personal best in the fall marathon. 

Harumi Hiroyama who finished eighth was another big name in the race.  She is preparing for the Osaka Ladies marathon on January 27 and her coach/husband Tsutomu Hiroyama told reporters that Harumi “is physically fit, but still needs to be mentally fit for racing.” 

At 23 years old, Mizuki Noguchi is the best half marathon runner in Japan.  After an undistinguished high school career, where she failed to advance to the final in the Inter-High school championships, Noguchi joined an ekiden powerhouse Wacoal track team hoping to run in the winning ekiden team.  However, she left a year later without ever running for the team.  After six months without a team, Noguchi along with Ikuko Tamura and their coach Nobuyuki Fujita and an Olympic marathon runner Izumi Maki joined a new track team sponsored by Globaly, after which her running career took off. 

She won her debut half marathon in February of 1999 in Inuyama with 1:10:16.  Less than a month later, Noguchi finished second to Fatuma Roba, an Olympic Marathon Champion in the Matsue Ladies Half Marathon.  In her third half marathon, she was second to Lidia Simon, an Olympic Marathon silver medallist, in the Sapporo Half Marathon in 1:10:01, which gained her a selection to the World Half Marathon team.   In the World Half Marathon Championships in Palermo, her first race outside of Japan, Noguchi finished second to Tegla Loroupe and ahead of Catherine Ndereba with 1:09:12.  For the final half marathon of the year, Noguchi won the Nagoya Half Marathon in 1:08:30, a personal best.  Her only loss of the year against Japanese at the half marathon was in a low key race (perhaps run as a part of training) in Shibetsu. 

Her success at the half marathon continued in 2000, when she ran three half marathons.  She was third behind Naoko Takahashi and Elana Meyer in the Sapporo Half Marathon, thus gaining a selection for the World Half Marathon Championships for the second year in a row.  In Veracruz (Mexico), Noguchi finished fourth behind Paula Radcliffe, Susan Chepkemei and Simon.  She finished the year with a win at the Sanyo Women’s Half Marathon ahead of Joyce Chepchumba. 

Noguchi was planning a marathon debut in 2001 Nagoya Women’s Marathon.  Although an injury forced her to postpone her marathon debut, she excelled at shorter distances.  She finished third with a personal best at the 10,000m in the National Championships, thus gaining selection for the World Championships team.  In Edmonton, Noguchi finished 13th.  She continued to excel at the half marathon in 2001.  She won the all-Japan corporate half marathon championships in March and the East Asian Games’ Half marathon in May.  She was second to Simon in the Sapporo Half Marathon, and fourth behind Radcliffe, Chepkemei and Adere in the World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol.  She concluded the year with another win at the Nagoya Half Marathon. 

Her future plans include a marathon debut at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in March.  A day before the Miyazaki Half Marathon, at the press conference, with the current debut record holder Yoko Shibui in presence, Noguchi announced her goal of setting a marathon debut record.  Her marathon debut is awaited with much anticipation, and perhaps then she will get the attention she deserves from fans and media. 

Results (JPN unless otherwise designated)    weather 13C, 34%,

1)         Mizuki Noguchi                        1:08:22
2)         Mikie Takanaka                      1:08:32
3)         Yumiko Hara                             1:09:28 
4)         Yuko Manabe             1:09:50
5)         Yoko Shibui                           1:10:09
6)         Mihaela Botezan (ROM)             1:10:20
7)         Yoko Manabe             1:10:24
8)         Harumi Hiroyama                      1:10:29
9)         Ruth Wanjiru (KEN)               1:10:34
10)        Haruko Yamamoto                    1:10:51

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