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Horie Wins First National Half Marathon Title in Kobe (updated)

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0002533364.shtml
http://www.47news.jp/CN/200911/CN2009112201000157.html
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/091122/oth0911221928033-n1.htm
http://www.pjnews.net/news/291/20091122_10

translated and edited by Brett Larner

At the 2009 Kobe National Women's Half Marathon on Nov. 22, Misato Horie (Team Noritz) took her first win on the Rikuren-certified 21.0975 km course from Kobe's Nagisa Park to Kobe Harborland, running a time of 1:13:09.

Manami Takemori (Team Sysmex) was 2nd in 1:13:54, with Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) 3rd and Satoko Uetani (Kobe Gakuin Univ.) 4th. The four women set out together in a pack from the start and stayed together through 15 km. By 17 km Horie had pulled ahead and kept her lead all the way to the finish.

A native of Kobe, Horie attended Seiryo High School and Mukogawa Women's University before joining Team Noritz last spring. Along the course she saw many friends and former teachers who turned out to cheer her on. "Before the race I thought I had a chance to win, so I went for it," she told reporters afterwards with a big smile. Running the Kobe Women's Half Marathon for the fifth time since her second year of high school, Horie said, "It makes me really happy to have won this race."

Horie's teammate Mari Ozaki, who finished 5th in last week's Asian Championships 10000 m, withdrew from the race after coming down with influenza. Olympic marathon medalists Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) and Yuko Arimori were onhand to present the awards.

2009 Kobe National Women's Half Marathon - Top Finishers
1. Misato Horie (Team Noritz) - 1:13:09
2. Manami Takamori (Team Sysmex) - 1:13:54
3. Kaori Yoshida (Amino Vital AC) - 1:14:06
4. Satoko Uetani (Kobe Gakuin Univ.) - 1:14:41
5. Kaori Oyama (Team Noritz) - 1:15:57
6. Keiko Nakasu (Team Noritz) - 1:16:41
7. Hiromi Tani (Team Noritz) - 1:17:00
8. Tomoyo Dotani (Kobe Gakuin Univ.) - 1:17:13
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