Yuri Kano held off a strong field of runners, including 2007 world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, to win yesterday’s 51st Sapporo Half Marathon. Kano’s time of 68:57 shattered her previous personal record of 70:28 from the 2003 Miyazaki Women’s Road Race. By 5K the race had developed into a three-woman competition, with Kano accompanied by Kenya’s Julia Mombi and Chisato Osaki of Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo club. Kano pushed the pace near 10K, causing Mombi to lose contact. At 19.3, Kano surged again, breaking Osaki, who recently completed a month of altitude training in Boulder, Colorado, with Olympic-bound teammate Reiko Tosa. Kano told local reporters, “Because I was in good shape, I wanted to at least improve my half marathon personal record, especially because I have not broken my half marathon best for a long time.”