Misato Michishita Wins Beppu Marathon in World's Best Time

The Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon took place in the southern island of Kyushu. Ms. Misato Michishita of Japan, affectionately called Micchan in her close circle of friends, renewed her world best time of 2:56:14 in the women's T-12 category by more than 2 minutes. The guide runner who accompanied her victorious finish is Jun Shida, who is a former Hakone Ekiden runner. (See 15:40 of the video.)

He served as her guide runner when she won her 3rd consecutive winning title in 3:06:18 at the London Marathon last year also. The short strap between Micchan and Jun is called 'kizuna', or bond. It's a Japanese word for a very close relationship two people where one cannot stand without the other.

Congrats to Micchan and Jun! Your achievement is a great inspiration not only to physically-impaired people but also everyone around the world.