Ryoichi Sekiya (Jap) er en dedikert løpsmaskin som sjelden kommuniserer med andre under løp, løper ofte med "heldekkende" solbriller som sjelden taes av. Enda sjeldnere ser han seg til siden når han løper. Han lar seg kun distraherer når han blir hjulpet med næring. Helgens løp i Taipei viser at han fremdeles ikke er "mett"; 275,684 km er bra! Sumie Inagaki (Jap) vant kvinneklassen på 232,920 km. -
Andremann i herreklassen var nesten like meriterte Mohamed Magroun (FRA) som også løp strålende 241,850 km. Ytterligere to mannlige løpere kom over 200 km, begge fra Taiwan.

Det kan se ut som om det har vært tøffere i kvinneklassen der 5 løpere var over 200 km og 7 over 194 km. 5 av disse var fra Japan!

Vi klipper fra (anerkjente) Taipei Times:

Ryoichi Sekiya and Sumie Inagaki of Japan won the men's and women's events respectively of the 2007 Soochow University International Ultramarathon 24-hour race yesterday. Sekiya, the holder of the Asian record who also won the world championship in Canada in July, defeated his rivals to take first place by running 275.68km in 24 hours. It is the third time he has won the title since 2002.

Sekiya, 40, said he felt terrific after holding out through the grueling night, which was cold and wet, knowing that he was going to smash the record again. France's Mohamed Magroun trailed Sekiya to claim second place in the men's event, completing 241.85km, followed by Taiwanese runner Wu Sheng-ming (吳勝銘) with 216.26km.

Inagaki, 41, won the top spot in the women's division by completing 232.92km in the endurance contest. Her performance also broke the Asian record for women. Inagaki was followed home by Taiwanese runner Chiu Shu-jung (邱淑容) and Japanese runner Hiroko Okiyama, who finished second and third in the women's ultramarathon with 211.38km and 210.75km respectively.

Chiu said that she suffered a cramp in the back of her thighs at a certain point, but managed to finish the day-long race after adjusting her speed. This is the seventh time that Soochow University has sponsored the event, which attracts top-notch marathon runners from around the world

Resultatlisten kan leses på IAUs hjemmeside

5 beste i hver klasse:
1 Sekiya Ryoichi JPN 1967 male 275,684
2 Magroun Mohamed FRA 1959 male 241,85
3 Wu Shang-ming TPE 1961 male 216,264
4 Chen Shun-da TPE 1966 male 209,259
5 Kwon Yongkyoo KOR 1954 male 191,443

1 Inagaki Sumie JPN 1966 female 232,92
2 Chiou Su-zong TPE 1957 female 211,375
3 Okiyama Hiroko JPN 1962 female 210,749
4 Kudo Mami JPN 1964 female 204,604
5 Motoki Riyoko JPN 1951 female 200,835