Merande Edges Plasencia in Cross-Country Race

Bonface Merande of Kenya beat American Steve Plasencia by less than one meter and won the men’s 12,000-meter (7.5-mile) Fukuoka international cross country race Sunday.

Merande and Plasencia were clocked in an identical 34 minutes 59 seconds on the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park cross country course.

Merande, Plasencia and Kenya’s Some Muge were running shoulder-to-shoulder near the end, but Muge finished third in 35:02 and Japanese runners swept fourth through 10th places.

New Zealand’s Allison Roe, who led all the way, won the women’s 6,000-meter (3.75-mile) race by one second in 19 minutes 50 seconds. Sue French Lee of Canada was second in 19:51.

Japan’s Saori Terakoshi finished third in 20:14, followed by China’s Chen Qingmei in 20:18.