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Community Corner

Running For Japan

Nana Terai, of sister city Kaizuka, Japan, says she's running the LA Marathon for her would-be partner, now in Sendai help quake victims, and for the victims, themselves.

Nana Terai, of Kaizuka, Japan, does not speak a lot of English, although she can understand some. But Terai can run. She's been running for five years, she told Patch through interpreter Eileen Keiko Higa.

Terai came to Culver City to run in the 26th Los Angeles Marathon as part of an exchange program through the Culver City Sister Cities Committee which sent committee member and runner Veronica Reyes to Japan earlier this year to run a marathon in Kaizuka.

The exchange visit was made all the more dramatic by last week's 8.9 earthquake in Sendai, Japan. While Kaizuka (which is 500 miles away) escaped damage from the disaster, Terai's fellow runner Daiki Nitta, who would have joined her in the L.A. Marathon, was unable to come to Culver City. Nitta is a firefighter and he had to go to Sendai to help with the recovery efforts there. Both Terai and Nitta had earned their place in the exchange by having the fastest times for a woman and man, respectively, in yet another marathon in Japan.

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Terai said that she wanted to run for Nitta, as well as the victims of the earthquake.

Terai began running to "go on a diet," she said, ducking and giggling. And, yes, the diet worked. This is her second visit to the U.S. and her schedule was packed, between the marathon and some general tourist visits. In addition, Terai will be recognized at Monday's City Council meeting.

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Reyes said that she was not able to join Terai in the marathon.

"I still have some muscle tightness," she explained.

Terai said before the race that she was concerned about the weather, since she had not done a lot of running in the rain. However, she did finish, with a time of 4:29:05.

Jesus Urbina, from Culver City's Mexican sister city of Urupan, also ran in the marathon, finishing with a time of 3:38:05.

The two joined the over 20,000 athletes who braved torrential rains to run, walk and wheeled (in the wheelchair division) their way through the streets of Los Angeles from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.

Markos Geneti, running his first marathon, won with a record-breaking time of 2:06:35, while Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba, bested the women with a time of 2:26:35.

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