NEW YORK (AP) — Yuri Kano will carry with her the scenes of devastation from Japan when she runs in the New York City Half-Marathon. And she hopes her performance Sunday will boost the spirits of those back home.
Kano had been struggling to concentrate on running after last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami and started to think of how she could help.
She had been training to defend her title at the Nagoya Ladies International Marathon and qualify for this summer’s world championships. The race was canceled after the disaster.
Her team contacted New York Road Runners on Monday about the half-marathon in Manhattan. Four days later, she was in New York.
Says NYRR President Mary Wittenberg: “We welcome Yuri at a time when we would like to embrace all of Japan.”
