http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nsp/local/20080225/20080225_001.shtml
translated by Brett Larner
Cutting through the strong headwind without struggle to run away to the goal line, Masaya Shimizu's 4th marathon was his 1st perfect race. "I ran 120% today. Knowing I won by running perfectly is the best feeling I've ever had," the laurel-crowned king of the Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon said with a shaky voice.
Shimizu, 27, took a potential disaster and reshaped it into a tool with which to forge his dream race. At the drink station just after the pace makers dropped out at 30 km, he was unable to grab his special drink. "Some dumbass put my bottle too far back on the table to reach. I missed it and didn't have any choice except to just go without it." Instead, he put on a spurt which caught most of the other leaders off guard, breaking up the pack and reducing it from 10 runners to 4.
Shimizu led the pack into the biting headwind. "I didn't want to get into a sprint finish situation," he said afterwards. "Even if it meant being the one blocking the wind for everyone else I wanted to lead so I could try to get away from the others." His strategy worked, as the pack was down to 2 runners at the 39 km point. He broke free of the last runner at 41 km and finished in the clear. "I won because I was strong and ran aggressively the whole way. This gives me a lot of confidence."
At the Fukuoka International Marathon last December, Shimizu fell out of the lead pack after only 10 km, eventually finishing 11th. At his other marathons he also lost contact with the leaders before the 30 km point. "Shimizu was always an elite runner all through high school and university, so he has a lot of pride. He's never really been able to put together a marathon that went according to plan before, though, so I hope that this win will help him to get it together," commented Team Asahi Kasei coach Takeshi So. Shimizu agreed, "My next goal will be to win one of the selection races for the next World Championships so I can wear the national uniform."
Shimizu received one more source of motivation. After winning, he waited at the finish line for Muneyuki Ojima, his Asahi Kasei teammate and a graduate of the same high school in Hyogo Prefecture from which Shimizu later graduated. "Ojima has always treated me like a brother. I planned not only to win today but also to see him thrown into the air* when he finished his final marathon." When Ojima came to the finish line, Shimizu led the group of Asahi Kasei runners who celebrated the older runner's last run.
This was Team Asahi Kasei's 1st Nobeoka win in 5 years. From here, victory in Nobeoka will be a springboard to the world. Shimizu nods, "I feel that I've earned the right." The winds have changed and will now be blowing him on toward his next goal.
An earlier report on Nobeoka is here.
*Translator's note: Winning Japanese runners and their coaches are usually surrounded by teammates and thrown into the air 3 times after finishing.
translated by Brett Larner
Cutting through the strong headwind without struggle to run away to the goal line, Masaya Shimizu's 4th marathon was his 1st perfect race. "I ran 120% today. Knowing I won by running perfectly is the best feeling I've ever had," the laurel-crowned king of the Nobeoka Nishi Nihon Marathon said with a shaky voice.
Shimizu, 27, took a potential disaster and reshaped it into a tool with which to forge his dream race. At the drink station just after the pace makers dropped out at 30 km, he was unable to grab his special drink. "Some dumbass put my bottle too far back on the table to reach. I missed it and didn't have any choice except to just go without it." Instead, he put on a spurt which caught most of the other leaders off guard, breaking up the pack and reducing it from 10 runners to 4.
Shimizu led the pack into the biting headwind. "I didn't want to get into a sprint finish situation," he said afterwards. "Even if it meant being the one blocking the wind for everyone else I wanted to lead so I could try to get away from the others." His strategy worked, as the pack was down to 2 runners at the 39 km point. He broke free of the last runner at 41 km and finished in the clear. "I won because I was strong and ran aggressively the whole way. This gives me a lot of confidence."
At the Fukuoka International Marathon last December, Shimizu fell out of the lead pack after only 10 km, eventually finishing 11th. At his other marathons he also lost contact with the leaders before the 30 km point. "Shimizu was always an elite runner all through high school and university, so he has a lot of pride. He's never really been able to put together a marathon that went according to plan before, though, so I hope that this win will help him to get it together," commented Team Asahi Kasei coach Takeshi So. Shimizu agreed, "My next goal will be to win one of the selection races for the next World Championships so I can wear the national uniform."
Shimizu received one more source of motivation. After winning, he waited at the finish line for Muneyuki Ojima, his Asahi Kasei teammate and a graduate of the same high school in Hyogo Prefecture from which Shimizu later graduated. "Ojima has always treated me like a brother. I planned not only to win today but also to see him thrown into the air* when he finished his final marathon." When Ojima came to the finish line, Shimizu led the group of Asahi Kasei runners who celebrated the older runner's last run.
This was Team Asahi Kasei's 1st Nobeoka win in 5 years. From here, victory in Nobeoka will be a springboard to the world. Shimizu nods, "I feel that I've earned the right." The winds have changed and will now be blowing him on toward his next goal.
An earlier report on Nobeoka is here.
*Translator's note: Winning Japanese runners and their coaches are usually surrounded by teammates and thrown into the air 3 times after finishing.
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