The second part of JRN's exclusive post-race interview with 2010 Tokyo Marathon runner-up Arata Fujiwara of Team JR Higashi Nihon is now available in our JRNPremium subscription series. Together with our pre-race interview, today's segement is the fifth of five and we have saved the best for last. In this interview Fujiwara talks about problems with the jitsugyodan corporate system and what the real pressures it puts on Japanese runners are, the physiological advantages Japanese runners have over Africans, specifics on how his training differs from 'standard' Japanese methods, the effect of public prize money on Japanese marathoning, the role of motivation and more. It is an articulate, intelligent look into a young runner who is not only one of Japan's leading marathoners but also reveals himself to be one of the sport's leading domestic thinkers. Click here for more information on subscribing and help us continue to bring you more high-quality original content.
While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...
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