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.
When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...
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