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Yamada Denki Women's Team Nagano Training Camp in Pictures

all photos by Brett Larner

Two women from the Yamada Denki women's ekiden team, 2:28 marathoner Ayumi Nakayama and 1:10 half marathoner Maki Suzawa, will be running next month's Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Yamada Denki head coach Katsuaki Isobata invited JRN to attend Yamada Denki's altitude training camp in Sugadaira, Nagano the last weekend of August to watch some of Nakayama and Suzawa's training. Below are some photos of the weekend, primarily of a 30 km tempo run Nakayama did with accompaniment from several teammates. Click photos to enlarge.

The start point of Sugadaira's main road loop, a course of about 6.5 km in length at 1300 m elevation.
Nakayama, left, in singlet, on the first loop of her 30 km run paced by teammates Megumi Kanetomo and Aoi Miyaji. Coach Isobata follows in a car shouting out instructions and pace.

Nakayama is wearing pink Mimura brand shoes custom-made by master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura.
Miyaji takes a turn leading near the end of the first loop.
At 10 km Maiko Yamaguchi joins in and takes over pacing as Miyaji drops out to jog the rest of the loop.



The biggest uphill on the loop.


Kanetomo wraps up after two laps, leaving Yamaguchi to take Nakayama through the third lap.

Nakayama moves ahead halfway through the third lap.
Across town, the Athens Olympics Memorial Mizuki Noguchi Cross Country Course is another of the main workout sites for elites training in Sugadaira. The course consists of grassy loops of 500 m, 1 km, 2 km and 4 km in length with a start and finish at 1500 m and a maximum height on the 4 km loop near 1650 m.
An account of Mizuki Noguchi's gold medal run at the Athens Olympics on the side of the rock monument pictured above.
The start and finish point for the 1 km, 2 km and 4 km loops.
Another view of the start point.
Looking across the course up the side of the mountain.

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
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Comments

TokyoRacer said…
So what did she do the 30k in?
September 1, 2010 at 10:13 AM
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