Skip to main content

Working Out the Tactics That Will Take Him to the Olympics, Kawauchi Set for Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/news-spe/20090507-606401/news/20111215-OYS1T00147.htm

translated by Mika Tokairin and edited by Brett Larner

The fatigue is not yet out of his legs.  Yuki Kawauchi has only just finished the Dec. 4 Fukuoka International Marathon, where he was the top Japanese finisher and 3rd overall.  "I'm still sore," he says.  "My thighs and whatnot are still stiff and inflexible."  For the whole week after Fukuoka he only jogged lightly in an effort to help his body recover.  On Sunday he will run the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon.

Kawauchi doesn't like to have a lot of time between races because he finds the most enjoyment in the race itself.  "Without that I get bored.  I feel that I have to do this at least once a month," he says.  However, this time there are only two weeks in between his full marathons, a very busy schedule.  This is the shortest interval he has ever had, and people are telling him, "You're doing too much."

Kawauchi doesn't have time or financial support for his training like corporate team runners, but on the other hand he has freedom as an amateur.  He sets his own preparation and racing schedule.  With this approach he is now producing results as good as professional runners.  "Since I've been able to come this far I hope it shows other amateurs the possibilities for what they can do," he says.  "I think I have been inspiring others to work harder."

In Hofu, top Mongolian marathoner Serod Batochir will be going for his second-straight win.  2010 Asian Games marathon gold medalist Youngjun Ji of South Korea and other strong foreign competition are also entered.  "With this list of people I think this is the unofficial East Asian Championship," says Kawauchi.  He is eager not only for the race itself but also to learn from others and to broaden his knowledge and point of view.  "I'd like to ask them about how they train."

After the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Kawauchi plans to run February's Tokyo Marathon, the next Olympic team selection race.  Hofu will be his tenth marathon.  In celebration of this anniversary he hopes to be the one to break the finish tape, gaining momentum on his run to the Olympics.

Translator's note: Kawauchi's first marathon was the Feb. '09 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon.  Hofu will be his fourth since the beginning of September.

Comments

Brett Larner said…
The Hofu Yomiuri Marathon website will have live splits every 5 km here:

http://kry.co.jp/tv/marathon_2011/live.html

The race starts just past noon on Sunday.

Most-Read This Week

Takeshi Soh Reflects on 54 Years in the Sport on His Retirement as Asahi Kasei Head Coach

After 54 years at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, first as athlete and then as coach, Takeshi Soh will retire at the end of this month. Together with his twin brother Shigeru Soh they formed a duo who were icons of the Japanese marathoning world and went all the way to the Olympics. After retiring from competition Takeshi devoted himself to coaching young athletes and came to play a primary role in the leadership of Japanese long distance. His list of achievements is long, and so is the list of those he influenced and inspired. His twin Shigeru was chosen for three Olympic teams in the marathon, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi was named to the Moscow and Los Angeles teams, placing 4th in L.A. to confirm his position as one of the greatest names in the sport in that era. After becoming a coach the twins helped lead Hiromi Taniguchi to gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, Koichi Morishita to silver a year later at the Barcelona Olympics, and o...

Japan Names Marathon Teams for Tokyo World Championships

On Mar. 26 the JAAF named its women's and men's marathon teams for September's Tokyo World Championships. On the women's side the team has veterans Sayaka Sato and Yuka Ando off the strength of a runner-up finish for Sato in Nagoya this year and a win in Nagoya last year by Ando, and newcomer Kana Kobayashi , 23, who has risen quickly from being a fun runner at Waseda University last year to a 2nd-place finish in Osaka Women's this year. Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki was named alternate after finishing 3rd behind Kobayashi in Osaka Women's. On the men's side the team is led by last year's Fukuoka International Marathon CR breaker Yuya Yoshida and this year's Osaka runner-up Ryota Kondo . The 3rd spot on the team is reserved for JMC Series winner Naoki Koyama , who hasn't cleared the 2:06:30 World Championships qualifying standard and has to wait for the May 4 qualifying deadline for confirmation that the 1184 points he has in the Roa...

Evaluating the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV Awards

  The JAAF held the award ceremony for its Japan Marathon Championship Series IV last night in Tokyo, the whole thing streamed live on Youtube. The two-year series, in this case running from April, 2023 to March, 2025, scores marathoners on time and place in domestic races and high-level international races, with athletes' two best performances combining to give them their series rankings. Series winners score guaranteed places on the 2025 Tokyo World Championships team , with the top 8 women and men earning prize money: 1st: Â¥6,000,000 (~$40,000 USD) 2nd: Â¥3,000,000 (~$20,000) 3rd: Â¥1,000,000 (~$6,700) 4th: Â¥800,000 (~$5,300) 5th: Â¥700,000 (~$4,700) 6th: Â¥500,000 (~$3,300) 7th: Â¥300,000 (~$2,000) 8th: Â¥200,000 (~$1,300) Points for time are scored according to World Athletics scoring tables, with placing points based on races' designated level. Given the JAAF's financial interests in the big domestic races and the income stream from their TV broadcasts, the scoring system ...