japan running news

Running the Okinoshima 50 km Ultramarathon on his late father's home island of Oki for the eighth year in a row, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran 2:52:55 to win it for the seventh straight time. Starting strong on the relatively flat first 10 km where he clocked 33:26, low-2:47 pace, Kawauchi slowed to just over 2:50 pace on the course's toughest hills between 10 and 30 km. A sub-2:50 was still in range at that point, but over the last 20 km he faded further to finish in the second-slowest of his Okinoshima wins.



The day before the race Kawauchi paced children in Okinoshima's kids' run. Following that he greeted participants and local supporters at an expo event where he was hailed onstage as the Boston Marathon winner. As per his usual routine, his next race will be the July 1 Gold Coast Marathon in Australia.

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

For the second year in a row brothers Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and Yoshiki Kawauchi (unattached) returned to their late father's home island of Okinoshima to dominate the Father's Day Okinoshima Ultramarathon 50 km and 100 km.

Yoshiki, the younger of the two, ran the 100 km for the third time. In his 2015 debut he suffered mightily on the way in to an 11:21:52 finish. Returning with a year's more experience in 2016, he won in a course record 7:20:31. This time he was out fast in search of his first sub-7 clocking, averaging 4:00/km at 40 km through the hilliest part of the course before starting to slow. At 60 km he was still on track for a sub-7, splitting 4:07:10, but when he hit the series of three >100 m elevation gain climbs just after 60 km sub-7 slipped out of reach. Still well under course pace with a 7:12:27 projection at 80 km Yoshiki struggled on the last 100 m climb just over 5 km from the finish, coming in for the win in 7:29:06. Yoshiki has…

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2017/03/19/kiji/20170319s00056000211000c.html
https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2017/03/19/0010014104.shtml

translated and edited by Brett Larner
photo by Tsukasa Kawarai

Fresh from being named to the London World Championships men's marathon team on Friday, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran the first race of his London buildup Sunday at the Kuki Half Marathon, winning by a massive margin in a course record 1:05:03.  The site of his unofficial half-marathon-in-a-suit world record in its first edition last year, the Kuki Half Marathon is Kawauchi's hometown race.  With a course change sending the race past his alma mater Washinomiya J.H.S. this year, Kawauchi ran wearing his junior high school-era uniform.  "It was a headwind the whole way," he laughed about his time, almost three minutes slower than his PB.  "Now isn't the time to push it. I feel good."

Having declared that the World Championships will be his …

by Brett Larner

Continuing a season that seems to show him returning to his best form, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) took over three minutes off his own national record as he won the hilly Okinoshima Ultramarathon's 50 km division in 2:44:07.  Run on the island where Kawauchi's late father was born, the Okinoshima Ultra is a Father's Day fixture on Kawauchi's calendar.  The course features a relatively flat first 10 km, three 100 m+ tall ups and downs between 10 and 30 km, and an undulating last 20 km capped by one more major hill with 5 km to go.


"The weather conditions were better than usual, so I decided to go for the course record," Kawauchi told JRN post-race.  Where he has typically opened the first 10 km in 33-34 minutes in past years, this year he went out red-hot, splitting 31:07, 2:11 marathon pace, before hitting the hills.  Over the next 20 km he was slightly slower than in the last two years, but even so with a 1:38:21 split at 30 km pr…

by Brett Larner

隠岐の島で川内三兄弟と子供たちのマラソン大会 pic.twitter.com/39PuIqenMo — IZUMI TAM 6/21 隠岐の島 (@izuizuu) June 20, 2015For the last four years the Okinoshima Ultramarathon has been a staple on Yuki Kawauchi's schedule, a tough and hilly race held every year on Father's Day on the west coast island where his father Ashio Kawauchi was born.  This year to mark the 10th anniversary of both Ashio's passing and the race, Kawauchi was joined by both of his younger brothers, Yoshiki and Koki.  Yoshiki, a 2:22 marathoner, made his ultra debut in the 100 km division, while Koki, the youngest of the three, joined course record holder Yuki in the 50 km.


Yoshiki's day began early, the 100 km race getting going at 5;00 a.m.  6 1/2 hours later, Yuki missed his pre-race introduction to the crowds at the 50 km start and arrived at the starting line with just 4 minutes to go, Koki giving him a perplexed, "What's up?"  Last year Yuki ran 2:47:27 in Okinoshima, inside the worldwid…

http://www.hochi.co.jp/dosports/running/20150617-OHT1T50097.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

In thin air between 1500 m and 1700 m, the Kawauchi brothers ran together over tough challenging hills of Nagano.  With their mother Mika Kawauchi, 51, watching, her oldest son Yuki, 28, won the June 14 Venus Half Marathon in 1:10:39.  A day earlier on the 13th, Yuki and the older of his two younger brothers, Yoshiki, 24, ran the neighboring Megamiko Cup Ekiden, a warmup for the Venus Half, together with friends as part of the four-member "Team Kawamoto," raising the excitement level at the race with a come-from-behind win.

The Kawauchi brothers ran the ekiden together with two friends, brothers Ryusuke and Yuta Sakamoto, 35 and 28, respectively, combining their family names to create the Team Kawamoto name.  With each member running the same 2.3 km loop, Yoshiki started the second stage in 5th, running 6:58 and passing four people to take the lead before handing off to…