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Veteran Kobayashi 'Very Happy' With PB in Betsudai

originally published in the Nikkei Newspaper on 2/2/09

translated by Brett Larner

Translator's note: This may be old news by now but I wanted to put it up to give credit where it is due in light of all the negative commentary by Rikuren officials following Beppu-Oita (coming in another article shortly). Kobayashi ran a great race. おつかれさま。

Veteran Seiji Kobayashi (32, Team Mitsubishi Juko Nagasaki) was the top Japanese finisher at Sunday's Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, finishing 2nd overall behind winner Adil Annani (Morocco). Less than two months after a disappointing 20th place finish at December's Fukuoka International Marathon, Kobayashi ran 2:10:38 in difficult conditions to break his PB by 24 seconds in his eleventh marathon. "My training went really well, so I wanted to leave a good mark here. Today I'm a happy man," he said proudly.

On the way to the 25.5 km turnaround point Kobayashi thought, "The pace felt pretty fast, so I was careful to keep my strength." With a tailwind in the second half he rapidly advanced through the field. After catching leaders Annani and Peter Kiprotich (Kenya) around 35 km, Kobayashi dropped debut marathoner Keita Akiba (Team Komori Corp.) and engaged Annani in a battle for the lead. "I really didn't want to lose to a guy who was doing his first marathon," Kobayashi said of Akiba.

Having missed the sub-2:10 mark, Kobayashi admits that his chances of being selected for the team for this summer's World Championships in Berlin are, "a little slim, I think." However, he adds, "My result this time gives me a lot of confidence about being able to compete internationally." In an era when all eyes in Japan are looking for the next generation to step up, the 32 year old Kobayashi ran a gutsy race and showed that experience still matters.
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