japan running news

http://www.oita-press.co.jp/print.php?print_type=localSports&print_first_genre=120731038943&print_second_genre=&print_news_id=2010_126947790574 translated by Brett Larner It was announced this week that Kenichi Jiromaru, 25, assistant coach with Oita's Tomei H.S. ekiden team, will be joining the powerful Tokyo-based Nissin Shokuhin corporate team in April. Having once before quit the running world only to find rebirth in Oita, Jiromaru is a runner of a different color who hopes that joining this year's New Year Ekiden national champion team will help lead him to his ultimate goal of racing in the national uniform. Jiromaru was born in Tottori Prefecture. After running the Hakone Ekiden all four years that he was a student at Komazawa University he was somewhat discouraged thinking, "There are a million guys my level." He decided to quit the sport. Jiromaru took a position working at a fabric maker but found that he couldn't stop thinking about running...

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=56310.html

by Brett Larner For the first time in several years, the Japanese national team at the World Cross-Country Championships will go home empty-handed as its perennial team bronze medal-winning junior women's squad placed only 4th at this year's Championships in Poland on Mar. 28. Junior woman Nanaka Izawa 's 19th place finish was the best individual placing on the entire Japanese team, admittedly in the least competitive of the four fields, but her run led the Japanese junior women to finish as the top non-African team. The junior men were likewise the top non-African team, finishing 6th in their race ahead of a number of teams from countries with far more established cross-country traditions. As JRN predicted Tokai University first-year Akinobu Murasawa was someone to watch. In his last race as a junior Murasawa, the inspiration for JRN's comparison last fall of young American and Japanese men's performances, beat much-hyped American first-year Trevor Dunbar to f...

by Brett Larner Looking through results this week from various half marathons around the world I noticed that a number of the top women from next month's London Marathon ran tuneups last Sunday. Here's what I have come across so far. Please send any additions. Both the Jitsugyodan and Matsue half marathons had extremely windy conditions; Japan had such a windy weekend that the 10,000+ runner Arakawa Marathon was cancelled due to the conditions. 2010 London Marathon Elite Women - 3/21/10 Half Marathon Results Mara Yamauchi (GBR) - 1:09:25 (1st, NYC Half) Deena Kastor (U.S.A.) - 1:09:43 (2nd, NYC Half) Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 1:10:06 (2nd, Jitsugyodan Half) Askale Tafa (Ethiopia) - 1:10:46 (2nd, Lisbon Half) Kim Smith (New Zealand) - 1:10:53 (1st, New Bedford Half) Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 1:11:09 (2nd, Matsue Ladies' Half) Constantina Dita (Romania) - 1:14:39 (9th, Lisbon Half)

by Brett Larner Despite cross-country playing only a minor part in the Japanese distance running calendar, Japan is sending a full squad of 24 to this Sunday's World Cross-Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The senior men's team is made up almost exclusively of university runners from the Kanto region, with only pro steeplechaser Hiroyoshi Umegae (Team NTN) breaking the mold. The top man on the team is Meiji University's Tetsuya Yoroizaka , winner of this year's Fukuoka International XC Meet and top Japanese finisher at the Chiba International XC Meet. A surprising absence is Saku Chosei H.S. graduate Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin), replaced in the lineup by Minato Oishi (Chuo Univ.). Running on his 19th birthday, Fukuoka XC senior men's runner-up and Saku Chosei H.S. alumnus Akinobu Murasawa (Tokai Univ.) is in the junior men's race. Fresh from training in New Zealand and with a 59:08 road 20 km to his name since last year's World XC, Murasa...

JRN's Brett Larner was at the 2010 Rome Marathon covering the race for Runners magazine and representing invited runners Satoko Uetani and Toyokazu Yoshimura. A number of retired Japanese elites were also onhand as part of a JTB-sponsored tour group promoting a closer relationship between the Tokyo and Rome Marathons on the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Rome Olympics. Click here to read the IAAF's report on this year's elite race. Better late than never, below are photos from the entire race weekend. Thanks to Rome Marathon elite athlete coordinator Massimiliano Monteforte, Kassa Tadesse and everyone else in the Rome Marathon office who helped make the event and JRN's presence possible. click photos for larger versions all photos (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved no reproduction without permission Press Conference, Mar. 19 The 2010 Rome Marathon elite field. Part of the women's elite field. Satoko Uetani and Toyokazu Yoshimura. Marathon Expo Presentation of ...

http://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/100321/spg1003211532003-n1.htm translated and edited by Brett Larner It was announced this week that two-time World Championships marathoner Satoshi Irifune (Team Kanebo) will run the April 25 London Marathon. Team Kanebo head coach Kunimitsu Ito said that Irifune had been intending to run the Rotterdam Marathon but that they had changed plans. Irifune joins several other Japanese runners in the world's most top-class field in London, including Berlin World Championships women's marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei), World Championships marathoner Yukiko Akaba, Beijing Olympian Takayuki Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta), his twin brother Yuko Matsumiya (Team Konica Minolta) and World Half Marathon runner Yusei Nakao (Team Toyota Boshoku).

by Brett Larner As Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) finished 2nd at the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, the over elite Japanese woman scheduled to run next month's London Marathon, Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) lined up at the Matsue Ladies' Half Marathon in her first race since dropping out of January's Osaka International Women's Marathon. It was essentially a head-to-head race between Akaba and Kenyan Doricah Obare (Team Hitachi) in her half marathon debut. Strong winds kept the pace slow, but nevertheless the pack of chasers made no attempt to follow. Obare and Akaba ran the first km in 3:30 and gradually picked up the pace, but when Obare pushed the 4th km to 3:09 Akaba let go. The gap between the pair widened to 48 seconds at 10 km before Akaba began to accelerate, closing to within 17 seconds of Obare but unable to catch her. Obare won in 1:10:52, with Akaba 2nd in 1:11:09. Running a great race to beat away numerous challenges from the pack, Mei...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201003220091.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On a windy day with strong headwinds in the second half of the race, Samuel Ndungu (Team Aichi Seiko) ran 1:01:19 to take the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships men's race on Mar. 21, with defending champion Joseph Gitau (Team JFE Steel) 2nd. Akihiko Tsumurai (Team Mazda) was the top Japanese finisher, 5th overall in a PB of 1:01:58 despite his left shoe coming undone partway through the race. "It didn't bother me at all," he said afterwards. With the strong time and placing Tsumurai secured a spot on the Japanese national team for October's World Half Marathon Championships in China. Altogether 105 men in the field broke 66 minutes. Defending women's champion Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo) took a second win with a 1:09:01 run. Berlin World Championships women's marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) was 2nd in 1:10:06, li...

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201003170188.html translated and edited by Brett Larner The men's and women's National Jitsugyodan Half Marathon Championships take place this Sunday, Mar. 21 in Yamaguchi. A selection race for the national team for October's World Half Marathon Championships, the Jitsugyodan Half wraps up the road season as athletes head to track in April. Leading the way in the women's race is the star of Team Daiichi Seimei, 2009 World Championships marathon silver medalist Yoshimi Ozaki , running her last major tuneup race before April's London Marathon. Her main competition will come from teammate Misaki Katsumata , who had a brilliant victory at last month's Chiba International Cross Country Meet, and defending champion Danielle Filomena Cheyech (Team Uniqlo). National Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Championships Sixth Stage winner Kaori Urata (Team Tenmaya) could also be a threat. 2009 World Championships marathoners Kazuhiro Maeda ...

by Brett Larner The 2010 Rome Marathon elite field. The 16th Rome Marathon takes place this Sunday, Mar. 21. In the 50th anniversary year of 1960 Rome Olympics, the Rome Marathon has formed a partnership with the Tokyo Marathon, site of the 1964 Olympics, to work together to promote cooperative bids from each city for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. A handful of elite Japanese runners will join the Rome field this year for the first time, two as invited elites and three as special guests in honor of the Rome-Tokyo cooperative relationship. As the 50th anniversary of the legendary barefoot win by Ethiopian great Abebe Bikila in the 1960 Olympics, Rome organizers have offered a unique bonus: if either the men's or women's leader in this year's race runs the final 300 m over cobblestones barefoot they will receive a 5000 euro bonus and 20 seconds off their finish time to compensate for the time spent stopping and taking off their shoes. The men's race features a solid f...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20100317k0000m050079000c.html translated by Brett Larner On Mar. 16 Rikuren announced the official selection races for the five men's and women's places available on the Japanese national team for the 2011 World Championships marathon in Daegu, South Korea. Japanese athletes already named to November's Asian Games team can qualify by finishing as the top Japanese medalist at the Asian Games marathon. Beyond that, the top Japanese finishers at the Fukuoka, Beppu-Oita, Tokyo and Biwako Mainichi marathons will be considered for the men's team while women may qualify at the Hokkaido, Osaka, Yokohama and Nagoya marathons. Other results may be considered by the selection committee but results from overseas marathons will not be included.

by Brett Larner In its first running as a spring race, the New York City Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, Mar. 21. In the women's field are the 1st and 3rd place finishers from last month's Ome 30 km road race, Japan-based Mara Yamauchi (GBR) and 2009 Hokkaido Marathon winner Kiyoko Shimahara (Second Wind AC). After a fantastic run at the London Marathon last year Yamauchi missed most of 2009, including the World Championships, with an injury. She began her recovery with a decent run at the Marugame Half Marathon in early February before winning her Ome debut. New York will be Yamauchi's major tuneup for next month's London Marathon. Earlier this week Shimahara was named to the Japanese national team for November's Asian Games marathon, where she will be the defending silver medalist. Shimahara had a very strong fall season last year including a course record win at the Hokkaido Marathon in late August and 2nd place finishes at November's Yokohama Internat...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20100317k0000m050056000c.html translated by Brett Larner For the tenth consecutive year, on Mar. 16 Rikuren announced the list of athletes who will receive official financial support from the federation. Previously ranked as a top-level S-Class athlete with 3 million yen of support per year, 2004 Athens Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) was downgraded to an A-Class athlete and will receive only 2 million yen this year. Noguchi was a member of the Beijing Olympics marathon team but withdrew shortly before the race due to injury and has not raced again since then. Three athletes received S-Class rankings for 2010-2011: men's hammer thrower Koji Murofushi (Team Mizuno), women's marathoner Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) and men's javelin thrower Yukifumi Murakami (Team Suzuki).

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/general/news/20100317k0000m050071000c.html translated by Brett Larner At a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 16, officials named the members of the men's and women's marathon teams for November's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The men's team consists of Tomoyuki Sato (29, Team Asahi Kasei) and Yukihiro Kitaoka (27, Team NTN), while the women's team is made up of teammates Yuri Kano (31, Second Wind AC) and Kiyoko Shimahara (33, Second Wind AC). Apart from Shimahara, who won the silver medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, it will be the first time at the Games for all the athletes. Sato finished 31st at December's Fukuoka International Marathon but rebounded with a 2nd place finish earlier this month at the Biwako Mainichi Marathon. Kitaoka was 4th in Biwako in his debut marathon, running a strong 2:10. Kano won last weekend's Nagoya International Women's Marathon to qualify for the team. She initially indicated that she wo...

JRN will be on location at the Mar. 21 Rome Marathon to cover Satoko Uetani and Toyokazu Yoshimura's runs. We apologize in advance for any interruptions to regularly scheduled service that this may create.

by Brett Larner 2010 Hakone Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University's Shota Inoue took the top spot at the 2010 Tachikawa Akishima Half Marathon in Tokyo on Mar. 14, winning in 1:03:11 by two seconds over Ryohei Kawakami of 2010 Hakone winner Toyo University. Doubling as the National University Men's Half Marathon Championships, in 2009 Tachikawa Akishima was the deepest half marathon in the world. This year the top seven men broke 1:03:30, with Kawakami's teammate Hiroyuki Uno 8th in 1:03:31. Altogether 106 men broke 1:06. 2010 Tachikawa Akishima Half Marathon - Top Finishers 1. Shota Inoue (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:11 - PB 2. Ryohei Kawakami (Toyo Univ.) - 1:03:13 3. Yuta Igarashi (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:15 4. Ryota Nakamura (Teikyo Univ.) - 1:03:16 5. Akinori Iida (Komazawa Univ.) - 1:03:17 - PB 6. Koji Kobayashi (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:17 7. Hideki Inomata (Waseda Univ.) - 1:03:24 8. Hiroyuki Uno (Toyo Univ.) - 1:03:31 (c) 2010 Brett Larner all rights reserved

by Brett Larner 2009 World Championships marathon 7th place finisher Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC) took a perfunctory win at the 2010 Nagoya International Women's Marathon , running 2:27:11 for the second marathon victory in her career. Ethiopian Derartu Tulu , who beat Kano at last November's New York City Marathon, was second in 2:28:13. For the first time this season the weather cooperated, with clear skies, low winds and humidity and temperatures which started in the upper teens and dropped comfortably. The race kicked off with a quick 3:20 first km but quickly calmed down with veteran Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai) doing much of the early leading work. Kano and Tulu were part of a pack of four, along with Ominami and first-timer Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku), who broke away from the field after a slow half. Tulu fell away around 25 km, and after Kano picked up the pace rounding the turnaround point at 28 km Ominami likewise fell back. Only Ito was able to hang on afte...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20100312-OYT1T00318.htm translated by Brett Larner Japan's imperial crown prince met on Mar. 11 with the man who for 30 years has been the bridge between Kenya's distance runners and Japan, sports promoter Shuichi Kobayashi, 67. The meeting came during the prince's visit to Kenya as he spoke to a group of 30 Japanese citizens living in Kenya. Kobayashi has brought more than 50 Kenyan runners to Japan school and company teams, among them Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru and Erick Wainaina, the bronze medalist in the Atlanta Olympics and silver medalist in the Sydney Olympics. Kobayashi was himself a runner in junior high school and high school. Intrigued by the Kenyan running kingdom, at age 34 he travelled there for the first time. Over time Kobayashi developed a relationship with Rikuren to begin introducing Kenyan runners to Japanese professional and school teams. He currently focuses on discovering young runner...

http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/news/sports/0002774254.shtml translated by Brett Larner Translator's note: This article came out a few days ago and covers the Tokyo Marathon two weeks ago, but I've been a fan of Okutani since Helsinki in '05 and didn't know he had run Tokyo. I had always hoped he would make it back. Going his own way separate from the professional running world, Wataru Okutani (35, Team Subaru) ran his final race at last month's Tokyo Marathon. It has been nearly three years since Okutani's life as a professional runner came to a sudden halt. Okutani was the leader of the 2007 World Championships Japanese marathon team when he fell seriously ill and was forced to withdraw from the team. "With this race finished I can say with a free and clear heart that it's over," said Okutani. He now plans to dedicate himself to coaching the next generation of athletes. As a student at Hyogo's Nishiwake Kogyo H.S., Okutani was a part of the school...

by Brett Larner So far this year Japan's major marathons have been cursed with bad weather. January's Osaka International Women's Marathon, February's Tokyo Marathon and last week's Biwako Mainichi Marathon all had cold, rainy, windy conditions which put the brakes on hopes of good times. This Sunday's Nagoya International Women's Marathon looks set to have the first genuinely nice spring day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper teens. Could it be too much of a good thing? The race is being pitched in the Japanese media as a battle between the holder of the fastest PB in the field, 2007 Rotterdam Marathon winner Hiromi Ominami (Team Toyota Shatai), and the field's highest-placing finisher from last summer's World Championships marathon, 7th-placer Yuri Kano (Second Wind AC). Ominami hasn't broken 2:30 since 2007 but turned in strong performances at February's Marugame Half Marathon and Ome 30 km which indicate she is in g...

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201003/CN2010030901000506.html translated by Brett Larner On Mar. 9 it was announced that retired Olympian Harumi Hiroyama, 41, gave birth to her first baby, a girl, at a hospital in Urayasu, Chiba on Mar. 7. The management of Hiroyama's former team, Shiseido, said that both mother and daughter are healthy and doing fine. Hiroyama ran on the track at the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics. She retired at the end of March last year following the Tokyo Marathon.

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010030700132 translated and edited by Brett Larner Following the final selection race on Mar. 7, Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki discussed the candidates for the two men's marathon spots available on the Japanese national team for November's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. "Now that we have the results from the three selection races [Fukuoka, Tokyo and Biwako], I would like to settle the lineup." Director Sawaki's indicated his first choice is Masakazu Fujiwara (Team Honda), the winner of February's Tokyo Marathon. "He set a brilliant example in Tokyo. His newfound strength has brought him to the forefront." Rikuren director of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi suggested that he favors Biwako runner-up Tomoyuki Sato (Team Asahi Kasei). "In the pressure of a selection race he had the fastest time [by a Japanese runner] and with just a little more luck would have gone under 2:10. He at least cle...

Canadian marathoner Steve Osaduik finished 16th in yesterday's Biwako Mainichi Marathon in 2:18:29. Later in the day he wrote about the race and experience on his blog. Click here to read it .

by Brett Larner Fresh back from New Zealand where she was spotted at Rikuren's marathon training camp by JRN reader Jason Lawrence, 3000 m, 5000 m and half marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) ran a solo 31:57 10 km course record at the 61st Kanaguri Hai Tamana Road Race in Kumamoto on Mar. 7 to become the first woman to break 32 minutes in the 25 years that the women's 10 km has been part of the event. Running alone and unpressured with her nearest competition nearly a minute behind, Fukushi's time would have put her 4th in last week's much-heralded World's Best 10 km in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is the latest sign that she is back to her best. Last year's winner Hiroko Miyauchi (Team Kyocera) finished 2nd in 32:43, while Mika Okunaga (Team Kyudenko) was 3rd in 33:29 in a tuneup for next week's Nagoya International Women's Marathon. The course record also fell in the high school boys' 10 km, where Kenyan students took the...

by Brett Larner click here for detailed race coverage on JRNLive Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia wins the 2010 Biwako Mainichi Marathon in 2:09:34. Click photo for video highlights courtesy of NHK. The cold, rain and wind that cursed January's Osaka International Women's Marathon and February's Tokyo Marathon returned this month to take down hopes of fast times at the 65th Biwako Mainichi Marathon on Mar. 7. After an early snafu when several of the pacemakers took a wrong turn in the first km the drizzling, cool first half was moderately slower than hoped for, 1:04:07. Ethiopian Yemane Tsegay then took the pace down to 2:54/km to run a solo second half. Tsegay kept the splits under 3:00 through 30 km but after the pacemakers departed the temperature dropped from 9 to 7 degrees and the rain intensified. His pace dropped to as slow as 3:22/km. Behind him first-timer Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN) led a pack of six which included three runners in their marathon debuts, one doing his...

The Biwako Mainichi Marathon does not appear to be available on Keyhole TV without a password. For live text commentary in English go to JRNLive .

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/sports/Sp201003050232.html translated by Brett Larner Note: This article repeats that of a few days ago but fleshes out the details significantly. Led by Team Chugoku Denryoku head coach and Rikuren director of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi, the athletes in Rikuren's men's marathoning reinforcement training camp depart Mar. 7 for two weeks in New Zealand. Departing from the usual practice, this year's camp is targeting university runners. Among the five student athletes attending the camp is two year-straight Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage record setter Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.). We spoke to Director Sakaguchi about the training camp. Last year Rikuren revived the overseas training camps which had been a fixture of its calendar in the 1990's. What is the aim this time in focusing on athletes under age 23? Our goal is to get our most talented young runners looking toward the marathon from the start. We have a lot of runners who ...

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 conten...

by Brett Larner Update: Current forecast as of 7:00 p.m. on Mar. 6 is for light rain, moderate wind and temperatures of 6-7 degrees at the start. The 2010 Biwako Mainichi Marathon , known as Biwako in Japan and Lake Biwa overseas, takes place this Sunday, Mar. 7. One of the oldest marathons in Japan, Biwako has taken steps in the last two years to ensure its continued prominence in the elite marathon circuit including securing Japan's first IAAF gold label despite not meeting any of the published criteria. This year's race unveils a new and purportedly faster course, a new main sponsor, and a good field with some top overseas talent. The race will probably come down to one between the two men with the best recent times, 2009 World Championships 4th placer Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia and 2009 Chicago Marathon 4th placer Charles Munyeki of Kenya, but should weather intervene or incentive be lacking quite a few people have a chance of stepping up and presenting a challenge in even...

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18939

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/100228/oth1002281843019-n1.htm translated by Brett Larner Rikuren director of men's marathoning Yasushi Sakaguchi announced this week that the Japanese federation will organize two overseas training camps in March aimed at strengthening young distance runners. Attending the first camp, to be held Mar. 7-20 in New Zealand, will be two-time Hakone Ekiden 5th Stage record setter Ryuji Kashiwabara (2nd yr., Toyo Univ.) and Akinobu Murasawa (1st yr., Tokai Univ.) who passed 10 people on the ace 2nd stage at Hakone this year. Five other athletes including 2009 World Championships marathon 6th place finisher Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku) are also scheduled to attend. The second camp will take place Mar. 24-Apr. 13 and will include Tokyo Marathon runner-up Arata Fujiwara (Team JR Higashi Nihon). Director Sakaguchi commented, "We've assembled the athletes we expect to be the core of our team at the London Olympics." Translator...

http://mainichi.jp/enta/sports/news/20100302k0000e050065000c.html translated and edited by Brett Larner At the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 28, a Saitama Prefectural Government employee showed that he is able to battle with the best of the invited elites. His name is Yuki Kawauchi, age 22. Fitting in his training while working regular hours in the department overseeing prefectural high school administration, Kawauchi finished 4th in a PB of 2:12:36. As a student at Saitama's Kasukabe East H.S. Kawauchi was frequently troubled by injury. He became the elite Gakushuin University's first-ever runner to make the Hakone Ekiden, running twice on the Kanto Regional University Select Team and finishing a strong 3rd on the downhill 6th Stage as a senior last year. He received invitations from many jitsugyodan teams but instead focused on studying for the examinations for entering public service. Kawauchi currently does most of his training before his office opens at 1:00 p.m., going to a near...

interview by Brett Larner Running in miserable conditions this past Sunday, 2:08 marathoner Arata Fujiwara of Team JR Higashi Nihon came 2nd at the Tokyo Marathon for the second time in his career. The next day, a badly limping Fujiwara generously met with JRN at a favorite bar of his to talk about the race, what went wrong and right, his training and the future. Some highlights of the interview are included below. Click here to read the complete interview. Congratulations on your first marathon in the 2:10’s. (laughs) Thanks, yeah, I broke through the wall. This time I was more focused on peaking properly than on getting my body stronger. My training this year was solid and consistent, but rather than saying, “I need more stamina, so let’s work on that,” or, “I don’t have enough speed so I need more speedwork,” I focused on keeping an overall good feeling and peaking properly. When you got up yesterday and saw the weather what changed in your plans? I didn’t have much time to get r...