Skip to main content

Kawauchi to Run 50 km Ultra as Part of World Championships Preparation

by Brett Larner

Along with the announcement and presentation of the women's marathon team for August's World Championships, the previously-announced men's marathon team was presented at the Apr. 21 Rikuren press conference. Each athlete gave a brief statement and answered direct questions.

Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN): I ran the Asian Games Marathon in November to qualify, so I have more recovery time than the others. I think the black athletes will be dominating the race, but it's going to be hot and that will improve my chances. I'm going to running the Gifu Half Marathon on May 15, then in July either the Sapporo International Half Marathon or the Gold Coast Marathon.

Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.): [visibly nervous] Having made the national team I feel very strongly that I've got to give it my absolute best. I want to show Japan, the world, that even as an amateur, even working full time, you can still be world-class. I'm also running the Gifu Half on May 15 and Sapporo in July, plus some track time trials. I'm also going to do a 50 km ultra in June.

Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei): I wasn't really that focused or ready for Lake Biwa [where he qualified for the WC team] so I didn't really understand what my run meant afterwards. Only when I started hearing the excitement from other people did I start to get how important it is. I'm running the 10000 m at the Hyogo Relay Carnival on Apr. 24 and some time trials and other track races in May. In June I'll be racing on the track at the National Championships.

Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota): At the world level the marathon is now basically a speed race, so I want to be ready for that. On May 1 I'm running the 10000 m at the Cardinal Invitational, then the 10000 m at Nationals, then a half marathon in July.

Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki): [visibly nervous] I was one second short of the 2:09:30 standard to make the team, so while I'm happy to get picked I know I still have work to do to make up for that. Japanese runners are strong in the heat, so we have some advantage there. I plan to do some track trials before the Kyushu Corporate Track Championships on May 14, then to run the Sapporo half in July.

(c) 2011 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more