Skip to main content

An Interview With World Championships Marathoner Kentaro Nakamoto

http://www.yaskawa.co.jp/activities/track-field/movie/interview01.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

What kind of training have you been doing this summer?
I've been doing mileage in Kokonoemachi, Oita, for weeks.  The course is really difficult, so the focus has been on building up my legs and improving my stamina.  It's hard before a marathon, but I feel like things have come around pretty well.

How did you feel about the Sapporo International Half Marathon?
I did it coming right off training so I had some fatigue, but the goal was to go out hard and see how long I could hang on.  That's what I did, but partway through I started to gradually lose touch and drop back.  I think working on that part of the race has been the focus of my training since then.  Foreign athletes and top-class Japanese athletes ran it, including two other guys who will run the World Championships marathon, so there were really a lot strong people there and I was pretty nervous, but it went well. [Nakamoto finished 17th in 1:05:02 ahead of World Championships teammates Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota) and Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.).

What does your final training schedule look like?
[After Sapporo there was] one more training camp in Kokonoemachi, Oita, then up to Hokkaido for a week or so for another camp.  In August the same thing again, a training camp in Oita prefecture's Kokonoemachi then another in Hokkaido for my final training.  I've focused on solid mileage and getting ready to deal with the heat of a summer marathon.  Of course my main goal in the time that's left is to fine-tune my body to be absolutely ready for the marathon.

A training camp means the environment changes, but more than just being exciting it means that you can get good training done, that the quality is going to go up.  That means that you have to take good care of yourself, and Oita prefecture is famous for hot springs so I've been using them to help recover when I'm worn out.

Do you have a message for all your supporters and fans?
Things have been going according to plan and my base is there the way we wanted it, so in the time left I want to put on the finishing touches to my training and arrive at the start line in the best condition possible.  Thank you all for your support and please cheer for me in the race.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...

Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Entry Roster Sizes Increased from 14 to 16

Hakone Ekiden organizers KGRR have announced details for the qualifying half marathon for next year's 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The Yosenkai qualifying race will be held Oct. 17 in Tachikawa, Tokyo. The combined times of the 10 fastest finishers from each participating team will be used for team scoring, with the 10 fastest teams going on the the main event next January and top-placing individuals from teams that do not qualify being names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team. One change from previous years is that the number of runners each school can enter has been increased from 14 to 16. Teams will still only be allowed to have from 10 to 12 athletes on the starting line, but the move gives coaches greater flexibility in making the final decision on their starting rosters. No changes have been made to the qualifying times of 34:00 for 10000 m or 1:13:00 for the half marathon, and the new earlier starting time of 8:30 a.m. introduced last year in an effort to mitigate ...

Nomura and Odagiri Go 3-4 at Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km

2010 Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/21/10 Women click here for complete women's results 1. Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) - 47:53 2. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) - 48:07 3. Sayo Nomura (Meijo Univ.) - 49:43 4. Aki Odagiri (Meijo Univ.) - 51:37 5. Benita Willis (Australia) - 51:51 Men click here for complete men's results 1. Leonard Patrick Komon (Kenya) - 41:13 - WR 2. Abera Kuma (Ethiopia) - 42:01 3. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopia) - 42:01 4. Abraham Kiplimo (Uganda) - 43:03 5. Berhanu Delale (Ethiopia) - 43:08 ----- 14. Kazuya Watanabe (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) - 45:31