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'Mit Yuki Kawauchi Startet Erstmals Ein Japanischer Eliteläufer'

http://www.marathon4you.de/meldungen/metro-group-marathon-duesseldorf/mit-yuki-kawauchi-startet-erstmals-ein-japanischer-elitelaeufer/3618

Machine translation of the above press release turns out decently.  On Christmas Eve last year Kawauchi called me and asked for help with finding a spring race in Europe that met the restrictions of his work schedule, as a test for running with jet lag if he made the Olympic team and as a serious race if Tokyo didn't go well.  With the largest Japanese population in continental Europe Dusseldorf was the choice that best met his objectives.  As with other athletes over the last three years, working together in this way unfortunately means I have to largely cut back on writing about Kawauchi the way I have in the past, but since the first opportunity came in 2009 through a generous offer from Gavin Doyle at the Copenhagen Marathon I've viewed working with Japanese athletes to run races that have not been a part of the regular Japanese calendar as an extension of JRN's aim to increase the accessibility of Japanese distance running and athletes.  As I've written in the past, it's not always easy to responsibly navigate both sides of the equation but I'm glad to be able to help talented, motivated athletes pursue their goals when the opportunity arises and to help find those opportunities.  Here's to a good race in Dusseldorf.
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