Skip to main content

Kawauchi Commits to Lake Biwa, Plans to Make Changes to Training

translated and edited by Brett Larner
source article links at bottom


A day after finishing 6th at the Fukuoka International Marathon, Yuki Kawauchi (25, Saitama Pref.) announced his intent to try again for the Moscow World Championships team at the March 3rd Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the final selection race for Moscow following the Feb. 3 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon and the Feb. 24 Tokyo Marathon.  "I have committed to run Lake Biwa," said Kawauchi.  "Now it's time to think about what is necessary in order to focus everything on that."  Kawauchi ran his marathon debut at the 2009 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon.  2013 will be his first time running Lake Biwa.

Fukuoka 4th-place finisher Arata Fujiwara (31, Miki House) was disappointed to hear that his comrade Kawauchi plans to run Lake Biwa.  Fujiwara has already committed to run the Tokyo Marathon a week earlier.  Having done crash training for Fukuoka "in order to run with Kawauchi," Fujiwara was positive about the race's outcome, saying, "It was really stressful and exciting, a super interesting experience."  Kawauchi indicated that he has chosen Lake Biwa because Tokyo is inconvenient for his work schedule at Saitama's Kasukabe High School, where applications for incoming students are processed every year the morning after Tokyo.  Fujiwara commented, "Well, if that's what he said then I can't force him, but I really hope to see him run in Tokyo."

Later the same day Federation director of men's marathoning Takeshi Soh told reporters that he hopes to include both Kawauchi and Fujiwara among the ten men to be invited to a Federation-sponsored intensive marathon training camp in Nobeoka, Miyazaki next March.  Having confirmed both men's interest post-race on the 2nd, Soh explained, "I want to raise the bar at every level, among corporate runners, pros, amateurs and collegiates.  I think it will be very good for them to have an opportuniy to square off against each other.  Together we can improve Japan's overall level."  Fukuoka runner-up Hiroyuki Horibata, 26, coached by Soh at the Asahi Kasei team, welcomed the chance, saying, "Those two guys don't train with other top-notch athletes like corporate runners do, but they still get the results.  I'm really curious about what they're doing.  I can't wait to work with them."

The training camp will be Kawauchi's first time to work together with corporate-league runners in a Federation-sponsored program.  Having built up his own unique methodology of training together with other amateurs and racing frequently, the camp will represent a change of direction.  After finishing 6th in Fukuoka he announced plans to re-examine his system, saying, "I haven't been able to do 100% ideal training, so I realize that bit by bit I have to make a few changes to the way I'm doing things.  If I don't look around and learn from others' knowledge and wisdom then I won't continue to make progress."  Shortly afterward came the call from Soh.  "I'd love to go," Kawauchi told him.  "I have to keep adjusting and improving the way I train.  I hope the camp will be an incentive."  Prior to both Lake Biwa and the Federation training camp, Kawauchi plans to race the Feb. 17 Kumanichi 30 km Road Race.

The morning after Fukuoka Kawauchi was out at 5:00 a.m. for a two-hour run through the city.  After breakfast he hurried off to Fukuoka Airport in order to catch a flight home in time for his regular afternoon work at Kasukabe H.S.  "When I say I'm going to do a race it's never just a training run.  I always give it the best I have that day," he said before disappearing into the morning rush hour subway crowds.

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20121204-1055271.html
http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/p-sp-tp0-20121204-1055270.html
http://mainichi.jp/sponichi/news/20121204spn00m050001000c.html
http://www.asahi.com/sports/update/1203/SEB201212030023.html
http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.jp/2011/02/rocky-of-marathon-world-saitama.html
http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20121210-OHT1T00168.htm

Comments

Most-Read This Week

2026 Tokyo Marathon Elite Field

The Mar. 1 Tokyo Marathon has great fields this year, so let's get right to it. The women's field has 3 of last year's top 10, winner for the 2nd year in a row and Tokyo CR holder Sutume Asefa Kebede , 3rd-placer and 2025 Chicago winner Hawi Feysa , and 5th-placer and 2025 Berlin winner Rosemary Wanjiru , plus 2024 Valencia winner Megertu Alemu , 2025 Prague winner Bertukan Welde , 2024 Paris winner Mestawut Fikir , 2024 Osaka winner Waganesh Mekasha , former WR holder Brigid Kosgei , and a lot more. Japanese hopes pretty much go to all-time #7 Ai Hosoda , 2:20:31 in Berlin 2024 but who announced this month that she is retiring after Tokyo despite having qualified for the 2028 Olympic marathon trials with her 2:23:27 for 6th in Sydney last year. Other internationals include Canadian Malindi Elmore , American Sara Hall , a big Chinese group led by Yuyu Xia , Poland's Aleksandra Brzezińska and Australian Vanessa Wilson . The men's race has 5 of last year's top 1...

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance?  Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance.  This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere.  It was put into place in 1986.  In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made.  Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km.  When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...