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

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview and Streaming (updated)

Japan's winter marathon season of 6 major races in 7-straight weekends wraps up Sunday with the world's largest women-only marathon, the Nagoya Women's Marathon . The weather is looking pretty good, 6˚ at the start rising to 10˚ by the finish and sunny skies, but a moderate 7 m/s NW wind means a headwind finish that might impact the potential for some fast times. Official streaming kicks off at 9:00 a.m. local time. Live results will be here . Sheila Chepkirui won last year in 2:20:40, breaking away from Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba at 30 km and hanging on for the win. Sato negative split a 2:20:59 PB for 2nd, Chumba fading to 3rd in 2:21:36. All 3 are back this time, but they have pretty serious competition from Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Selly Chepyego Kaptich , 2:20:03 in Barcelona 2023. And of course, Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda . Maeda ran 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024 to make the Paris Oly...

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...