Skip to main content

Kawauchi Breaks World Record for Half Marathon in a Suit by 18 Minutes

by Brett Larner


A week after his Olympic dreams ended with a 2:11:53 finish at the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) took to the streets of his hometown of Kuki, Saitama to run the Kuki Half Marathon.  A special guest of race organizers, Kawauchi treated local fans by portraying his role as the Civil Servant Runner in a literal way, running the race wearing a full suit including tie, vest, belt and dress socks.


The official Guinness World Record for a half marathon in a suit is 1:24:41 by American Gihan Amarasiriwardena last December.  Dueling with his longtime friend and rival Saeki Makino (DNPL), runners from Heisei Kokusai University and his younger brothers Yoshiki and Koki, Kawauchi ran 1:06:42 for 3rd behind Makino and one HKU runner.  "Kuki isn't a certified course, so this won't be an official Guinness World Record," Kawauchi told JRN post-race.  "But I'm glad that I could break the Guinness World Record unofficially.  I got pretty sweaty and tired out there, but the people along the course loved it."


Race organizers also set up a display of Kawauchi's bib numbers from his races around the world to showcase a local boy's achievements for his fans. Two bibs from his youngest brother Koki also made the display.


Left two columns, top to bottom: "From Hakone to the World."
  • 2011 Daegu World Championships, South Korea
  • 2012 Kavarna World Half Marathon Championships, Bulgaria
  • 2013 Moscow World Championships, Russia
  • 2014 Incheon Asian Games, South Korea
  • 2007 and 2009 Hakone Ekiden, Japan
 Third column, top to bottom: "America and Africa"
  • 2013, 2014 and 2015 New York City Marathon, U.S.A.
  • 2015 Cape Town Marathon, South Africa
  • 2013 Luxor Marathon, Egypt
Fourth column, top to bottom: "Australia"
  • 2013, 2014 and 2015 Gold Coast Marathon
  • 2012 Sydney Marathon
  • 2014 City to Surf Perth Marathon
  • 2013 Melbourne Marathon
Fifth and sixth columns: "Europe and Asia"
  • 2015 Zurich Marathon, Switzerland
  • 2014 Hamburg Marathon, Germany
  • 2013 Great North Run half marathon, U.K.
  • 2014 Athens Classic Marathon (Koki Kawauchi), Greece
  • 2015 Ankor Empire Marathon (Koki Kawauchi), Cambodia
  • 2015 Bitburger Silvesterlauf 8 km, Germany
  • 2013 Seoul Marathon, South Korea
  • 2012 Dusseldorf Marathon, Germany
  • 2013 San Silvestre Vallecana 10 km, Spain
  • 2014 Cursa dels Nassos 10 km, Spain
Kawauchi's next addition to that board comes next weekend at Taiwan's New Taipei City Wanjinshi Marathon.

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
I wish I were fast enough to attempt something so funny!
March 15, 2016 at 10:56 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Keita Sato Joins Swoosh TC

After appearing at a Nike event on Apr. 3, U20 1500 m NR and indoor 3000 m and 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato , 22, updated his Instagram profile to announce that he is joining Nike's Swoosh TC . At the Nike event Sato said that he plans to run the 1500 m at the Apr. 11 Kanaguri Memorial Meet, then will move to the U.S. "To be successful at the global level I need to train and grow alongside world-class athletes," he said. "I have to take every day seriously in order to achieve that dream of being internationally competitive." Swoosh TC was founded last year. Its coach Mike Smith has guided many athletes to international championships, including prior to Swoosh TC's launch, with some earning medals and podium finishes under his leadership. photo © 2026 Brett Larner, all rights reserved source article: https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/204241/2 translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more

Kanakuri Memorial Meet Streaming and Start Lists

Japan's outdoor Grand Prix season kicks off Saturday in Kumamoto at the Kanakuri Memorial Meet . Streaming will be at the link above starting at 9:30 a.m. local time. Complete timetable and start lists . Main events and some noteworthy entries: GP Women's 800 m Heat 2  - 12:10 p.m. All-time JPN #4 Ayano Shiomi , 2:01.01 GP Men's 800 m Heat 2  - 12:30 p.m. GP Women's 3000 mSC  - 2:45 p.m. All-time JPN #4 Yuzu Nishide , 9:38.95 All-time JPN #5 Manami Nishiyama , 9:39.28 South Korean NR holder Ha-Rim Cho , 9:53.09 GP Men's 3000 mSC  - 3:05 p.m. All-time JPN #2 Ryoma Aoki , 8:18.75 All-time JPN #5 Yutaro Niinae , 8:19.54 All-time JPN #7 Hibiki Obara , 8:22.64 All-time U20 JPN #2 Tetsu Sasaki , 8:29.05 All-time U20 JPN #3 Soma Nagahara , 8:30.37 GP Women's 1500 m Heat 2  - 3:35 p.m. Teresiah Muthoni , 4:02.54 Margaret Ekalale , 4:09.64 all-time JPN #3 Ran Urabe , 4:07.90 All-time JPN #6 Tomoka Kimura , 4:09.79 All-time U20 #5 Mei Sakiyama , 4:13.67 GP Men's 1500...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend Track Roundup

There were 2 decently competitive meets in the Tokyo area this weekend. Saturday saw the new year's first edition of the Setagaya Time Trials meet. Takuma Akiyoshi took the men's 3000 m A-heat over his MABP Maverick teammate Festus Kiprono Cheruiyot with a 7:58.32 PB. Cheruiyot just held off 3rd-placer Nao Kurihara 7:59.92 to 8:00.02, with MABP runners taking the top 5 spots. The top 7 in the men's 5000 m A-heat all cleared 14 minutes. Still a 6-way race with 400 m to go, Tatsuya Maruyama of Komori Corp. came out on top in 13:48.49, with 5th-placer Kazuki Ishii of Yakult just over a second behind in 13:49.63. Lacking the gear to stay with them, new American marathon sensation Ethan Shuley fell back to 6th in 13:57.12 in his first-ever track 5000 m, holding off 7th-placer Daiki Nomimura of NTT Nishi Nihon who came up from behind to finish in 13:58.30. Sunday was the 59th edition of the Tokyo Big 6 meet between Waseda University , Meiji University , Hosei Univers...
Post a Comment
Read more