Currently reading
Why Does Japanese Marathoning Suck Now? by
Toshimi Oriyama, a newly-published book in which the last seven Japanese men's marathon national record holders,
Shigeru Soh (2:09:06, 1978),
Toshihiko Seko (2:08:38, 1983),
Takeyuki Nakayama (2:08:15, 1985),
Taisuke Kodama (2:07:35, 1986),
Takayuki Inubushi (2:06:57, 1999),
Atsushi Fujita (2:06:51, 2000) and
Toshinari Takaoka (2:06:16, 2002), and, in an afterward,
Yuki Kawauchi, talk about their eras, the current situation and its future outlook. It includes the record holders' training logs for the four months leading up to each of their seven national records. Essential reading for anyone with Japanese literacy. A translation would be the definitive English-language work on Japanese distance running,
Rashomon to
The Last Samurai. Solid gold.
Comments
Also, I imagine that if the top U.S. coaches and top Japanese coaches sat down together, and shared ideas, they would both benefit to some degree. I live in Tokyo and was really bummed that the world didnt get to see the true ability of the Japanese in the Olympics.
Thanks