Shortly before Berlin, Shitara set a new national record 1:00:17 at a half marathon in the Czech Republic on Sept. 16. Despite this challenging schedule which was only decided in August, Shitara told reporters, "I didn't feel particularly tired [in Berlin]. There wasn't much lingering damage and I was able to meet the marathon's demands and hang on better in the second half." The difference in his splits between his debut in Tokyo in February and his second marathon in Berlin, a minute slower over the first half in Berlin and a minute and a half faster over the second half, was evidence of his growth since Tokyo.
Shitara is already planning his third marathon and could run it before the end of the year. "I'm the kind of guy who likes to race a lot. I get kind of lazy if there's too much space on my calendar. I want to take my PB even further and take the top Japanese spot," he said. His twin brother Keita Shitara joined the Hitachi Butsuryu corporate team on Sept. 20 and plans to make his marathon debut in Fukuoka in December. "We're on different teams, but my dream is for us to go head-to-head in a hard marathon and make it a Japanese one-two finish," he said, welcoming his brother's decision.
source articles:
https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2017/09/27/0010590814.shtml
http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20170926-OHT1T50270.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner
photo © 2017 Horst Milde, all rights reserved
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