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Kawauchi Struggles in Heat at Kasukabe Odako Half Marathon

2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (31, Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran Saitama's Kasukabe Odako Half Marathon on May 4. Running 1:05:45, Kawauchi lost to training partner and fellow amateur Saeki Makino (DNPL). "Things have been hectic since Boston and that's had an impact on me," Kawauchi said ruefully. "It feels like my friend here was saying, 'Snap out of it!' as he was knocking me out. No excuses, I need to get back to training."


Kasukabe was also a struggle with the heat. Temperatures at the start were only 18.3 C, but with the strong sunlight reflecting off the pavement the effect on the body felt like 30 C by the time Kawauchi finished. Right after finishing Makino and race staff helped him to a nearby fountain to douse his head with water to cool down. "If I hadn't been careful about drinking water that could've been dangerous," he said. "It's a good thing this was a half marathon and not a full."

Children playing near the fountain were startled to see the Boston Marathon champion suddenly appear, calling out "Kawauchi!" as he soaked his head. After recovering Kawauchi posed for individual pictures with over 100 local fans before departing to head straight to Hokkaido for the May 5 Toyohiragawa Half Marathon. "It's supposed to be less than 20 C and raining in Sapporo," he said. "Should be great conditions."

source articles:
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180504-00000121-sph-spo
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180504-00000108-spnannex-spo
translated and edited by Brett Larner

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