Inoue Returns from New Zealand Training Camp Ahead of Boston: "More Than Just Running It I Want to Win"

Don't set limits on yourself. 2018 Jakarta Asian Games marathon gold medalist and all-time Japanese #5 man at 2:06:54, Hiroto Inoue (26, MHPS) returned to Japan on Jan. 31 after three weeks of training in New Zealand for the Apr. 15 Boston Marathon. Even though New Zealand was hit by a severe heat wave with temperatures going over 30˚C, he completed a 50 km run and two 40 km runs. Inoue was positive about the training camp, saying, "I built up a good base and ran according to purpose. The sunshine was brutally strong and there were days when it was really windy, but by training hard in the midst of tough conditions I've put in the groundwork to be able to handle the distance." His coach Jun Kuroki, 47, was also positive, saying, "He had no injury issues, trained well, and had a good time."

The ability to win is what he is honing now. In preparation for September's MGC Race 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon trials, Inoue will give March's Tokyo Marathon a miss in favor of the Boston Marathon, a part of the World Marathon Majors series of the world's best marathons. "When you're planning to compete against the best you have to become stronger if you want to be number one," Inoue said. "I'm focusing on competing more than time. I want to be able to handle the changes in pace that the foreign runners will drop in a race without pacers, and to be able to use my strength to make some moves of my own. More than just running it I want to win."

In not having pacers Boston will give Inoue the same kind of experience he will face at the MGC Race, and with uphills late in the race the two courses are also similar. But in competitive level they differ. "Boston is higher-level than the MGC Race," said Inoue. A competitive race in Boston against some of the world's best will be a big boost to his self-confidence at the MGC Race. "Developing experience and ability is a cumulative process," he said.

Inoue also showed the motivation to deliver Japan's first 2:04 marathon. When he won the gold medal in Jakarta Inoue outkicked Moroccan-born El Hassan El Abbassi (Bahrain) in the home straight. In December El Abbassi ran 2:04:43. Asked about El Abbassi's time Inoue said, "I can't see how he did it at all," but of his own chances for a 2:04 he said, "I think I can do that." Quoting world record holder Eliud KIpchoge he added, "No human is limited."

Inoue's first race after returning to Japan will be the Feb. 10 Karatsu 10 Mile Road Race, where he will get an early shot at 2018 Boston winner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't). "I'm still a bit tired, but I want to see how competitive I can be over a distance like 10 miles," Inoue said. After Karatsu he plans to run the Mar. 3 Tamana Half Marathon in Kumamoto. Following that is Boston. Balancing speed and competitive ability, each race is just one more step in Inoue's buildup to September's main event where he will face Yuma Hattori (Toyota), Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) and Yuta Shitara (Honda) as one of the four favorites for the Tokyo Olympic team.

source articles:
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190131-00000130-sph-spo
https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20190131-00465644-nksports-spo
https://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20190131/ath19013119180002-n1.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

photo © 2017 Mika Tokairin, all rights reserved

19-Yr-Old Munakata Breaks Miura's U20 NR to Win Ageo City Half Marathon

The Ageo City Half Marathon is always big, the main race that the coaches of Hakone Ekiden-bound university men's teams use for firming up their entry rosters for the big show. That makes what's basically an idyllic small town race into one of the world's great road races, with depth unmatched anywhere. One of the top-tier people on the start list at 1:02:07, Kodai Miyaoka (Hosei Univ.) took the race out fast, but the entire pack was keying off the fastest man in the race, Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.), 1:00:31. Yoshida reeled Miyaoka in before 5 km and kept things steady in the low-1:01 range, wearing down the lead group to around 10 including his CGU teammate Taisei Ichikawa , a quartet from Izumo and National University Ekiden runner-up Komazawa University , 2 runners from local Daito Bunka University , 2:07:54 marathoner Atsumi Ashiwa (Honda), and Australian Ed Goddard . Right after 15 km Komazawa went into action, Yudai Kiyama , Hibiki Murakami and Haru Tanin

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and

Ageo City Half Marathon Preview and Streaming

This weekend's big race is the Ageo City Half Marathon , the next stop on the collegiate men's circuit. Most of the universities bound for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden use Ageo to thin down the list of contenders for their final Hakone rosters, and with JRN's development program that sends the first two Japanese collegiate finishers in Ageo to the United Airlines NYC Half every year a lot of coaches put in some of their A-listers too. That gives Ageo legendary depth and fast front-end speed, with a 1:00:47 course record last year from Kenyan corporate leaguer Paul Kuira (JR Higashi Nihon) and the top 26 all clearing 63 minutes. Since a lot of programs just enter everybody on their rosters you never really know who on the entry list is actually going to show up, but if even a quarter of the people at the top end of this year's list run it'll be a great race, even if conditions are looking likely to be a bit warmer than ideal. Chuo Gakuin University 's Reishi Yoshi

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