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MGC Race Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier - Daisuke Uekado

Daisuke Uekado

age: 25
sponsor: Otsuka Seiyaku
graduated from: Hokuryo H.S., Kyoto Sangyo University

best time inside MGC window:
2:09:27, 6th, 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon

PB: 2:09:27, 6th, 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon

other PBs:
5000 m: 14:06.13 (2016) 10000 m: 28:48.22 (2013) half marathon: 1:03:28 (2016)

marathons inside MGC window (Aug. 1 2017 – April 30 2019)
22nd, 2019 Beppu-Oita Marathon, 2:15:49
8th, 2018 Berlin Marathon, 2:11:07
6th, 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:09:27 – PB

other major results:
11th, 2019 New Year Ekiden Fourth Stage (22.4 km), 1:05:59
2nd, 2018 Kansai Corporate Ekiden First Stage (12.6 km), 37:54
81st, 2018 Valencia World Half Marathon Championships, 1:04:48
10th, 2017 Lake Biwa Marathon, 2:12:58
48th, 2016 Marugame Half Marathon, 1:03:28 – PB
1st, 2016 Kyoto Marathon, 2:17:54

Someone else totally unique in the MGC men’s field: Uekado is the only one who graduated from a university outside the Tokyo-centric Kanto Region. That might not mean anything to you, but the Kanto Region is home to Japan’s mightiest race, the Hakone Ekiden, and exerts all the cultural and gravitational pull of a black hole on the nation’s distance running high school boys. Few who could choose not to run it, and as the number of Hakone runners in the MGC field, over 80% of the entrants, shows, few who don’t run it go on to success.

Uekado went to Kyoto Sangyo University, far to the west of the Hakone scene. He won the 2016 Kyoto Marathon just before graduating and moving on to the Otsuka Seiyaku corporate team. There he came under the guidance of a coaching staff includeing Takayuki Inubushi, the first Japanese man to ever break 2:07 in the marathon. His first year there he improved to 2:12:58 at Lake Biwa, then dropped a 2:09:27 for 6th at the 2017 Fukuoka International Marathon to make the MGC Race.

His 2:11:07 follow-up at the 2018 Berlin Marathon where coach Inubushi had run 2:06:57 was good, if only that, but at Beppu-Oita this February he couldn’t compete in the middle of what turned to be a high-level race, finishing only 22nd in 2:15:49. As I’ve written in a couple of the other profiles, there have been a lot of Japanese guys who have run one breakthrough sub-2:10 and never gotten there again. Everyone likes an underdog, but there’s not much at this stage to suggest Uekado could beat that trend.

Next profile: Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin).

© 2019 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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