In training Hirabayashi can push both the quantity and quality of his training to his limit. "He's been preparing for this marathon since last summer," Maeda said. "He put in the work." While building his base mileage last summer Hirabayashi ran 1200 km in August. He had originally planned to run Osaka last year but had to pull out with injury. "If he'd run this last year he'd have run about 2:10," said Maeda. "Since then he's gone up a level or two in ability."
Hirabayashi has an honest, straightforward personality that Maeda likes. "He's got a strong heart. He doesn't get distracted by temptations," Maeda said, "and he puts everything into his races." When Maeda was a student at Komazawa University, he saw the same characteristics in his older teammate Atsushi Fujita, who went on to run a 2:06:51 national record while winning the 2000 Fukuoka International Marathon. "They have a lot in common in how they go about things. He's the Fujita of our era."
In the immediate future, Hirabayashi will run the Shanghai Half Marathon in late April. "The food and other things are different when you race overseas, so I want him to get experience with that as soon as he can," said Maeda. The plan is for Hirabayashi to run next year's Osaka or Tokyo Marathon before he graduates to qualify for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships. "If everything goes right he might have a shot at breaking 2:04," said Maeda.
In raising the possibility of a new NR Maeda is optimistic about Hirabayashi's future. "He's just a Cinderella Baby, though. It's too early to call him a Cinderella Boy." Post-graduation Hirabayashi plans to join a corporate team but will stay based at Koku Gakuin University to continue being coached by Maeda in prep for the Los Angeles Olympics. "I want to help him get ready to be competitive on the world's biggest stage," Maeda said.
source articles:
https://www.rikujyokyogi.co.jp/archives/129271
translated and edited by Brett Larner
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