Marathon Great Nakayama: "The Marathon is a Drama Without a Script - Without a Protagonist Nobody Feels It"
The Fukuoka International Marathon has come to an end, but some races in its 75-year history remain deeply engraved in fans' memories. One of those is Takeyuki Nakayama 's fearless solo run at the 41st running in 1987. Less than a week out from his 62nd birthday on Dec. 20, this legendary runner looks back on that day. "In the marathon you have to create the drama," he says. "When it's just the same old script it's boring as hell." To Nakayama, the marathon was a means of self-expression, and never was his self-expression clearer than in Fukuoka in 1987. Standing alone on the stage without the script known in his sport as "pacers," he wrote his own and cast himself as its protagonist. With Fukuoka serving as the main selection race for the Seoul Olympics the following year, Nakayama flew through 5 km in 14:30 and was all alone by 14 km. Going through halfway in 1:01:55, at 35 km he split 1:44:25, 49 seconds faster than the pace Portugal...