interview by Mika Tokairin and Tsuguki Matsuda translated by Mika Tokairin and Brett Larner In part one of his interview with JRN, Arata Fujiwara talked about the 2008 Tokyo Marathon 2:08:40 run that made him famous. In part two of the interview, Fujiwara discusses the mental and physical aspects of his training and how they differ from established Japanese training methods. How many marathons have you done? I’ve run five so far. After the first one I didn’t think I would run any over 2:10, that I’d be a stable sub-2:10 guy, but it hasn’t really worked out that way. Actually, I’ve never run a marathon in the 2:10’s. Always sub-2:10 or over 2:20. (laughs) What was the difference between those two levels of performance? My rhythm, and something just not clicking. It’s complex, and there are a lot of factors. For example, when you come back from injury you tend to run well. Sometimes you can set a new PB right after coming back. Some people say the spr...
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