http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/news/20110204-OYT1T00513.htm translated by Brett Larner "If you want to become a world-class women's marathoner, don't work too hard in junior high school." That is the finding of a study of domestic elite women runners by former Team Toyota Shatai head coach Masahiko Takahashi , 46. Takahashi sent his survey to 383 athletes and alumni of professional corporate and club teams, including 20 women who made the top 8 in the marathon at the Olympics or World Championships. 90.3% responded. Takahashi compared the responses of those who had made a Japanese national team for the Olympics or World Championships with those who had not. With regard to their training in junior high school he found: National team members' off-seasons averaged 2.24 months, while those who did not make national teams averaged 0.87 months. 60% of national team members did morning practice in addition to their main workouts, while 82.3 % of those who did not make n...
the world's window into elite japanese distance running, since 2007