Skip to main content

Kawauchi at the World Half: "My Goal is 61 Minutes" (updated)

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20121001-OHT1T00231.htm
http://www.daily.co.jp/general/2012/10/02/0005420123.shtml

translated and edited by Brett Larner

"Civil servant runner" Yuki Kawauchi (25, Saitama Pref.) left for Europe from Narita Airport Oct. 1 to compete as part of the Japanese national team at the Oct. 6 World Half Marathon Championships in Kavarna, Bulgaria.  His fourth overseas race this year, this time Kawauchi took a "luxurious" five days of paid vacation for the trip.  "I'm very sorry for the trouble my absence will cause at work," Kawauchi said, "so I want to be sure to get good results in this race.  My goal is 61 minutes."  With a best of 1:02:18 from this February's Marugame Half it is clear that he is determined to set a new personal best time.

Besides the time difference from Japan, getting to the race location Bulgaria requires two airport transfers for a total of 18 hours of travel time.  Because he will not be able to do any training during that time, Kawauchi ran for 100 minutes early in the morning before leaving for Narita.  The World Half will be his first time running for the national team since last year's Daegu World Championships.  "I am deeply honored to have this opportunity," he said.  "I want my results to be a credit to the reputation of the Japanese national team and to carry the experience over to the marathon."

Kawauchi hopes to get off on the right foot for his attempt to qualify for next year's Moscow World Championships marathon team at the Dec. 2 Fukuoka International Marathon selection race.  In the eight weeks between the World Half Marathon Championships and Fukuoka he plans to run six road races: one marathon, one 30 km and three half marathons.  "I want to show up in Fukuoka in great shape," he said.

Translator's note: If Kawauchi succeeds in breaking 62 minutes he will become the 24th Japanese man sub-62 this year.  Team Toyota's Chihiro Miyawaki has the fastest time of the year to date and the fastest time on the Japanese World Half squad with a 1:00:53 win in his debut at age 20 at March's National Corporate Half Marathon Championships.  Click here for profiles of the Japanese men's and women's World Half Marathon teams.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr