3 part interview with top Japanese marathon runner Yuki Kawauchi

In the world of marathon running, one of the most colourful and famous participants is Yuki Kawauchi of Japan. While most of the top marathon runners are full-time professionals, Kawauchi is an amateur as he works in an office during the day and trains in his spare time.

He is famous for some of his race tactics, training and post race antics including shaving his head because of the dishonour he felt when he failed to run well in a marathon.

He recently ran a marathon in 2:09:11 and is a contender for the Japanese team for this summer’s London World Championships.

The blog Japan Running News has just published a long three piece interview with him. He outlines his own training, how he runs ultras to train for a marathon and some advice for those doing their first marathon. Remember that a full marathon is 42.2kms.

"I ran longer than 45 km two days in a row and jogged more than 40 km three times in a single week. In the fall I even started doing ultra long-distance jogs on flat ground. In October I ran 100 km in about 7 1/2 hours. Leading up to Fukuoka I did a lot of 50 km jogs which I hadn’t usually done in the past. "

"I think that people who run enough to avoid getting injured after their first marathon are more likely to have a future than those who do it with insufficient mileage."

Part 1 ... Part 2 ... Part 3

Citizen Runner Yuki Kawauchi runs half-marathon in a suit in 66 mins

It's been a while since I had a post up about Yuki Kawauchi, probably one of the most famous Japanese runners in the world at this stage. Known as the 'Citizen Runner' because he is a part time athlete and noted for his extreme effort in races, he was in action recently in the Kuki Half-Marathon in Japan. This time, he took time out to run the race in a full suit as you can see from the photo.

He completed the half-marathon course in a time of 1:06:42 and finished in third place. This was despite the fact that he had run a full marathon in 2:11:53 just one week before.

While Kawauchi's time is about 18 minutes faster than the official Guinness World Record of 1:24:41 for a half-marathon in a suit, it won't count as an official record as the course wasn't certified. What a time though!

Irish results from the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan

The Fukuoka Marathon in Japan was held on Sunday the 1st of December and there were two Irish athletes taking part.

Alistair Cragg finally managed to finish a marathon when he ran 2:23, a disappointing time for someone of his talent. As you can see from chart above, at 30 kms he was still on target for a 2:11 Marathon but stomach issues forced him to slow right down over the later stages.

This performance will yet again raise questions about his performance over the marathon distance. Prior to the race, he was yet again talking about breaking the Irish national record of 2:09:15 set by John Treacy. In a recent interview with Feidhlim Kelly, he said..."if I can prove I am one of Ireland's and Europe's greater marathoners I'd love to have the opportunity to race the DCM (Dublin City Marathon), possibly Europeans, and hopefully Rio 2016!".

When Alistair Cragg ran the Fukuoka Marathon in 2011, he failed to finish after going through the half way mark with the leaders in a very fast 1:03:29. This year, he was only 30 seconds behind the leaders and went through half way in 1:04:25. Surely it would have made a lot more sense to run a bit more conservatively and do the first half in 1:06 to 1:07 with an aim to running a 2:12 to 2:14 marathon? He would then have qualified for the European championships and it would have done his reputation a lot of good.

The other Irish interest was Mark Kenneally who represented Ireland in the marathon at the London Olympics. Unfortunately injury issues caught up with him in the last 10 kms and he had to pull out.

Another result of interest was that of citizen runner Yuki Kawauchi who finished 3rd. He became the first Japanese man ever to break 2:10 three times in the same year and the sixth to break 2:10 five times in his career.

Haile Gebrselaisse posts DNF at Fukuoka Marathon...Sun 2nd Dec 2012

At the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship in Japan today, the great Haile Gebrselaisse alas posted a DNF. After being with the leaders up to at least 30 kms before pulling out just after the 32 km mark. In a post race interview, he said..."I couldn't lift my leg any more. At first I was feeling good so I thought I would just take it easy and run relaxed, but...."

Here are his splits below...

GEBRSELASSIE,Haile ETH...15:08 (5k)...30:13 (10k)...45:15 (15k)...1:00:25 (20k)...1:03:48 (Half)...1:15:38 (25k)...1:30:38 (30k)...Pulled out

Haile had previously won the Fukuoka Marathon back in 2006 in a time of 2:06:52

The race was won by Joseph Gitau of Kenya in a time of 2:06:58. Citizen runner Yuki Kawauchi who works full time and trains in his spare time managed to finish in an impressive 6th place in a time of 2:10:29. Post race, he said..."All of a sudden I started having trouble following the pace, and then it got hard to stay optimistic.  I just started to slip away. To put it simply, I wasn't strong enough. I'm thinking about adding workouts with club teams and universities, maybe some corporate teams, to my training".

1. Joseph Gitau (Kenya/Team JFE Steel)...2:06:58
2. Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei)...2:08:24
3. Henryk Szost (Poland...2:08:42
4. Arata Fujiwara (Miki House)...2:09:31
5. Bunta Kuroki (Team Yasukawa Denki)...2:10:08
6. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.)...2:10:29
7. Mohamed Trafeh (U.S.A.)...2:11:41
8. Ryan Vail (U.S.A.)...2:11:45 
9. Cuthbert Nyasango (Zimbabwe)...2:11:48
10. Kota Noguchi (Team Toyota)...2:12:24
11. Dmytro Baranovskyy (Ukraine)...2:13:23
12. Tim Nelson (U.S.A.)...2:14:09
13. Scott Overall (GBR)...2:14:15
Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)...DNF

Citizen Runner Yuki Kawauchi wins Sydney Marathon...

Back in February of this year, I had a guest article on the site from Derek O'Keeffe about the Japanese running sensation Yuki Kawauchi.......otherwise known as the Citizen Runner. In a world of elite professional runners, he works in an office full time and still manages to train and compete against the best in his spare time. He is also perhaps as well known for shaving his head as an act of atonement for not having made the Japanese Marathon team for the Olympics.

In the recent Sydney Marathon (16th Sept) in Australia, Kawauchi won the race in a new course record of  2:11:52. This was his sixth Marathon of the year and his second win in 3 weeks having won the the Hokkaido Marathon in Japan in 2:18:38 in late August.

In the Sydney race, Kawauchi set off in a small lead pack on pace to break the 2:14:12 course record set back in 1994.  After running 1:06:08 for the first half, he soon dropped Kenyan Felix Kandie and pushed on to run a negative split on the challenging Sydney course which some estimate to be two to three minutes slow.  Kawauchi crossed the line with a margin of more than four minutes over the Kenyan, his time of 2:11:52 taking nearly two and a half minutes off the course record and the third-best time of his career.  Next up Kawauchi will run October's World Half Marathon Championships before pursuing a 2:07 at December's Fukuoka Marathon.

On the same day that Yuki Kawauchi won Sydney, his younger brother Koki Kawauchi won the Tazawako Marathon in Japan in 2:37.

Yuki Kawauchi wins Saitama Half-Marathon...

Remember this guy? Yuki Kawauchi, otherwise known as the 'citizen runner' is a self coached runner in Japan who was trying to get on the national Olympic team. He had a 'poor' run in the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:12:51 and he shaved his head afterwards as a sign of his shame.

Now just two weeks later, he was back in action again last weekend when he won the Saitama Half-Marathon in a time of 64:26. After the race, he said..."It's a tough, undulating course, so I think a 64 is pretty good here. People were cheering and it got me going.  When they're calling out, 'Do your best!' that's all you can do.  In the sense of helping me focus toward doing my best in achieving my next goal it was a good race.  At Tokyo next year I want to make up for what happened this year."

Hair or no hair, I don't think we've heard the last of Yuki.

Tokyo Marathon leaves trail of disappointment...

The Tokyo Marathon last Sunday was a bitter disappointment for at least two runners...

First of all, the great Haile Gebrselassie finished in 4th place in what was for him a disappointing time of 2:08:17. He was leading the race with just three miles to go but got into trouble over the last few kms. Despite the fact that he is well inside the Olympic qualifying time of 2:15, he is only the 14th fastest Ethiopian over the Marathon distance this year while at least three other Ethiopians ran under 2:05 in Dubai recently. With that in mind, it really puts a huge question mark over whether he can qualify for the Olympics now.

The other disappointed athlete was Yuki Kawauchi...........(see Derek O'Keffe's guest article last week). Otherwise known as the 'Citizen Runner' because he actually works for a living and trains in his spare time, he was hoping to run close to 2:07. Instead, he missed his drinks bottles at the 5 km and 10 km mark and got into trouble before half-way. He finished up in 14th-place with a time of 2:12:51. That was still within the A standard to qualify for the London Olympics but there were other Japanese runners who were faster.

In an interview, Kawauchi said..."I'm disappointed in myself that I let my confidence get shaken by not being able to get my drink bottles at 5 km and 10 km. Maybe it was a lack of preparation, or a lack of experience.....It was disgraceful. If you're not good enough to be internationally competitive then you don't need to go to the Olympics. I tried, and it's over.  Selection is based on results, and I do not think I will be picked."

After the race, Kawauchi shaved his head in atonement for his performance.  "I felt that I had to give everyone who supported me a sign of my remorse," he said.  "It's better that my shame be exposed for everyone to see."

Just as well he didn't pull out of the race! ;o)

Still though, when you consider that he works full time, does half the amount of training of a professional athlete and then still has a 'bad run' of 2:12! If someone had run that time 50 years ago, they would have set a world record.

Guest Article...Yuki Kawauchi, the citizen runner...by Derek O'Keeffe

Derek is a local runner from Cork and is a regular visitor to Japan. He took part in the 2011 Tokyo Marathon and follows the news from this country where Marathon running is hugely popular. Yuki Kawauchi has become something of a sensation in Japan, he comes from the ranks of amateur runners yet competes with the professionals.

Full time job holding you back? Think again. Amateur, self trained runner Yuki Kawauchi competes with the best in the work while holding down a full time job.
You may or may not have heard of Kawauchi but he has really thrown a spanner in the works in the pro running scene in Japan. He hit the big time in February 2011 in the Tokyo marathon where he ran 2:08:37, coming in 3rd and was the first Japanese runner home. By doing this he was a surprise qualifier for the world championships in Daegu, Korea last summer. The big-bosses of the corporate teams were left scratching their heads. How can a self coached runner, with no sponsors, and a full time job, manage to beat full time corporate-backed athletes?

One thing that stands out from his training is mileage. Kawauchi runs almost half the mileage of the full time athletes. A typical week is about 50 to 80 miles consisting of one speed session, one long run (22+miles), and one trail run in the mountains. The rest of his training is whatever he can fit in before his working day (12:45 - 9:15pm). Genetics and talent must play a part, however Kawauchi’s training proves that quality is more important than quantity.

Last December he came 3rd in the Fukuoka Marathon, again beating all the other Japanese runners using tactics that he learned from the African elite in the world championships. Tactics such as surging and changing pace through water stations and taking wide lines around corners to psyche out other runners. He explained that he used the Fukuoka marathon as a ‘practice race’ to try out these tactics. You can see him doing exactly this in the last 5k including a fierce battle with team-Toyota’s Imai - HERE.

In terms of effort, Kawauchi leaves everything out on the course. If you look at the video clip for the 2011 Tokyo, he has a constant expression of pain etched across his face for the last few kms of the race. In an interview, he said..."This was my sixth marathon, and the fifth time I've ended up in the medical area. Every time I run, it's with the mindset that if I die at this race, it's OK."

Kawauchi’s next race is Tokyo marathon, this weekend the 26th of February. This should be an interesting battle where Kawauchi will be aiming for an Olympic qualifying time. He is on form at the moment having just ran a half-marathon PB on Feb 5th of 1:02:18. The pros and big company runners have had to knuckle down but will it have been enough to take an Olympic place from Kawauchi.

Extract from a recent interview...
"People have been telling me, 'You should do more scientific training, you should do altitude training.' I don't do any of that. I think common sense and true enjoyment are what's needed. Back when people didn't have as much money they thought about their training and worked hard to get better. At some point technology became more important and they started relying more on scientific training and things like supplements and taping, and maybe they forgot what the important things are.
Japanese corporate runners watch their weight to within 0.1 kg. I eat whatever I like. I don't do any taping or take supplements. I don't breathe low-oxygen air. I don't wear magnetic necklaces. I guess in that way I'm old-school. I run, I work hard, and I like it. I read up, thought about what I needed to do, and found what works for me. It's worthwhile spending money on things that will help your training, but spending money itself isn't going to make you better."

References
http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=23257
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=24166&PageNum=2
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/06/14/yuki-kawauchi-citizen-marathon-runner/
http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2011/12/working-out-tactics-that-will-take-him.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzWtbYGBSAk

Postscript...26th Feb 2012 : Haile Gebreselassie finished 4th in 2:08:17. Yuki Kawauchi fell out of the main pack just past halfway and ended up in 14th-place with 2:12:51 finish. That is within the A standard to qualify for the London Olympics but there were other Japanese runners who were faster.