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Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Preview

Translator`s note: Beyond the 3 elite men`s marathons used in the selection process for world-level events, Japan has a 2nd tier of elite men`s marathons which serve as development races for younger marathoners gaining experience. The most famous of these is February`s Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Betsudai, as this race is also known, sometimes acts as a 4th selection race along with Fukuoka, Tokyo and Biwako. The others, December`s Hofu Yomiuri Marathon and March`s Chunichi Toyohashi Marathon, are lesser-known outside Japan. This year`s Hofu takes place on Sunday, Dec. 9.

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/feature/houfu/

http://kyushu.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/spomain/sp_07120801.htm

translated by Brett Larner and Mika Tokairin

On Nov. 21 the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon announced the elite field for its 38th running on Dec. 9. The field includes 7 domestic elites, 3 invited runners from Korea, and 451 open field entrants. The 42.195 km course begins at the Hofu Civic Track in Yamaguchi Prefecture and passes through most parts of the city of Hofu.

The domestic elite field includes 2 members of the recently Tokyo-relocated Team Kanebo who are looking for their first victories. Akinori Shibutani offers, "Hofu is my second hometown. I want to run a race that lives up to my supporters` expectations." Last year`s 6th place finisher Mitsuru Irifune also shows his fighting spirit, adding, "I want to finish as high up as possible."

Holding the fastest PB in the domestic field with a time of 2:12:08, Kazuya Nakamori (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) wants to win in his first appearance at this event. Other members of the moderately experienced field include Shinichiro Hasui (Team Shikoku Denryoku), Daisuke Fujimoto (Team Chudenko), and Toshiya Tanaka (Team Chugoku Denryoku).

Special guest invited runner Mara Yamauchi (U.K., Second Wind AC) has withdrawn from the race due to an injury.

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38th Hofu Yomiuri Marathon Elite Field

Kazuya Nakamori (28, Team Otsuka Seiyaku): 2:12:08, `06 Nobeoka West Japan Marathon

"I want to respect how my toes feel." That`s why Kazuya Nakamori runs without socks. This has been his philosophy since he began running at Tokushima Higashi Technical High School in Tokushima Prefecture.

At Beppu-Oita in February, his custom shoes didn`t arrive in time for the race. He had to race with ordinary shoes and got severe blisters on his left foot after only 10 km. His form broke down after this and his right leg cramped up, forcing him to pull out of a race for the first time in his career. "You never know what`s going to happen." Nakamori experienced the fear of the marathon but he doesn`t have any regrets about running sockless. Instead he blames his own lack of preparation, and he has learned to be more careful about details before the race.

After that race, he wasn`t able to naturally put his full weight on his legs. As a result, he was not able to train consistently. He tried to reinforce his core strength and added one-legged squats to his exercise regimen. He has subsequently been able to do four 40 km long runs and has thus found the way ahead.

Nakamori won his first marathon, the 2005 Senshu International Shimin Marathon, with a time of 2:18:13. At the following year`s Nobeoka West Japan, he was only 1 second off the course record to finish third in 2:12:08. Since this time was 3 minutes better than his planned pace, Nakamori laughs "No one was more surprised than me." Hofu Yomiuri is his comeback from his injuries, and he says, "This is my trial to see whether I can go beyond the wall or not."

As a 2nd year high school student, Nakamori ran the 3rd leg of the All-Japan High School Ekiden. He planned to go to a university in the Kanto area* but had to give up this dream due to family circumstances. "I really don`t want to lose to a guy the same age who went to university." He is planning to show his real strength as a company runner with 10 years` experience.

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Akinori Shibutani (30, Team Kanebo);: 2:13:51, `00 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon

Asked about his goals, Akinori Shibutani nonchalantly replies, "The Beijing Olympics. There is still time."

The remaining selection marathons for the Beijing Olympics are February`s Tokyo and March`s Biwako Mainichi. There is still a chance, but no room for error. For the athletes running Hofu, this is the last chance for them to tune up their performances.

Shibutani hoped to run in the Osaka World Championships but failed in the selection race stage. "To succeed in the marathon you have to develop the little things piece by piece," he reflects. He swore to begin again. Having turned 30, it is hard for Shibutani to improve his speed. Instead he has focused on building his stamina to maintain a constant lap time. "One day is a model of one`s whole life," he says, explaining that in his practice he has done a large amount of fartlek training, raising and lowering pace to practice varying intensities. "My body is getting much stronger from this training."

Hailing from Toyonakashi in Osaka Prefecture, Shibutani ran in the All-Japan High School Ekiden while a student at Seifu High School in Osaka. His first marathon was the 2000 Beppu-Oita where he set the mark of 2:13:51 which remains his PB. Since then, he has stayed at the same level due to a persistent heel injury. "Why am I running the marathon?" he has often wondered, but he has received support and inspiration from his teammate at Kanebo, Japan national record holder Toshinari Takaoka. "Takaoka set the national record when he was 32. If I quit that`s the end. I want one more day in the sun."

Until last spring Hofu was Team Kanebo`s base. "This is the place where I learned the basics of being a company runner." Shibutani wants to break Hofu`s goal tape in a PB time to pay back the debt he owes to all those who have supported him.

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Shinichiro Hasui (29, Team Shikoku Denryoku): 2:15:35, `07 Kochi Marathon

Team Shikoku Denryoku`s ace ekiden runner is also going to become an ace marathon runner.

Shinichiro Hasui started his running career at Jinsei Gakuen High School in Kagawa Prefecture. He explained that he joined Team Shikoku Denryoku in 1996 because, "I wanted to run and hand off the tasuki as part of an ekiden team." Since first joining Team Shikoku Denryoku he has run in the All-Japan Jitsugyodan Ekiden every year for 10 years. He ran his debut marathon at the 2001 Biwako Marathon, but "I was always focused on the ekiden."

His turning point was when he ran a 30 km road race. After finishing in a decent time of 1:31:41 he felt that he had finally understood what a long distance race is really like. Feeling that he might do well in the marathon, he became eager to change.

In February`s Kochi Marathon he was planning to run under 2:15 but he started too quickly and was out of energy after 20 km. Nevertheless, he won the race in a course record of 2:15:35. This run was unprofessional, but he says, "I learned a lot about pacing in the marathon. That was a precious experience." His coach Tadaaki Matsuura advised him, "If you can find a balance between speed and stamina then you can run a good marathon."

This spring, he sustained a hip joint injury. He restarted training in August, building up to a 2-hour long run and regaining his fitness. Hofu will be his 6th marathon, but the first time he has conciously focused on the marathon itself. He is aiming for a 2 minute PB, aiming to finish with a 2:13. "This will be a major test of whether I can move up to the next level as a marathon runner." Hasui thus stands at a crossroad as a professional runner.

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Mitsuru Irifune (28, Team Kanebo): 2:15:50, `06 Nobeoka West Japan Marathon

He sits in a one-room apartment in Setagaya, Tokyo watching a video of a world-class race. Mitsuru Irifune planned to win last year`s Hofu, attacking between 20 and 25 km, but fell apart at the 29 km, finishing 2:55 behind the winner in 6th place. "The last stretch was much tougher than I thought. I have to try harder......." Studying the famously strong athletes` performances on the video, Irifune hopes to learn about timing his attack.

Entering the corporate running world as a track racer, Irifune has learned the hard way about the difficulty of making the transition to the marathon. He says that one of the important points he has learned is that whereas in a track race you can wait and move into the winning position on the last lap, in a marathon one`s patience must last longer, that a winner must hold onto the lead position without letting go.

The video which made a strong impression on Irifune was the 2005 Tokyo International Marathon. His Kanebo teammate Toshinari Takaoka pulled away from the pacemakers at the 24 km point and continued on to his 1st victory. "The pace and strength of the elites in that race was really unbelievable," says Irifune, acknowledging that Takaoka is a burning inspiration for him.

This fall he has redirected his training. After his coach Kunimitsu Ito gave him the advice, "If you can meet your target even once in practice it is enough," Irifune halved the quantity of his daily speed practice. He really wants to run more but has come to realize that "Giving a peak effort in marathon training is more important than a lot of only decent running."One year`s focus has made him into a "student of winning." The exam is coming soon.

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Daisuke Fujimoto (32, Team Chudenko): 2:16:30, `06 Nagano Marathon

Toyokazu Yoshimura (33, Osaka T&F): 2:17:10, `02 Fukuoka International Marathon

Toshiya Tanaka (28, Team Chugoku Denryoku): 2:17:12, `06 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

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Foreign Runners:

Hyon Je Yon (36, Korea): 2:10:37, `99 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon

Chyon Unsan (28, China): 2:13:39, `04 Seoul Marathon

Shin Jyon Hun (25, Korea): 2:18:00, `07 Keishu International Marathon

Hofu`s 3 invited foreign runners arrived in Hofu on Dec. 6. The 3 athletes, including Korea`s Hyon Je Yon who set his PB of 2:10:37 while finishing 2nd at the 1999 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, arrived together at Fukuoka Airport in the morning and were jogging and doing warmup drills in Hofu by the afternoon. Hyon Je Yon reported, "I am feeling fantastic. I will be going for a PB and for the victory." China`s Chyon Unsan remarked, "Things look good. If the temperature on race day is this cool then I think we will all run well." Korea`s Shin Jyon Hun, who ran a full marathon in Korea in October, was confident. "I`m not tired at all. The race in October was only practice for Hofu Yomiuri. I`m ready to go."

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*Translator`s note: All the universities which participate in the Hakone Ekiden are located in the Kanto area. As such, it is the elite region of Japanese university running.

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