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In Great Condition, 2:09 Marathoner Horibata Eating Up World Championships Training

http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/jp/csr/sports/rikujo/result/2011/110730.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

World Championships marathon team member Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) in training as camera crews look on.  Click any photo to enlarge.

We're down to the last phase of Team Asahi Kasei's summer training camp in Chojabaru, Oita. Hiroyuki Horibata has been able to keep up the great shape he's been in all summer, but even though he's showing a few signs of fatigue he's over the hump in his training and everything has gone according to plan. "Like every year," Horibata commented, "this year we're doing the usual Choja summer training camp. There's less than a month left until the World Championships marathon and my focus right now is just on keeping the training going smoothly. There's about a week or so left in this training camp and that's when I want to hit the peak of my training."


Horibata's training partners Masaya Shimizu (in white), who ran the 2009 Berlin World Championships marathon, and Kenichiro Setoguchi (in red) are running the Hokkaido Marathon on Aug. 28 and are also in good shape. As part of group training the team did hikes up two mountains, starting at Chojabaru and going up Mount Kuju and Mount Miyata. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the whole team drank up the majestic view from the peaks.

Amid these good feelings on the team came news that Tetsuya Yoroizaka (Meiji Univ.), who will join Asahi Kasei after he graduates next spring, ran 27:44.30 on July 29 at the U.K. Trials 10000 m, making the Olympic A-standard. When everyone heard the news their spirits soared. This outstanding younger athlete has provided all of Asahi Kasei's runners with a powerful incentive. If all goes well in the final week of the training camp they'll be ready to get the job done.

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