I will try to dig up some information I have on some of the Japaneese runners. Very much into long easy runs and even 6+ hours walks. Not too much on the speed except several races as well as end of workout pickups. Remember in Japan they are more laid back and look at the big picture. In business we (the USA) look at two (2) or three (3) years out. In Japan they are already making business plans for 2025 and beyond. I have only been to Japan twice and both times were for a short visit- less than two (2) weeks. I saw other runners, but never really got a chance to learn from them. On the few occasions we ran together there was a language barrier- how many times can I say hello, goodbye and thank you. I had a little more knowledge than that, but learning to speak and knowing what the reply was not the same. On our runs I think I ran with the same group about five (5) times on my first visit was at a very controlled pace (I would guess about 5:00-5:30 per km). One of the leaders did make a hand motion to me when we were about to start a pickup- only problem was that I was unsure how far we were going. A very friendly group and they did invite me back to run- they were doing multiday runs (one was at about 1000 and another was about 1400- I am not sure if that was it or not. Once again if I can locate my training diary from that period I will be better able to shed some light on the subject.- My house is a mess and I can barely find the current running log.