Is Kawauchi Eddy Hellebuyck 2.0?

No way he dopes. He just recovers faster THAN EVERYONE ON THE PLANET. LOL.

No, that would be Rupp.

This has to be one of the dumbest posts I've ever read.

You think a 2:08 guy running nearly 2:16 is a sign he's doping?

No.

1) He's stockier than other runners so he holds up better in the fold.

2) He's used to being in extreme pain as he races all the time (he passed out after his first 2:08).

3) He's used to awful conditions as he races so often + he ran in 1 degree temps this winter.

This guy is dirty. He'll never get popped.

rojo wrote:

This has to be one of the dumbest post I've ever read.

You think a 2:08 guy running nearly 2:16 is a sign he's doping?

No.

1) He's stockier than other runners so he holds up better in the fold.

2) He's used to being in extreme pain as he races all the time (he passed out after his first 2:08).

3) He's used to awful conditions as he races so often + he ran in 1 degree temps this winter.

Ask IAAF BP experts what they think about this guy...

Dumb post? Not. Common sense. Look at the guy's *incredible* ability to race every weekend...

Japanese people, like myself, are BUILT FOR THE MARATHON.

Eliminate those with drug connections and you'll see that it's the Japanese dropping the top half/full mary times.

The 2:19:12 mary run by Mizuki Noguchi is undoubtedly the fastest legit time by a female ever.

Yuta Shitara (2:06 guy) may likely be the fastest clean guy ever. That one's a bit more debatable. He's at least in the top 5, if not top 3.

Japanese runners do not dope. We are NEVER busted for drugs. We are just tough as ballz.

Not buying it. Too many races with zero recovery time. Only one reasonable inference to draw here.

Mr. Kawauchi is inspiring in the same way that Dave Wottle was when he won the 800 gold medal in Munich, West Germany.

A great athlete.

Yuki has been the subject of many posts on LRC, and finally has a doping troll post. He has truly arrived.

Well, the dude does race fast without any recovery periods. I guess he just has *magical* recovery ability.

More people can do it if they don't taper. I know. that is absurd.

rojo wrote:

This has to be one of the dumbest post I've ever read.

You think a 2:08 guy running nearly 2:16 is a sign he's doping?

No.

1) He's stockier than other runners so he holds up better in the fold.

2) He's used to being in extreme pain as he races all the time (he passed out after his first 2:08).

3) He's used to awful conditions as he races so often + he ran in 1 degree temps this winter.

Good reply. Also Yuki stays closer to the ground than the east African runners. He doesn't damage his muscles as much with the pounding over 26 miles. He is of course an outlier in that he has the ability to recover very quickly and this is rare although not unprecedented.

Kjell Eric Stall and Doug Kurtis has similar ability although not as fast as Yuki.

The Japanese are honorable people and Marathon running is the national sport, I am very confident they are 100% clean.

A Japanese friend who knows the running world there very well told me that a Japanese athlete caught cheating would be subjected to a tremendous amount of shame and disgrace, much more than in most other countries. And if you assume that most doping is done to win money, there would be very little incentive for Japanese runners to risk that sort of disgrace. They all are employed, part time in most cases with full time salaries, and of course in Kawauchi's case, full time with a full time salary. And Japanese runners retain their jobs once they retire, going to full time work. The disgrace they would bring to their employer if they were caught cheating could cost them their job. You can never be sure what people you aren't with are doing, but if I had to choose one country whose athletes I believe are the cleanest in the world I think Japan would be my pick.

And as you point out, Kawauchi is not the first serial marathoner. Stahl and Kurtis raced marathons about as frequently, Cavin Woodward raced marathons and ultras about as frequently. I always found that the biggest part of recovering from a marathon was mental. Shorter had a line about how you needed to forget your last marathon before you could run your next one. Most of us kind of dread marathons and may need months to "forget" our last marathons while guys like Kawauchi, Stahl, etc., really seem(ed) to relish them and are probably ready to go both physically and mentally when the rest of us aren't mentally ready.

And in conclusion, it's really pathetic that we've reached a state where anyone who achieves anything beyond what's commonly expected is accused of cheating. As Rojo (I think) said here, a 2:08 guy running 2:15 seems questionable?

It's too bad that people like the OP reside on this planet. It's just a real shame

Guy With Opinions wrote:

It's too bad that people like the OP reside on this planet. It's just a real shame

No. You are incorrect. I am not allleging that Kawauchi is doping, but for the intelligent, of course it would cross one’s mind. It is not a shame that intelligent people exist. Sometimes the toughest and courageous also dope.

It's not his speed. It's his ability to recover and race so much. Marathons and beyond are very hard on the body. It's only logical to think that someone who recovers so quickly might be doping in some way. Dopers take their PEDs not only to increase performance, but even more so to recover from hard efforts and get faster. With this guy's resume it's not flawed to think that doping might be an issue. If any of you think that none of these top guys and girls are doping, even if they're not testing positive, then you are super naive.

It certainly looks hella like Hellebuyck. Sorry apologists: too many races and zippo recovery time.

Check these eye-popping stats:

"At just 30 years old, Yuki Kawauchi is in a distance running category of his own. As of January 1, he has run the most sub-2:20 marathons of anyone, ever—76. He’s also run the most sub-2:12 marathons of anyone, ever—25. Kawauchi—one guy—has run more sub-2:10 marathons since 2011 than the whole United States put together. Kawauchi’s best time for 2017—2:09:18—was two seconds faster than the fastest marathon of the year by any U.S. man, which would be Galen Rupp, who ran a career best of 2:09:20 in Chicago. Rupp, like most athletes at that level, ran two marathons in 2017. Kawauchi ran 12."