Hiroki Wakabayashi, who has become mainly known as the 5th stage uphill runner for Hakone Ekiden serial champ Aoyama Gakuin for the last years, a couple weeks ago announced his plans to retire and take a normal job after graduation. Being in great shape - one month ago he set a new stage record at said 5th Hakone stage - he however decided to run his first marathon before that, debuting at today's Beppu Oita Marathon. Result: 2nd place in 2:06:07, only narrowly beaten by Kenyan 2:04 guy Vincent Kipchumba. Congrats!
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marathon watcher wrote:
Hiroki Wakabayashi, who has become mainly known as the 5th stage uphill runner for Hakone Ekiden serial champ Aoyama Gakuin for the last years, a couple weeks ago announced his plans to retire and take a normal job after graduation. Being in great shape - one month ago he set a new stage record at said 5th Hakone stage - he however decided to run his first marathon before that, debuting at today's Beppu Oita Marathon. Result: 2nd place in 2:06:07, only narrowly beaten by Kenyan 2:04 guy Vincent Kipchumba. Congrats!672 -
marathon watcher wrote:
marathon watcher wrote:
Hiroki Wakabayashi, who has become mainly known as the 5th stage uphill runner for Hakone Ekiden serial champ Aoyama Gakuin for the last years, a couple weeks ago announced his plans to retire and take a normal job after graduation. Being in great shape - one month ago he set a new stage record at said 5th Hakone stage - he however decided to run his first marathon before that, debuting at today's Beppu Oita Marathon. Result: 2nd place in 2:06:07, only narrowly beaten by Kenyan 2:04 guy Vincent Kipchumba. Congrats!Result link correction:121 -
Imagine running a 2.06 and not winning
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To give anything less is to sacrifice the gift
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That's actually really incredible.
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What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
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Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
You forgot banging out posts on socials indicating how this performance makes you so very special and deserving of any reward you demand. But otherwise this is so savagely accurate!
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Brett Larner's race report is out now:
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Is this guy still retiring??? 2.06 debut and retires... I mean wow
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Everybody says after they've finished a marathon that it's their last one. Then by wednesday they're already training for the next one.
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Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
Lol. Early contender for 2025 comment of the year
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I hate it when first timers make it look so easy.
They are either too naive or stupid to know its never suppose to be easy!
[I wish him well, incredible.]
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Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
Post of the year.
I'm laughing so hard. Normally I say you have to be logged into to win a free shirt but I might send you a free shirt since this was so good.
Email me and I'll think about it. Tell me where you are posting from so I can verify it.1298 -
Using Your Degree? wrote:
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
It doesn't sound as depressing when you just call it "chasing the dream."
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Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
Good post.
But it does seem strange that these guys devote so much of their lives to becoming the elite of the elite, and then they chuck it all in at the moment when they're able to cash in on all of that hard work.
I imagine he could secure a fairly hefty sponsorship off a 2:06 debut, and while he may have some other more lucrative job lined up, you don't bang out 200+ km weeks for years on end without being fairly passionate about running.
Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but you couldn't pay me enough to give up 2:06 fitness.
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Man Moth wrote:
Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
Good post.
But it does seem strange that these guys devote so much of their lives to becoming the elite of the elite, and then they chuck it all in at the moment when they're able to cash in on all of that hard work.
I imagine he could secure a fairly hefty sponsorship off a 2:06 debut, and while he may have some other more lucrative job lined up, you don't bang out 200+ km weeks for years on end without being fairly passionate about running.
Maybe it's just a cultural thing, but you couldn't pay me enough to give up 2:06 fitness.
Perhaps this shows both sides of Hakone Ekiden. It is so huge and important that sometimes once you've ran it - in Wakabayshi's case he achieved pretty much everything in his 4th year at Hakone (stage win/record + team win) - it feels like you've reached the pinnacle of what you've worked for since starting running.
I agree it could seem a bit strange he'd step away when he's so good but maybe he had it in his mind that he'd dedicate everything to Hakone then cash in of the fitness with 1 marathon before moving on. He runs for Aoyama Gakuin University and their captain Yuto Tanaka (62:33/28:35) is also retiring from competitive running I believe.
I think Hakone does an outstanding job in developing world class marathoners and is one of the greatest events in our sport but perhaps for some its so big that any running career after it pales in comparison to the glory and pride in taking part in Hakone while at university. Of course its the complete dedication of the athletes to it that in part makes Hakone so great. I wish Wakabayashi well.
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Using Your Degree? wrote:
What a weird dude!
Why would you pass on the opportunity to live in a crappy apartment with roommates in an expensive altitude town until you are 35? A work career over a life of WIC benefits and begging for comped entries, flights, and two star hotel rooms? Spending your days on LRC starting rumors about your competition or pretending to be your own fan club president?
These Japanese runners don’t seem to understand how it’s supposed to work!
You do know that is not at all how his life would be if he continued running in Japan's system, right?
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Suguru Osako said he was going to retire after Tokyo 2021 but he's still running 4 years later... Wouldn't be surprised if this guy changes his mind at some point.
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