This is an interesting article. Basically, it claims are two reasons why fast Japanese runners don't compete or win major marathons. 1. They train too hard 2. Ekidens are far more important to the Japanese runner than marathons. What do you think?
This is an interesting article. Basically, it claims are two reasons why fast Japanese runners don't compete or win major marathons. 1. They train too hard 2. Ekidens are far more important to the Japanese runner than marathons. What do you think?
The Japanese have always trained hard and there was a time it was getting them times in the 2:06 to 2:08 range. There's no reason why the training that worked in those years would suddenly be too hard.
I read an interview with Kawauchi not too long ago and he said something to the effect that Japanese runners racing outside of Japan are often using the races more for experience and to experiment that to perform well. They aim to perform at their best in Japanese races.
That makes sense when you think about the Japanese system and its corporate sponsorship. If you're a corporation that's hired a lot of distance runners for part time work at full time salary and plenty of time away for races and training camps you're doing it to publicize yourself to potential customers, i.e., to the Japanese public. You're going to get a lot more publicity if your runners do well at Fukuoka or Tokyo or in Ekidens than in London or Chicago.