Meet Yuta Shitara, the Japanese stud who ran a 60:17 last weekend and vows to go out with the leaders in Berlin

Boring. We know him already from Payton Jordan meets.

Oh those Japanese with their incredible results in WC' s and Olympic Games...

They are an inspiration for sure.

I wonder if he takes a very satisfying shitara before the race...

He looks like a woman in that picture.

I know he is a great runner if he has run 60:17 (not good, great) but he looks like a woman and if they go out in 1:01:20, he will crack badly. It is not worth wasting your shot at a great time at Berlin (you get so few shots at a fast time on a fast course) on something that will so obviously fail.

If the weather is good, he should go out at 1:03:50 and pray that he can break 2:08:00. I don't think he can because the Japanese have run 2:09:05 in 1978 (second fastest all time - after Clayton's disputed 2:08:34), but have not been able to advance much past that. Back then I think the African CR may have been Bikila's 2:12 WR (which is sort of unbelievable) and African's have advanced more than 9 minutes in 40 years. In the 70s the AmerRec was 2:10:30 fro Frank Shorter at Fukuoka until Rodgers ran 2:10:15 at NYC (if that was indeed certified). American's have advanced from that to 2:06:17 - only 4:00 in 40 yrs.

But the Japanese are so good at the marathon and so serious about it, they should have advanced 4:00 also and have a few guys going 2:04-high to 2:05-high every year.

Probably EPO does not work as well on them because their mitochondria is smaller and less dense than Africans, like Renato always says about the best Africans. I am serious about that though. 30-40 yrs ago Japan had a load of 2:09-2:12 marathoners and even if everything remained the same, EPO should have progressed them by 4:00 en masse.

The Japanese record is 2:06. Also, look at their depth. It is much stronger than the US in the marathon. But please educate yourself on their national record.

Idiot Alert wrote:

The Japanese record is 2:06. Also, look at their depth. It is much stronger than the US in the marathon. But please educate yourself on their national record.

I know that the NR is 2:06:16. I said that they should have been able to advance their average level by 4:00 in 40 years. They have not even advanced their NR by 3:00 in 40 years. I understand their depth (I mentioned how GREAT they are) and I understand that they have improved. But when you look at how far the new drugs (since 1990 - so hardly new now) have taken the Africans in 40 yrs you would think that the Japanese would have made a similar leap.

I thought I wrote it out very explicitly, but there is always one dullard that cannot follow.

I'll write it differently (the U.S. News and World Report version for you):

How many sub-2:10 Africans were there in 1980? (37 yrs ago) Answer: NONE.

How many sub-2:05:00 Africans are there NOW? I see 33.

How many sub-2:10 Japanese were there in 1980? Answer: Just one, but there was a handful at 2:10-2:11 also (a stronger contingent than the Africans at the time)

2:09:06 Shigeru Soh JPN 09.01.53 1 Beppu-Oita 05.02.1978

How many sub-2:05 NOW? NONE for all time.

All of which is a long way of pointing out that the Africans have been doping like crazy while the Japanese have not.

What are the odds on him being the one to tangle with and make Bekele fall at the start this time?

Up Runner wrote:

All of which is a long way of pointing out that the Africans have been doping like crazy while the Japanese have not.

Yes, and also why not? The Japanese are very disciplined and willing to do anything to be good. This has been demonstrated in many ways for 100 years. How is it that they are either NOT doing EPO as a nation for 27 years or it is NOT working to the extent that it has for many others?

Also, of course it is a "long way" of saying it, look at my handle.

The Overexplainer wrote:

Probably EPO does not work as well on them because their mitochondria is smaller and less dense than Africans, like Renato always says about the best Africans. I am serious about that though. 30-40 yrs ago Japan had a load of 2:09-2:12 marathoners and even if everything remained the same, EPO should have progressed them by 4:00 en masse.

I don't understand this part of your post. I thought that Canova established that EPO does not work in Africans living at high altitude ....

"We’re not sure how to say cojones in Japanese."

I thought it was something like...Kawauchi.

pardon my accent wrote:

"We’re not sure how to say cojones in Japanese."

I thought it was something like...Kawauchi.

"Marbles".

LetsRun.com wrote:

For those of you who admire people who just go for it, you have a new hero:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/09/craziest-guy-berlin-japans-yuta-shitara-will-race-berlin-marathon-8-days-running-6017-half-marathon-likely-go-leaders/

Awesome. The sport needs more of this sort of thing. Who remembers the Japanese woman who tried to break the field in the WC in 2013 at 10,000? She just went for it but eventually got swallowed by the Africans. It was gutsy - made the race really entertaining.

I would like to see more Japanese in the ULTRA MOUNTAIN scene. It's quite clear there's potential in the 4+ hours races for these guys.

The Japanese are stuck in traditional training methods. The africans have changed how they are training & racing. They train to be comfortable at 2:06-2:08 pace and be able to race at 2:04-2:05 pace. Americans are no better their backwards approach to racing at faster paces.

Unfortunately, it just shows that PEDs trump hard work, when hard work works clean.Also see: Finns in the '70s, East Germany 70s and 80s.

The Overexplainer wrote:

Up Runner wrote:

All of which is a long way of pointing out that the Africans have been doping like crazy while the Japanese have not.

Yes, and also why not? The Japanese are very disciplined and willing to do anything to be good. This has been demonstrated in many ways for 100 years. How is it that they are either NOT doing EPO as a nation for 27 years or it is NOT working to the extent that it has for many others?

Also, of course it is a "long way" of saying it, look at my handle.

Jackson holes wrote:

I wonder if he takes a very satisfying shitara before the race...

Yuta are full of shitara!

The Overexplainer wrote:

Probably EPO does not work as well on them because their mitochondria is smaller and less dense than Africans, like Renato always says about the best Africans.

Now that's quite a steaming crock of pseudo-physiology. You seem to have nary a clue about how EPO works.

Besides, there have been no (zip, zero) Japanese T&F athletes busted for PEDs in the entire stinking history of the sport.

Now run along, and take your brainless cynicism with you.

The Overexplainer wrote:

Probably EPO does not work as well on them because their mitochondria is smaller and less dense than Africans, like Renato always says about the best Africans.

Now that's quite a steaming crock of pseudo-physiology. You seem to have nary a clue about how EPO works.

Besides, there have been no (zip, zero) Japanese T&F athletes busted for PEDs in the entire stinking history of the sport.

Now run along, and take your brainless cynicism with you.