Kawauchi turning pro!

El Keniano wrote:

gubmnt jobs wrote:

Maybe some benefits vest after another year.

This makes sense. I'm in the exact same position with my job (a few months to go in my case).

A Japanese colleague of mine at work has just told me it's the schools 100th Year Anniversary, therefore he's staying on to help with whatever prep/events etc. they have going on. Then he'll turn pro. Apparently...

This is the 100th anniversary of the elementary school he works at. He's in charge of making the 100th year commemorative program/book whatever it is.

Does anyone know what his work schedule is actually like? How many hours a day/week he puts in?

I hadn't thought much about it. He races a TON so I figured he had a lot of flexibility with his work.

Japan Times article says 40 hours a week. I'd love to know his schedule. Wonder how many weeks a year he works.

I worked 40-50 hours a week firstfew years out of school but I got way better once I quit working. And I wasn't training the mileage he runs.

He must be doing a lot of running in the dark unless he can pick when he works.

If anyone has seen a detailed overview of his work feel free to post.

Honest question; does he not take price money currently? Is he actually an amateur?

Just trying to understand if he's actually turning pro or just quitting his job to focus on running.

He does not take apperance fees or sponsor money now. Prize money i assume he can accept. And that must be be a lot now from all the races he has been in. Small and big.

gwalkerruns wrote:

Not being a full time worker will take some of the luster off his story.

Bingo. He'll be just another 2:08 guy who can't run with the Africans. It's like if Sheriff David Clarke changed his party affiliation from Dem to GOP -- the very thing that brought them fame is gone.

He may just want devote himself to running full time in an effort to make the Japanese Team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Yuki Kawauchi, surprise winner of the Boston Marathon earlier this week lives in a two-story suburban home with his mother and younger brother in Saitama Prefecture, about 34 miles north of Tokyo.

Since graduating from college, he's worked 40 hours a week (1pm-9pm Monday to Friday) in an office for the Saitama Prefectural government.

He answers phones, enters data, and collects tuition and meal payments.

As a government employee, he gets about 25 days off and uses most of them for racing and traveling.

Straitlaced and serious, Kawauchi spends most of his spare time running.

Four mornings a week, he'll log 18 to 20 kilometers (11 to 12 miles) over about two hours in a park near his house.

At night, he'll strength-train in his room with homemade equipment, using an old bike tube as an exercise band and a 33-pound weight bar from which he hangs his retired running shoes.

He does speedwork on Wednesdays and uses the weekend to make up some mileage.

He might hit mountain trails for anywhere from three to seven hours, but often, he competes.

Kawauchi targets monthly “main” races before which he'll run various distances in preparation.

Since 2010, Kawauchi has run an average of 12 Marathons and 10 Half Marathons per year. Add to that, about 15-20 other races (5k's, 10k's, 20k's, 50k's etc). Kawauchi tries to find a race most weeks and uses them for training

Full article/Source:

https://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/yuki-kawauchi-the-marathon-rock-star

That's so sad. I hope it doesn't cause him to lose his whimsy in his racing. I hope he doesn't go for just two marathons a year. Going pro will almost undoubtedly make him faster, but I fear it will make him lose what makes him so special, his spontaneity and his grit. I'm glad that he can make a living doing what he loves, but I also hope that he won't lose his beautiful amateurness of what he does

cvoet55 wrote:

That's so sad. I hope it doesn't cause him to lose his whimsy in his racing. I hope he doesn't go for just two marathons a year. Going pro will almost undoubtedly make him faster, but I fear it will make him lose what makes him so special, his spontaneity and his grit. I'm glad that he can make a living doing what he loves, but I also hope that he won't lose his beautiful amateurness of what he does

I agree. Yuki makes me think of Bill Rogers in his prime. He ran everywhere, it seemed. Even though he had his running store and short-lived clothing business, he also seemed to be "one of us," but much much faster: a regular guy who runs at the level we can only dream.

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I felt so great when he won Boston, but immediately realized that now everyone (I'm talking to you Larry Rawson) now knows who Yuki is. He isn't just "our guy," our secret here, at LRC any more. Going pro, he is now on a different standing from those of us whose only moment of professional running may have been some $40 check at local race.

Wow, even two years ago he had a comedian/impersonator. He really is a big deal. He should get boku sponsorship deals.

Lives with him mother and brother at 31?

I hope now that he's a Boston marathon champ he'll get some Japanese ladies coming his way

Baltsu wrote:

So he probably joins one of those corporate teams that are paying quite well? Then he has to run the ekiden relays but it does not matter because he likes to run a lot of races.

He is too old for a Corporate team and they do not pay well. Wages in Japan are quite a bit lower than the U.S. FYI.

mike666 wrote:

He does not take apperance fees or sponsor money now. Prize money i assume he can accept. And that must be be a lot now from all the races he has been in. Small and big.

Bingo - and Boston will pay him a TON next year to come back. Hard to turn that down, so he'll turn pro a month before Boston next year and take that cash. Don't blame him for a second and I hope he can bring down that 2:08 PR while training full time.

My understanding is he can win prize money but he can not take sponsorships or appearance fees.

I assume is travel and what not is comped. This is similar to the US Army guys.

wejo wrote:

Japan Times article says 40 hours a week. I'd love to know his schedule. Wonder how many weeks a year he works.

I worked 40-50 hours a week firstfew years out of school but I got way better once I quit working. And I wasn't training the mileage he runs.

He must be doing a lot of running in the dark unless he can pick when he works.

If anyone has seen a detailed overview of his work feel free to post.

I saw a detailed post on instagram of Yuki's work schedule which said he works 1-9PM every day. I'm guessing this is specifically tailored for him to be able to train in the mornings.

cvoet55 wrote:

That's so sad. I hope it doesn't cause him to lose his whimsy in his racing. I hope he doesn't go for just two marathons a year. Going pro will almost undoubtedly make him faster, but I fear it will make him lose what makes him so special, his spontaneity and his grit. I'm glad that he can make a living doing what he loves, but I also hope that he won't lose his beautiful amateurness of what he does

I don't think it's sad at all. He's earned this. Has been running with "whimsy" for a long time, and I'm sure even that gets a little old, too. Now he can set himself and his family up for life with the advertisement opportunities available in Japan and maybe now they'll take him more seriously and consider him for the national teams, esp the Olympics in Tokyo although I know he's said he's not going after that anymore.

He's absolutely earned this. And people who like the "Citizen Runner" angle will have almost another year of it. But I wonder if his emotional and mental approach to his races will change when they go from something he does for "whimsy" to something he does to earn a living.

Kuyi wrote:

Totally clueless responses on here. Yuki is a mega star in Japan now, he has the marketing power of basketball or Baseball stars in the US. Marathon running is huge, his story has great potential for marketing. he won't have to worry about making a living ever again.

Congrats. That wasn't coherent a all.

You couldn't be more wrong. mega stars are kei nishikori, yuzuru hanyu, ichiro, and Ohtani. Kawauchi is not a household name. I live in Japan and have asked people here about Kawauchi after his Boston win. They don't know who he is and he has been "the peoples runner" for years already. Not to mention, marathoners do not get paid well in Japan, at any level.

Kawauchi makes 300,000 yen a month as a school admin and is staying for an entire extra school year (which just started in April). This says all about the money Kawauchi will earn, not about his honor to "social harmony" by obligating his current school contract. If the money were there, he would be gone, right now, from his $3,000 a month salary man job.