Much like his finish at Marshfield High School (MA) where he suffered through a brutally cold (1˚ F) day to record a world record 78th sub-2:20:00 marathon (that story here
Japanese citizen racer Yuki Kawauchi once again finished on a track on April Fool’s Day.
In Marshfield, Yuki raced against the clock. At the Satte Sakura 10-Miler his final opponent was countryman Kyoga Asai. With 300m remaining, Asai made a move that was countered by Kawauchi who sprinted ahead to victory in 49:17 to Asai’s 49:25.
Unsponsored and working full-time for the Saitama Pref. Gov’t, Yuki will be in Hopkinton on April 16 as part of the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team.
Here’s what he’s been up to since his marathon in Marshfield and 10-Miler in Japan:
On Jan. 7 he placed 7th in 1:03:28 at the Okukuma Half Marathon
On Jan. 21 he raced the Yashio Isshu Ekiden 20K solo in 1:01:03 (4:55 pace) and beat all 103 6-runner teams
On Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 he ran two more Ekidens, clocking 29:41 for a 9.9K leg and 36:54 for a 12.1k leg
On Feb. 18 at the Kitakyushu Marathon in Fukuoka, Yuki placed 1st in a course record 2:11:46
On Feb. 25 he won the Fukaya City Half Marathon in 1:04:26
On March 4 he placed 12th in 1:04:49 at the Kanaguri Hai Tamana Half Marathon
On March 11 he won the Yoshinogawa Riverside Half Marathon in a course record 1:05:50
On March 18 he notched another marathon win at Taiwan’s Wan Jin Shi Marathon in a course record 2:14:12
On March 24, Yuki ran 3 heats of the 5000m at the Heisei Kokusai University Time Trials in his home province of Saitama – he won the 1st heat in 14:53.96, ran 14:36.58 for 2nd in a later heat, and finished the last heat in 14:37.78 for 8th
On March 25 he ran the Kuki Half Marathon dressed in a panda suit and posted up 2nd in 1:10:03
The 10M win in 49:17 followed and next up on April 16 is the 122nd B.A.A. Boston Marathon finishing in Boston, MA, USA