The True Reason Why Kawauchi, Who Has Won 50 Full Marathons, Keeps Running
Five years have passed since Kawauchi turned professional after working as a civil servant for the Saitama Prefectural Government. An iron man who competes in races all over the world, he is still growing as a "wall of young talent.
I believe that experience made that run possible. It was raining heavily on race day, but not many runners have actually experienced a full marathon in heavy rain. It must have been scary for the other runners because their bodies would be cold and slippery. That’s probably why they had a hard time finding the courage to follow my lead. I had run 129 full marathons before that MGC, including many races in the rain, so I wasn’t scared at all.’ When I won the Boston Marathon in 18 years, it was also raining, so I was rather good at the conditions.
When I was in my 20s, I competed in races every week, to the point that people warned me that I was ‘racing too much. I’ve competed in more than 60 serious races in 30 countries overseas, so I gained experience as well as ‘the courage to jump out first.
Last year, he made an impressive comeback with a run that was both record-breaking and memorable, but he says that his mentality has also changed over the past few years.
I think the time for me to lead the marathon world as the top runner is over. At the press conference held two days before the MGC, I said, ‘I think Japan’s marathons will enter a dark period if they are losing to me. These words also came from that awareness. Even now, I still think, ‘It would have been good if there had been a runner who would have followed me when I jumped out at the MGC.
Although she says she is no longer at the top of her game, Kawauchi’s eyes sparkle as she says, “There is no retirement for a runner.
If I can no longer set records and no longer believe in myself, I will retire from the forefront of racing. But it is not that time yet. I would like to continue running for the rest of my life while continuing to experiment.
