Skip to main content

Mizuki Noguchi at "China-Free" Sugadaira Training Camp to Rebuild From the Ground Up

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/sports/news/CK2008060202014342.html

translated by Brett Larner

Beijing Olympics women`s marathon team leader Mizuki Noguchi (29, Team Sysmex) has begun her "China-free" main Olympic preparation in Nagano Prefecture`s Sugadaira Takahara region. Noguchi arrived in Sugadaira on June 1 to begin an intensive training camp. Her coach Nobuyuki Fujita (67) told reporters that Noguchi has abandoned plans to attend a training camp in Kunming, China which was scheduled to begin June 12 and will instead remain in Sugadaira for the rest of the month. Noguchi will take advantage of the area`s arduous up-down terrain to strengthen her lower body in order to withstand Beijing`s hard road surfaces.

In the lead up to Beijing Noguchi`s support and coaching team made the decision to avoid China, with Fujita instead selecting a domestic base for Noguchi`s training. "Kunming`s main advantage is its elevation," said Fujita. "This time, however, strong legs are going to be more important. Sugadaira`s up-down environment is the perfect site for building legs capable of handling Beijing`s roads." Kunming is situated at a high altitude but is primarily flat. Sugadaira, by contrast, features a variety of mountain trails and a cross-country course with hills 50 m tall. The concrete used in Beijing`s roads is extremely hard and will cause more stress to runners` legs than most will be accustomed to. Thus, a strong lower body will be critical and Sugadaira is ideal. Although Noguchi`s team originally planned to travel to Kunming later in the month they have instead opted to remain in Sugadaira throughout June. Noguchi will travel to Beijing on June 28 and 29 to do a test on the Olympic course, then will travel to St. Moritz, Switzerland for altitude training in July.

Although she has always trained in Kunming before her marathons, Noguchi is unconcerned with the change. "I can train anywhere," she said. "I will do anything I need to, anywhere." On the first day of the Sugadaira training camp she did a 30 km run. "My legs are feeling good and developing nicely." While training in Kunming in March Noguchi contracted a rash which interfered with her training, but with her base now located in Japan her health is safeguarded as she prepares to become the first woman to defend an Olympic marathon title.

Translator`s note: A television news story about Noguchi`s Olympic preparations which aired on NHK reported that her training plan calls for her to run 800 km during her three weeks in Nagano. Other stories indicated that the recent major earthquake in China was also a factor in Noguchi`s decision not to train in Kunming.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr