Kawauchi Runs 2:08:14 PB in Seoul – flash results courtesy of Thomas Metts – by Brett Larner – Japan Running News

In search of a 2:07 to clear the Federation's World Championships selection standard, Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) ran a PB of 2:08:14 for 4th place at the Mar. 17 Seoul International Marathon, breaking his previous PB set in winning the Feb. 3 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon by 1 second.

 In so doing he became only the fifth Japanese man to ever break 2:09 three or more times in his career and also set a new world record for the shortest time ever between sub-2:10 performances, 42 days, breaking the old record by 1 day.  In post-race comments quoted by MSN, Kawauchi said with apparent disappointment, "I was aiming for 2:07 in this race.  It was an incredible waste."

Kawauchi will next run the Apr. 21 Nagano Marathon where he will shoot for the year-old course record of 2:09:05.

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
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flash results courtesy of Thomas Metts – by Brett Larner – Japan Running News