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Today’s story-teller is marathon runner Arata Fujiwara.

In the beginning of the story, he talks about an episode from his high school years.

Fujiwara says that after he met the manager Matsumoto, the track club manager, during his high school years changed his approach to athletics.

At that time, they used to start the morning exercise at 5:30. It was very tough for him.

He usually had to run 8,000 meters every morning. Of course they took the time every time, but everyone tried to run as fast as they could in the end which was a fierce battle.

So, Matsumoto, the manager was emphasized voluntarily training. He said, “A steady person care for his health and what he eats and everything.”

So, what did he think about Fujiwara?

Matsumoto says, “He worked seriously. He was always got a step ahead of the others. Maybe the others thought he was a bit strange.”

Matsumoto remembers that Fujiwara used to pick up marbles and put them into a bucket with his toes. The training strengthened the ability to grasp the ground.

He was working on his training by getting ideas on his own like this.

But he was not like this from the beginning. What an orthopedist told him triggered him to start acting that way.

The orthopedist said to him, “There are two different types among successful athletes. One is who thinks through and the other is who follows the manager without any question. You are the former.”

These words helped him to decide that he would ‘think through’.

Late in the column, he introduces his distinct attitude toward a marathon.

He says, “If you can reproduce a right running style, you can run efficiently without using extra energy. But you will have a hard time if you cannot find the right running style. So you ought to improve your strength up to be able to run in any circumstances. The body strength is just like an insurance.”

The NIKKEI 11/30/2010 by Arata Fujiwara (marathon runner)

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