Interview with Yuriko Kobayashi

By Pat Goodwin

When the women step up to the starting line of the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile in Manhattan on September 29, without a doubt the youngest competitor on the line is going to be 18-year-old Yuriko Kobayashi. She just graduated from Suwa Gakuen High School in Kobe this past spring, but not before posting times of 4:07.86 in the 1500 meters (a record in Japan), 8:52.33 in the 3000 meters, and 15:21.37 in the 5000 meters. She holds a silver medal from the 2005 World Youth Games, bronze medal from the 2006 World Junior Championships, and a bronze medal from the 2006 Asian Games. She placed 30th in the 4K at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

Kobayashi, who has been called “a rising star,” grew up in a city called Ono in Hyogo prefecture in Japan, about 20 miles from Kobe. Since she graduated from high school, she has been running for the Toyota L&F team but she continues to be guided by her high school coach, Shigeo Hasegawa. Last April, Kobayashi also began classes at Okayama University and is studying Chinese, mathematics, and English, and promised that next year she would “do this interview in English.”

She made her first trip to the U.S. earlier this summer to compete at the Prefontaine Classic in June, and returned earlier this month to train at altitude in Boulder to prepare for the Fifth Avenue Mile. Her goal is to compete at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as a member of the Japanese team.

Fast-women.com interviewed Kobayashi via e-mail, with translation help from her agent, Brendan Reilly.

Editor's Update Kobayashi ran an impressive race, finishing in seventh with a time of 4:32.6.

Fast-women.com: How long have you been training in Boulder and why did you decide to go there to train? Is this your first time at altitude and if so, was it difficult to adjust to the altitude?

Yuriko Kobayashi: We came over to Boulder on September 3, right after the World Championships ended, so it’s been about two-and-a-half weeks so far. As you know, there are a lot of Japanese athletes who come here for training, and my coach thought we should give it a try. My only other experience at altitude was a one-week visit to Kunming in China, but this time in Boulder is more of a true training camp. Kunming was pretty tough, but I had no problem at all adjusting to Boulder from the first day.

FW: Who do you run with in Boulder?

YK: Generally I train alone. For this training camp a friend of mine, Kazue Kojima, has also come over for about two weeks to run with me. She and I have been friends since we ran together at the Japanese middle school championships, where I won the 800 meters and Kazue was right behind me in second. We both ran 2:09 in that race. I’ve also enjoyed being at the tracks in Boulder, both at the college [the University of Colorado’s Potts Field, which is open to the public a couple of times each week] and the high school track [Boulder’s Fairview High School, which is just a 10-minute jog from Yuriko’s apartment]. I’ve met some of the local runners and chatted a little bit with them. Occasionally I’ll go for an afternoon run with my agent.

FW: How many miles do you run each week on average and do you have a favorite workout?

YK: I probably average about 20km (12.4 miles) per day, so about 140 km (87 miles) per week. I love doing intervals, particularly shorter ones such as 300m repeats. A favorite workout is 10x400 meters with a 100 meter walk between each 400 meters.

FW: When did you start running? And when did you begin to know that you had a lot of talent for running?

YK: I started running during my first year of middle school, when I was 13. Maybe when I entered high school I first started thinking about being a good runner. To be honest, I don’t really think about having a talent for running. When I went to the World Junior Championships in Italy in 2004, it was my first chance to see all of the international athletes and an international competition, so that also got me thinking about what I could do in the sport.

FW: What do you like about the sport and what do you least like?

YK: I like to compete against myself, against my own boundaries. It feels so great to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself. There really isn’t anything I don’t like about the sport.

FW: What have been your major accomplishments to date? I know one of those accomplishments was silver medal in the 1500 meters at the 2005 World Youth Championships at age 16.

YK: I won the 1500-meter bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Beijing last summer, and then in December at the Asian Games in Doha, I won the silver medal for 1500 meters. That was my first international championship at the senior level, so it was a nice accomplishment.

FW: You were 30th, the best Japanese, at the 4K short course in the 2006 World Cross Country Championships that were held in Japan. Do you enjoy running cross country and will you compete in cross in 2008?

YK: I really like cross country running and racing. For next year, the main goals are on the track for Beijing. I’d like to go to world cross again, but I would only want to compete if there was a short-course race—8K would be too long, since I will be preparing for middle distances at Beijing.

FW: Did you enjoy being on the Japanese team that was third at the 2007 Yokohama International Women’s Ekiden last February? Have you been on any other ekiden teams?

YK: I was on the Yokohama national ekiden team. I was given the first leg, which is 5 kilometers, and I finished third in my leg. It was a distance I hadn’t done very much, so I was nervous. But I enjoyed racing against the Russian and American women and chatting with them after the race. I also ran ekidens in high schoo. The All-Japan High School Ekiden Championships are a really big deal for us. During my time at Suwa Gakuen, we finished third my first year, second my second year, and first my final year. When we won, I also broke my own race record for the second leg, running 12:27 for 4.0975 kilometers.

FW: How did you do at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing in August 2006? Did competing in Beijing give you a good sense of what the conditions will be like for the Games next year?

YK: I won the bronze medal at 1500 meters in Beijing. It also gave me the chance to get used to some of the things in China, such as the food, the stadium, and the travel.

FW: For the upcoming Olympic year, what event will be your focus? Do you hope to make the Japanese team for 2008? When will the team be selected?

YK: My main goal now is the 1500 meters, but I would also like to qualify in the 5000 meters. Our selection will be at the Japan National Championships next summer.

FW: Are you excited about running the Fifth Avenue Mile? Will this be your first race in New York City? How do you expect to do in this race?

YK: I’m a bit nervous, but also very excited, because this will be my first race since the finals of the Japan championships on June 30th. I had problems with plantar fasciitis during the summer, and it meant I couldn’t do some of the European races we had planned. It is also going to be my first time to run on the roads, aside from the ekidens. And I’ve never been to New York. I really don’t know what to expect from this, but it should be fun. I hope also to see some of the city after the race, particularly the Statue of Liberty, and to do some shopping on Fifth Avenue.

FW: You raced at the Prefontaine Classic in June in the 1500 meters. Have you raced anywhere else in the U.S. this year?

YK: No, Prefontaine was my only U.S. competition this year. I hope to race there again next year, and maybe I can run one or two other U.S. meets then.

FW: What will your next competition be after the Fifth Avenue Mile?

YK: We have a track meet in Shizuoka on October 14. My coach and I are currently planning for me to run the 5000 meters there, aiming at the “A” standard [15:09.00] for next year’s Olympic Games. There is also a 3000 in the Shizuoka meet, and depending on how I feel at the Fifth Avenue Mile, I might switch to that race. My 3000 time is 8:52.33, and Kayoko Fukushi’s junior record for Japan is 8:52.3 from a hand-timed race, so it would be nice to break that record. But at this point, we probably will run the 5000.

FW: Have you had any injuries?

YK: I had a problem with plantar fasciitis before the Japan Championships this year. It was pretty bad, and probably it was at the worst just two days before the championships. Even before the 1500-meter final, I could only walk for most of my warmup. I took time off after that race, and particularly while Mr. Hasegawa was at the World Youth Championships, I rested. It’s been fine since mid-August, so the training is going well.

FW: When will you be going back to Japan? Have you missed being away from home? Have you enjoyed the traveling?

YK: I will go back to Japan on Sunday. We’ve been on break from university, so my classes will begin again. One month away has felt kind of long. This has been my first time in America. I’ve been trying to use my English a little, like at the supermarkets, restaurants, and sometimes if I meet some local runners at the track.

FW: What are your hobbies ?

YK: My favorite thing to do is go to onsens, Japanese hot springs. It doesn’t matter where they are, I love them all. I also like music, more than going to movies. I’ve been listening to the band Averi before most of my races recently.

Interview conducted September 19, 2007, and posted on September 24, 2007.