Just one more to go until he wins all seven marathon majors.

RRC member interview
Text: Shun Sato

14th season Team C (target: sub-4) MVP YURI achieves PB in three consecutive World Marathon Majors tournaments

I was happy to receive the Cool MVP award for the second time.
I think they were impressed by the fact that I was able to set PBs in succession in Sydney and Chicago, but Sydney had some pretty steep hills, and I managed to finish in 3 hours 58 minutes despite that. Chicago was a flatter course, so I thought I could do a little better, but I only managed to improve my time by one minute, so I felt a bit frustrated (wry smile).

I have a slow start, so I don't usually feel good until about 10km. In a marathon, that's when it starts, and I feel most comfortable running from 15km to 25km. From 30km onwards, it starts to get a little tougher, but I managed to hang on in these two races. Since last year's Berlin Marathon (3 hours 59 minutes), I've been improving my time by one minute each time in Sydney and Chicago, the World Marathon Majors, so I'd like to improve my time a little more in the next Tokyo Marathon.

A sense of unity between the city and the marathon

I look forward to running races overseas. Overseas, you can enjoy sightseeing before and after the race, and the atmosphere of the race itself is unique and exciting. The cheering is incredible. It really gets you fired up, as if you're being cheered on. 54,000 people will be participating in Chicago, and the city will be overflowing with runners. Almost all the hotels will be filled with runners and their families, so it feels like the whole city is enjoying the marathon.

The difficulties of racing overseas

While participating in overseas races is fun, the entry process can actually be quite difficult. I won the lottery for Sydney, but lost out on Chicago, so I participated through a tour. It's a bit pricey, but I was able to participate with a guaranteed spot, so I thought it was worth it. Another challenge is the time difference. In Europe, the time difference is about eight hours, so if you take a flight that arrives at night and arrives in the morning and get a good night's sleep, you can function normally. However, there's a 14-hour time difference in Chicago, USA. This time, I took a direct flight, departing on Friday morning Japan time and arriving on Friday morning local time, so I couldn't adjust and had a hard time falling asleep that night. Whether it's in the US or anywhere else, the ideal course is to get a flight that arrives in the morning and get a good night's sleep. My favorite overseas marathon I've ever been to is Berlin. As the flat, fast course is known for, it's easy to run on, and the cityscape, with its historic feel, is incredibly beautiful.

The Last Measures, Boston

Of the Seven Majors, only Boston is left. There's no lottery for Boston, and the tours are very limited. Basically, you have to meet the entry criteria, and for my age, the entry criteria is under 3 hours 50 minutes. However, just breaking that threshold doesn't guarantee you'll be able to run; if there are too many applicants, you'll be cut off. The entry deadline for 2027 is September 2026, so I want to break 3 hours 45 minutes by then. It's a pretty ambitious goal for me, but I want to achieve it at the Tokyo Marathon or Seoul Marathon in March next year so I can run Boston. To achieve that, I need to practice more so I can comfortably run under 5 minutes 20 seconds.

Enjoying travel and marathons overseas

Currently, Cape Town and Shanghai have been added to the seven majors, and it is said that there will be nine majors by 2027. Next year, Cape Town is in May, so I have a flight booked and am planning to go. Once I have completed all of them, I would like to run a fun overseas race, like the Paris Marathon or the Medoc Marathon, which has wine at the water stations. I want to go overseas and enjoy traveling and marathons. That's my style, and I feel like I'm working to achieve that (laughs).