I want to be someone that others feel a sense of rivalry with.

RRC member interview

Text: Shun Sato

Kazuyuki Shimada, the A+ Team (Goal: Full marathon sub 2 hours 50 minutes) was selected as the 6th round MVP.

Achieved personal best at the Chicago Marathon

The temperature on the day of the Chicago Marathon was around 7 to 10 degrees Celsius. The course was flat, and just like in New York, there was constant cheering, which was very unique and fun. When I crossed the finish line in about 2 hours and 56 minutes, I was disappointed, thinking, "Oh, I didn't beat my best time," but when I saw my official time, I was surprised to see that it was my personal best (2 hours, 55 minutes, 13 seconds).

What I decided to do when attempting a sub-3 time

At RETO, everyone says to me, "You always get results," but I don't run as much as everyone else, only about 300 kilometers a month. To be honest, I don't really know why I'm able to maintain my time (wry smile). But I do value not giving up until the end. When I first ran sub-3 in 2016, it was tough, but I kept running and achieved it, and that experience has become the foundation of my success. I've always had a weak mentality, and I often ended up DNFing or running poorly due to injuries or leg pain, but I decided that I wanted to run sub-3 again, so I decided to stop making excuses and giving up.

Reasons for achieving sub-3 time

There are two reasons why I am currently able to consistently run sub-3 times. The first is that by checking my form and becoming more conscious of it, my running style has changed. When I start to get weaker, my form breaks down (I go back to my old bad form), which causes pain and my running starts to decline, but even in those difficult times, if I just focus on maintaining correct form, even a little, my legs start moving as if a switch has been flipped.

A different view emerges

The second thing is to not push too hard at the beginning. By doing these things, I was able to see the scenery around me more clearly in the second half. People would often tell me that the scenery was beautiful, and I would think, "I'm struggling, so there's no way I'll have time to look at the scenery," but when I thought I could keep going, I could see straight ahead and the scenery. That was the Chicago Marathon.

Being called Iron Man

It's getting harder to understand RETO apart from the group of people who practice with the original members, but it's a great environment where we can all say to each other, "Let's do our best." But I don't really understand why the younger people call me "Iron Man" (wry smile). They're working really hard, feeling a sort of rivalry with me, even though I'm a bit of a skating enthusiast. The other day, when Amane (Shuto Arimoto) ran 2 hours 52 minutes in Tsukuba, he said something like "I beat Shimakazu," and to me, with that much speed, it's only natural that he could run that kind of time (laughs). But I think it's good to be seen as such, regardless of age, and I want to be someone who people will always feel a sense of rivalry with.