Coach Maeda Calls Osaka Winner Hirabayashi “The Atsushi Fujita of Our Era” (updated)

Koku Gakuin University 3rd-year Kiyoto Hirabayashi, 21, won Sunday’s Osaka Marathon in a debut and collegiate record 2:06:18. KGU head coach Yasuhiro Maeda said the secret to Hirabayashi’s speed was “the flexibility of his range of motion.” At 168 cm and 44 kg Hirabayashi has a “lightweight body,” and rather than adding muscle mass the focus has been on increasing flexibility to enable Hirabayashi to run with a long, dynamic stride like African athletes. In Hirabayshi’s training Maeda incorporates a program created by a physical trainer to increase Hirabayashi’s mobility in areas like the hip joints and shoulder blades. Although he is very thin, it doesn’t mean Hirabayashi doesn’t eat well. “He eats a lot, but he just doesn’t gain weight,” Maeda said.

In training Hirabayashi can push both the quantity and quality of his training to his limit. “He’s been preparing for this marathon since last summer,” Maeda said. “He put in the work.” While building his base mileage last summer Hirabayashi ran 1200 km in August. He had originally planned to run Osaka last year but had to pull out with injury. “If he’d run this last year he’d have run about 2:10,” said Maeda. “Since then he’s gone up a level or two in ability.”

Hirabayashi has an honest, straightforward personality that Maeda likes. “He’s got a strong heart. He doesn’t get distracted by temptations,” Maeda said, “and he puts everything into his races.” When Maeda was a student at Komazawa University, he saw the same characteristics in his older teammate Atsushi Fujita, who went on to run a 2:06:51 national record. “They have a lot in common in how they go about things. He’s the Fujita of our era.”

In the immediate future, Hirabayashi will run the Shanghai Half Marathon in late April. “The food and other things are different when you race overseas, so I want him to get experience with that as soon as he can,” said Maeda. The plan is for Hirabayashi to run next year’s Osaka or Tokyo Marathon before he graduates to qualify for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships. “If everything goes right he might have a shot at breaking 2:04,” said Maeda.

In raising the possibility of a new NR Maeda is optimistic about Hirabayashi’s future. “He’s just a Cinderella Baby, though. It’s too early to call him a Cinderella Boy.” Post-graduation Hirabayashi plans to join a corporate team but will stay based at Koku Gakuin University to continue being coached by Maeda in prep for the Los Angeles Olympics. “I want to help him get ready to be competitive on the world’s biggest stage,” Maeda said.