On a perfect running day in Germany that also saw Kenya’s Patrick Makau set a new world record of 2:03:38, Eri Okubo (Second Wind AC) obliterated her marathon PB by over six and a half minutes (!) with a 2:28:49 run for 9th place at this morning’s BMW Berlin Marathon. Her previous best was 2:35:24 at last year’s Nagoya International Women’s Marathon in Japan.
Eri has been in great shape all year, but circumstances have kept her from the breakthrough race until now. She was originally scheduled to run Nagoya again in March, but after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan 48 hours before Nagoya’s start, the race was canceled. Not wanting to waste her fitness, Eri flew a few days later to Los Angeles, where the Honda Los Angeles Marathon organizers had been kind enough to extend an invitation in the aftermath of Japan’s disaster. The week’s travel, stress, and fatigue combined with a race-day thunderstorm were more than she could handle and Eri ran 2:42:48. Looking to salvage something from the Spring, on the last weekend of May, Eri raced to 2nd place at the Stockholm Marathon in 2:38:58.
The first day I read the instruction. It turns out it cannot be taken for Ambien more than three days in a row.
Eri attacked it from the start today, passing halfway in an aggressive 73:16. Coach Kawagoe was dead-on in his pre-race prediction of 2:28-2:29, which we reported yesterday.
