Yuki Kawauchi to Make Canadian Racing Debut at Vancouver Marathon in May

By Adam Kopet

BMO Vancouver Marathon organizers announced Wednesday that Yuki Kawauchi will compete May 5 in the 2019 edition of the race.

Kawauchi, of Japan, won the 2018 Boston Marathon in cold, wet and windy conditions that severely affected the race. He is scheduled to defend his Boston win this year.

The Vancouver Marathon comes less than a month after the Boston Marathon, making for a quick turnaround. Of course, that is something Kawauchi is used to. He has averaged about 12 marathons per year for the past several years, although he only ran nine marathons last year.

This will be Kawauchi's first time racing in Canada.

Kawauchi's personal marathon best of 2:08:14 from 2013 does put the Vancouver Marathon course record (2:18:37) in play, as well as the overall event record (2:13:14). His season's best last year came in December at the Hofu Marathon where he won in 2:11:29. That race came two weeks after he finished 10th at the Fukuoka Marathon with a time of 2:12:03.

Should Kawauchi win the Vancouver Marathon, he would be the first Japanese runner to do so in 20 years..