Hitomi Shintani has long publicly said she doesn't actually like running.

She admitted she is not the kind of athlete who can simply enjoy the process of racing:“From the moment the race started, my mind held nothing but nervousness and fear. All the way, I relied on this‘fear’to carry me through.”

Xin Gu even likened his former self as a professional athlete to an item.“product”。

In her view, when a company signs her, what they need is not an athlete who enjoys racing but clear results and placings. Once you lose competitiveness and can no longer create value, you might be“dropped”。

For that reason, she finds it hard to genuinely treat running as a joy. What drives her forward is more often nervousness, pressure, and a sense of crisis.

Having retired and then returned to competition, now approaching38 years old, 新谷 has a clearer understanding of professional competition:If she can’t produce results, then as a professional athlete her“value”will quickly decline.

This awareness has also made her treat training and racing with an almost harsh attitude over the years. Because in her view, one failure does not necessarily mean“that you can try harder next time”, but could mean the end of a professional career.

Shintani also smiled and admitted that this idea might sound a bit...“outdated”, but it is precisely this pressure that keeps forcing her to run faster.

And for her, there is only one way that can truly free her from the pressure.——Run faster.

Hitomi Niiya's control of races isn't limited to the marathon.42.195 kilometer course.

At the pre-race press conference, when reporters asked her about her target time and target placing for the race, 新谷仁美 did not answer directly, leaving only one line:“I can't disclose that.”

When reporters pressed on what the key to victory was, her answer was equally simple:“42.195Kilometers — every single kilometer is critical.”Throughout the press conference she revealed almost nothing about her goals, physical condition, or race strategy.

It wasn't until after the race ended that Shintani explained this was also part of the race strategy.She believes that the marathon, in the30kilometers before the end, is largely a psychological battle.By not actively revealing your condition, you leave opponents unaware of your true state and only able to guess.”

As for how the media would analyze or interpret it, she doesn't consider that very important. What truly matters is preventing competitors from obtaining your real information in advance.

For 新谷仁美, the marathon starts long before the starting gun. Pre-race information control, judging opponents, and rhythm changes during the race are all parts of the competition.

The Hokkaido Marathon meant more to Hitomi Niiya than just the victory.As2028 One of the qualifying races within Japan's selection system for the [year] Los Angeles Olympic marathon team, and she, by virtue of this race, officially securedMGC the qualification to compete.

This time, Niiya's attitude is completely different from the previous Olympic cycle.Previously, she had likewise obtainedMGCthe qualification to compete, but since she had already made it clear at the time that she would not be targeting the Paris Olympics, she ultimately did not participate in the selection.

This time, she did not avoid the Olympics. At the press conference after the Hokkaido Marathon, Niiya clearly stated that she would2028 launch a bid for the Los Angeles Olympics.

She also mentioned that many marathon fans are eager to see Japanese athletes perform on the Olympic stage. If the goal is truly to revive the atmosphere around Japanese women's marathon, the most direct and convincing method is not to shout slogans but to produce results on the road.

Being the first to cross the finish line is the best answer an athlete can give.

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“In this world, recognition goes to those who win medals.”

If you review Hitomi Niiya's more-than-a-decade professional career, you'll find that her attitude toward“results”and“failure”is almost obsessive,and this did not appear only recently — it first showed itself early in her career.

2012 At the [year] London Olympics, Hitomi Niiya competed in the women's10000 m race, ultimately finishing in9 th place. A year later,2013 at the [year] Moscow World Championships in Athletics, she in the women's10000 in the [X]m race she finished in the5 place.

For the vast majority of athletes, fifth at the World Championships is already an outstanding result.

©2023 BMW Berlin-Marathon

But after the race, Niiya cried and said: "In this world, recognition goes to those who win medals. Without a medal, you have no value.”

A few months later,2014 [year]1 [month], she held a press conference and officially announced her retirement. Regarding the reason for retiring, Niiya's explanation at the time was equally direct：“That race had drained all my strength, but in the end I still didn't win a medal. I feel I have lost the qualification to continue as a professional athlete.”

After that, she left the professional circuit and spent about5 years living a normal office worker's life. Until2018 [year], under the guidance of former Japanese men's800 m record-holder Masato Yokota, Hitomi Niiya returned to competitive racing.

©Via @iam_hitominiiya

Even when she returned, her attitude toward running had not changed.“I still hate running. But, unfortunately, this seems to be where I belong, so I hope I can achieve results here.”

A few years on, Hitomi Niiya went on to reset the Japanese women's10000 m and half-marathon national records, and her marathon2 [H] hours19 [M] minutes24 [S] seconds PB also placed her among Japan's all-time top three.

Now approaching38 years old, she still hasn't learned to“enjoy running”. One could even say she has never tried to package professional running as something easy and joyful.

©EKIDEN NEWS

For Hitomi Niiya, competitive sport has always meant results, pressure, elimination, and a sense of crisis. She is afraid of failure, and she never hides that fear.

But it's precisely that constant unease that brings her back to the training ground again and again, making careful plans before every race, in the42.195 kilometers she continuously calculates and judges, then turns all that pressure into the drive to run forward.

Some people keep running out of love. Hitomi Niiya's answer is completely different. She keeps running because she always believes——that, for professional athletes, sometimes a single failure can really be the end.