Why is former Japanese marathon representative Yuri Kano starting a note?

Hello, I am Yuri Kano.

I have decided to launch this note as a place to think about "the second career of athletes" with all of you.

First, please let me introduce myself briefly.

Regrets after retirement

I am a former Japanese national marathon runner, and I retired from active competition in May 2014. Until now, as an athlete, I was under the pressure of "always having to produce results", so as I produced results year after year, I became unable to "enjoy running." Looking back, I think I spent lonely and painful days blaming myself for not being able to produce results.

After retiring, I took my time to face myself and think about what I wanted to do.

One thing is to make use of the 22 years I spent as an athlete and turn that into a business.

I did not think about my life after quitting sports when I was an active athlete. I thought lightly that "it would work out somehow." This is because active athletes are in an environment where they should "focus only on the 'now' and produce results," so thinking about a second career was considered a taboo. (Of course, I think some people were thinking about it...)

By the way, this is generally what happens after a female marathon runner retires.

・Olympic medalist
Commentator, guest runner, advisor, TV personality. Recognized, has the value of being a female medalist, and can get work.

・Olympic participant Instructor, guest runner, individual talent activities, spot work for promoting track and field.

・No Olympic participation but World Championship participation (me) Instructor, company employee, guest runner through self-promotion or referrals, running team coach, running-related work. Lacks recognition and it is difficult to get work.

・People who were top in domestic competitions but could not become national representatives
Company employee, running team coach. Running as a hobby.

However, after retirement, the reality was not that sweet. For me, who had no experience as a working professional, the reality that "it is not easy to find a job" was waiting. There were days when I blamed myself for continuing to compete until I was 35. Also, even now that I have started my second career, there is a difference (in recognition and pay) compared to Olympic medalists.

Therefore, I want to create a place where athletes who are about to retire can make it a habit to think about their future while they are still competing, so they don't end up like me. To do that, first, I am aiming to face society and challenge myself with various things and succeed.

Differentiation between blog and note

Regarding the differentiation between the site blog and note, on note, I will mainly write about my worries as I walk my "second career."

Blog
Know-how, dialogues with track athletes/former track athletes, competition reports, etc.

note
Things I am worried about while pursuing a second career and things that are better to know while still active.

Even when looking at articles about people who have changed jobs in their second career, they only feature people who have already succeeded.

However, I am still only halfway there. There are still many things I am not good at. In fact, I am not even very good at social media. To be more honest, I am constantly worried about how to get work. That is precisely why, as I walk my second career path, I will use note to share what I have struggled with and what I am currently struggling with.

I hope this will serve as an opportunity for many people to think about the second careers of athletes, especially now when it is said that there will be second-career refugees among active athletes, corporate team coaches, educational institutions, and even after the Tokyo Olympics.

I am also planning to use the circle feature that will be starting on note in the future (if I pass the screening).

I hope this note will become a guide for second careers, both for my readers until now and for those who will read it in the future.
Thank you for your continued support of Yuri Kano.

I am also actively looking for work!