My Name is: Hirotaka Tanimoto but everyone calls me HIRO.
I joined Scottish in 2015. I was running the Lake Biwa marathon when Nick Horspool, a Wellington Scottish runner, passed me with 200m to go. He invited me to join the club in New Zealand and so I did I started running because I wanted to be a HERO. I was a soccer player and I was a shy boy until 15 years old but did notice that girls were impressed when I ran running events in my school and city. So when I was young I ran to impress girls. But quickly my main purpose changed as my running team was very competitive and serious. So I became very competitive and concentrated on running “faster and harder”.
I had a break after graduating from university, but started again when I took up teaching. I got back into running for fun, but soon became a hero to my students. I thought this was a good thing as it would be great to have more kids/students inspired to run or interested in other sports that involve running. I hope to be a hero here in New Zealand too, that is why I keep running in Wellington.
Best running moment was at the Melbourne Marathon in 2014 I passed a runner in a sprint finish, won the Victoria marathon championship and recorded my marathon PB.
Worst running moment: Tokyo marathon in 2015 – It was to be the biggest event of my running career and I really wanted to run a PB. Unfortunately I got injured prior to the race and couldn’t give it my best shot.
Favourite run in Wellington: Waterfront & the Bays. A lot of club members or running friends run there. We always say “Hi!!” on the road or run together on the way.
The best thing about running with Wellington Scottish is: I can’t choose the best one. Everything is great!!
When I’m not running I like to: Read books, research running theories I like to research new training theories. I left Japan to experience the different training styles in other countries. I research the training techniques and can then teach my Japanese running friends the theory.
Wellington Scottish Athletics Club 