Hello!
I’m Yudai Fukuda, a marathon runner.
I work as an engineer while actively competing as a marathon runner. I have loved running since childhood—won the prefectural championship in 6th grade, placed 3rd in the national junior high 3000m, and achieved a double title in the 1500m and 5000m at the prefectural high school championships in my second year of high school.
However, that summer I collapsed due to heatstroke during a race and stepped away from competition for a while. I went on to Kanazawa University in my hometown instead of the Kanto region, and until my sophomore year I enjoyed road races as a hobby.
Inspired by peers who shone at the Hakone Ekiden, I joined the track and field club in my junior year. I won both the 1500m and 5000m at the North Japan Intercollegiate, competed in the Izumo Ekiden and the All-Japan University Ekiden, won the 5000m and 10000m at the Hokushinetsu Intercollegiate, and placed 10th in the 10000m at the All-Japan Intercollegiate Championships. At that time, the gap with my peers who ran at the top nationally was not easy to close, but continuing to take on challenges rekindled my passion.
While at university, I majored in econometrics, developed programs analyzing regional economic data, and actively joined entrepreneurship-related events—bridging technology and society. As a hobby, I also developed apps and worked part-time supporting app development at an engineering center.
After graduation, I founded a sports-related software company and continued both my engineering work and my activities as a marathon runner. Balancing work and training was not always easy, but with steady trial and error, the results gradually took shape.
My first marathon as a freshman was 2:48, and I have steadily improved my personal best, eventually competing in elite races in Japan and abroad. In 2025, I finished the Hokkaido Marathon in 2:11:59 and secured qualification for the MGC.
Recently, I have been challenging major marathons around the world, training daily among elite runners worldwide.
I will continue to grow with passion and creativity—both as an engineer and as a runner. Thank you for your continued support!
