Masato Arao

A talented runner in high school, Arao was hit by a car just before graduation and spent most of his time at Toyo University overcoming his injuries. Post-graduation he started a full-time job while running for fun, but a breakthrough performance at the 2024 Ichinoseki Half Marathon got him an offer from the ND Soft corporate ekiden team. After joining in 2025 he improved rapidly, with 2-straight wins at the hilly Ome 30 km Road Race and a 2:07:42 PB for 6th at the even tougher Sydney Marathon in his international debut. Coached by Kiyohiro Watanabe.