Local running on the coast path

It doesn’t always go according to plan!

Since I’ve got plenty of free time at the moment I decided that I would run from home to Mordialloc along the beach path, and I did that yesterday. It was great, and there was quite a bit of the coast path beyond Ricketts Point that I have not run for a long time so I had forgotten what it was like. I think they have even built a new surf club building down at Mordy. The path was a bit busier than I expected for a Monday, not just dog walkers but runners too. Between Black Rock and Ricketts Point you have to run by the road for a couple of kilometres and beyond Ricketts Point the path is quite discontinuous until you reach the nicer part at Beaumaris. The part I looked forward to the least was the long flat beachside kilometres through Mentone and Parkdale; that’s a great place to run but the timing of that section when it comes towards the end of a long run is difficult, as it’s so flat and seemingly endless.

I went to Main Street for breakfast (bacon and eggs in a Turkish sandwich) - I’m sure there are other cafes but I always go there - and then got the train/bus combination back home. It was just a touch under 20 kilometres of running.

I liked that run so much that I wanted to do something similar today but not quite as long because I have a marathon coming up this weekend and didn't want to overdo things. So I planned to run to Black Rock, do a short loop around a bush reserve and then go back to Black Rock for breakfast and get the bus/train home. It seemed a good plan.

I ran down the coast path to Black Rock, today detouring down to the beach by the Cerberus so I could get in a hill climb. The path was way quieter than yesterday. I had a nice tailwind most of the way. When I left home the weather was awful, really gusty wind and it had been/was going to rain. Yesterday I ran in tights and wrapped a sweatshirt around my waist; today I carried my tights and sweatshirt in my ultra vest to keep them dry in case of rain so I would be able to put on dry clothes when I stopped running and be comfortable for breakfast and the trip home. 

So when I got to Black Rock after 15.5 kilometres I put on my clothes (it hadn’t rained and the sun had been wanting to come out) and went to an extremely popular cafe for breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast); in fact it was so popular it was hard to squeeze inside.

After a very leisurely breakfast I ambled over to the bus stop, well actually I had to amble over to several bus stops before I found the right one, and unfortunately the bus had just gone; the half hourly, maybe hourly bus. So what does one do in this situation? One runs home. 

It was a novelty to run after eating eggs on toast and sitting down for well over an hour. At first I felt sluggish all over but then I just felt tired in the legs. I kept my tights on and that was a good move because I had a big headwind which was also cold. I know this is useful training for long ultras, both the eating while on a run and the long distance. But I took a short cut to get home sooner, making it 10 kilometres exactly. On the plus side I am 10 kilometres ahead of schedule for the week so I can take some easy days.

Surf Coast run

I had a great run along the Surf Coast Walk over two days. It's either 44 km or 46 km in total because the map is inconsistent, broken up into about twelve stages. The trail is in sight of the ocean almost all the way, sometimes right on the beach or just above it on cliffs, and often passing through low scrub. So it was very varied, with fire trails, single track, beach and walking tracks. It was more hilly than I expected and I had to cope from time to time with a strong headwind.

I did the trail over two days because it is not possible to get to the start at Point Impossible by public transport (of course!). So I ran from Torquay out to Point Impossible on Sunday, ran the first two sections of the trail back to Torquay (Point Danger) and stayed overnight, doing the bulk of the route (40 km) on Monday. It was a lucky decision because I would have copped some rain had I continued running on Sunday.

I had run from Torquay to Anglesea on this trail before, a long time ago, and done bits more recently. The part through Jan Juc and by Bells Beach is often by the beach and I saw lots of surfers but no actual surfing. The detour through the forest to Ironbarks picnic area was very pleasant, flat and quiet, lots of birds, and sheltered from the wind. Then I came out to Point Addis and after that I had a one kilometre beach to run into the full force of the wind. This made me alarmed about the later beach section that would be four times as long. From Point Addis I could see the lighthouse at Aireys Inlet (close to my destination) dimly in the distance.

I had decided to stop for coffee in Anglesea, mainly because I’ve never stopped for coffee in the middle of a run before. At that point the sun had come out and the cafe was a bit smelly (of food) so I had my coffee on a bench by the inlet. The weather was changeable all day, sometimes looking as though it were about to rain, then the clouds blowing away and the sun shining, and it wasn’t at all cold.

Not far from Anglesea, past Point Roadknight, I had the 4.5 km beach to run to Urqhart Bluff. At first I was going headfirst into the wind and I braved myself for a long trudge. But once I passed the rocks along the beach, a section I had to walk, the cliffs seemed to shelter me from the worst of the wind. That was a real blessing. I had also timed my arrival well since that beach would not be fun to run at high tide. As it was I could run close to the water on fairly firm sand. But it was still quite challenging and when I arrived at the far end I felt cooked. There followed a lovely few kilometres of single track, mostly winding downhill. Sunnymead Beach was deserted and pretty, and I’d never heard of it before.

After climbing again I got another view of Aireys lighthouse and this time it was so much nearer. I hadn’t realised how close I was to finishing. The last bit to Aireys passed quickly, including running up to the lighthouse and skirting the inlet, but I didn’t go into the main centre. I continued on to Fairhaven Beach and the finish, just two kilometres. It was an odd place to finish, as there is nothing there apart from a long beach, a surf club and a sign with a map of the trail. And also a bus stop so I could get back to Geelong.

I didn’t have to wait long for the bus, so I quickly changed into my warmer clothes (which I was very pleased to have brought with me despite having to carry them all day). And it was fun to be reacquainted with the charms of the cafe at Geelong train station.

My run from Wangaratta to Bright

Just to do something different I decided to run the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail from Wangaratta to Bright. It was a good way to be able to do a long run outside of Melbourne without having to go through the stresses of a race and without having to run on roads, plus the advantages of someone having worked out the route for me and, hopefully, put up signposts. I did it in three stages: from Wang station to Bowser on the edge of the town (about 10 km), from Bowser to Myrtleford (about 45 km), from Myrtleford to Bright (about 31 km). I carried minimal gear in my ultra vest: tights, fleece, spare running shirt, underwear, toothbrush, phone and charger, money and glasses, plus 1 1/2 litres of water and some gels and bars. The vest was full and my pockets were full. There was no rain on the forecast so I didn’t take a raincoat. I had the map of the trail on my phone. It turned out to be extremely well signed.

The train arrived in Wang after 3pm and I was pleased to immediately find signs for the rail trail. I followed the signs through town, crossed the river and found the trail start. The route through the outskirts of Wang was along a levee and around a caravan park and then alongside a road until I reached my motel for the night. I had anticipated that the motel would be in the middle of nowhere, so I was carrying some magazines to read and my breakfast croissants for the morning. 

The motel really was in the middle of nowhere, but right on the rail trail. I had to eat, and with no other alternative I got room delivery from Zambrero, and it was a slight problem because their minimum was so high that I had to get more stuff than I could possibly have wanted.

I set out at 8am the next morning. The rail trail was very nice, crossing farmland with lots of bush by the trail and lots of cows and horses. It seemed flat and there was no wind. It wasn’t especially cold. I had a long way to run so I broke the day into stages, basically thinking from railway station to station (although there aren’t stations there any more, just signs). The stations were generally 5 to 8 km apart. Some had toilets and shelters with seats, at others there was absolutely nothing. 

After 19 km I reached Everton which is a big junction on the trail. I chatted to a couple of bike riders - I had seen almost no bikes so far - and had a brief rest. After Everton the trail was closer to the road for a while and then returned to farmland. It was getting quite warm and parts of the trail were very exposed. I much preferred the parts that were away from the road.

The only noticeable climb came towards the last 10 km of the day, following a lovely stretch through forest, but it wasn’t hard. I had a steep few hundred metres then the trail crossed the road and went back into the bush for a long downhill. I wasn’t expecting this since I hadn’t realised that I had climbed much, but it was most welcome. Suddenly as I approached the final station site for the day, Gapsted, I was tired. But the rows of vines at the winery were pretty in the sunshine and there was music coming from the winery.

Past Gapsted the trail came out to parallel the road for the last few kilometres into Myrtleford. It seemed a long slog to end the run. Then the route took me along back streets through town and I picked one of the many bakeries to have a sit before finding my motel. I had a pie and a latte.

I hadn’t realised that Myrtleford was such a big place. I had a walk around the town, located the route start for tomorrow, had a rest and had dinner at the pub.

It was freezing cold when I set out at 8.15 after my breakfast of coffee and a kitkat. It was also foggy so I couldn’t see anything in the way of scenery. The trail was largely close to the road but the road was not very busy early on. I passed lots of cows, horses and llamas. The early kilometres passed comfortably and I think I managed the same sort of pace as yesterday. I wanted to have my first stop at halfway, Eurobin. There were kilometre markers all along and I happily ticked off the distance. I played a game of trying to run on the soft shoulder beside the trail but I always ended up running on the paved trail without realising I had moved back across. I saw more bikes today. According to the map the whole way today was a gradual uphill.

At Eurobin I had a sit, and a little chat with the Highway Patrol who stopped to use the facilities. They were surprised to hear what I was doing and commented that at least I wouldn’t overheat. I was surprised how long it stayed cold.

But by the time I reached Porepunkah, with only 6 km to go, the sun was out and I was warm. The transition seemed surprisingly sudden. I could see the mountains for the first time. I sat briefly by the river and then walked the part of the trail through the small town (which I had never visited before as the main road to Bright doesn’t come through the town). There were lots of people on bikes on the trail here.

The last part of the trail was alongside a back road into Bright. I crossed the river and looked forward to finishing. I'm sure there was an extra kilometre in there somewhere. Then I found myself all of a sudden in the centre of Bright; the place looked lovely in the sunshine and it was pleasantly warm. I wasn’t completely exhausted but I was satisfied to have finished my little adventure. I sat at a cafe in the street with a coffee before changing into warmer clothes and getting the bus back to Wang. Then I slept most of the bus ride.

O'Keefe Rail Trail Marathon

I had an interesting time at the O'Keefe Rail Trail Marathon yesterday. I went into it with lots of pains, all stemming from my hamstring 'clunk' problem that refuses to go away. I was afraid it was going to be a painful marathon since everything starts hurting on my long runs these days and I hadn’t gone beyond 21 kilometres since my last marathon in mid February. This was a long break between marathons for me.

I started out and as usual could not understand why the entire field ran away from me while I thought I was not running all that slowly. I felt I was running my usual training pace. By about 6 km  I had some pain in my hamstring, basically some tightening which I thought I had better ignore. At 10 km I decided to try my utmost to speed up; I thought I would try it and see what happened. Whether I conked out at 30 km or managed to keep going, at least I would know I had given it my best effort. Amazingly I managed to put on some speed and over the rest of the route I passed a number of runners, and I felt very positive.

By half way I was in real pain, all over the top half of both legs, but I was determined to carry on and just finish this thing as soon as I could. I remembered how I had found a burst of hidden reserves at the end of the Kyoto Marathon which I had not fully utilised due to running out of road, and I thought that this time I would try to finish with nothing left in the tank. I ploughed on and told myself to ignore the pain.

Around 35 kilometres I was exceedingly tired and all of a sudden I realised the pains had gone. How extraordinary! I guessed that my brain was putting out 'I’m tired' signals rather than 'I’m in pain' signals. I could hardly keep up any pace at all but I knew I had already done the bulk of the hard work. Some of the stretches were very straight and monotonous and it took lots of mind games to get through those. An awful lot of this race is steady uphill.

On the whole I liked the course more than last year. I noticed more of the scenery. But it was too hot for me and a lot of the route was very exposed. I poured cold water down my back and drank as much as I could, but they only provided water at the aid stations.

I ended up with a time I was happy with. I didn’t want to go too close to 5 hours and I beat my goal of sub 4.45 quite comfortably with 4.37. That was only 10 minutes slower than last year, and everyone was slower this year. Nobody passed me after the first 10 kilometres. I was very, very sore at the end and felt quite sick, but I had made it.

Kyoto Marathon

A beautiful day for a marathon today in Kyoto: blue sky, light dusting of snow on the mountains, and 16000 people to share it. So I’m trying to put aside my disappointment with my time. Running marathons in Japan is about so much more than the running; it’s the food, the spectators, the never ending ganbatte, fight-o and the little challenges that make you realise you aren’t at home.

I had difficulty finding the correct subway line at Kyoto Station, for one thing, so that I could get to the race start, and getting to the start involved a change of subway lines (meaning I had to stop part way to buy a second ticket); I wasted a lot of time both at Kyoto Station and when I had to change lines and I couldn’t understand the ticket machine, but this meant I had less time for standing around in the cold on the start line. It was freezing in the stadium where we  had to stand through one of those long race introductions that the Japanese love. It’s ok for the officials because they’re all wearing thick coats. At least here I could see exactly what was happening: a band, speeches, athlete introductions.

I had decided to try to run a bit faster at the beginning today and then take walking breaks later on. I felt I ran faster early on than last weekend but I’m not sure if I actually did. We ran through some streets and then out to the edge of Kyoto, towards the mountains it seemed, following a river. There were shrines and memorial stones everywhere, but this is Kyoto. One time we ran under a torii and close to a big temple. The race marshals held a sign where we passed something significant.

The sun was out almost all the way but the air was cold. I couldn’t decide whether to keep my gloves on. Almost nobody was in shorts except for the elites at the front. I came across a group of TV people who were running in formation around someone who was clearly famous: he was a comedian apparently, and he did not look comfortable. The crowds were as enthusiastic as usual, with their yelling and high-fiving. I came into the race with sore legs but surprisingly the pains did not get any worse as I ran. I didn’t want to make any twisting moves, though. Going in a straight line seemed to be fine.

The food came into its own at 15 km. The first offerings were croissant-like buns and bananas. The cherry tomatoes and mandarins came next. Then I grabbed what I thought was a plain bun but turned out to have sweet red bean paste inside; it was surprisingly ok. There were also something called 'tablets' in the race material, which might have been a glucose pill and tasted nice. Each runner was given 2 strawberries. I think I might have been overeating.

After half way we did a lot of running along the river, first on the road and later on an unsealed footpath through parkland. We had several out and backs with a chance to see that I was not at the back of the field. It was very nice running by the river and about the first time I have seen somewhere in Japan where you could actually train properly.

One of the nicest parts was a stretch through the botanic gardens; the gardens were not very exciting but there was a performance of traditional Japanese singing. At other times we passed bands, dancers and groups of cheer leaders. The cutest was a group of little kids with bright orange pompoms.

When it came to it I didn’t do much walking at all. The kilometres were seeming longer and longer but I got into a rhythm and tried to keep running. I walked the aid stations, mostly through necessity because they got very congested. The second half was flatter than the first half, which had several long gradual climbs, until the final 4 kilometres when we began climbing again. 

Around 39 km I suddenly realised I was right behind the 5 hour pace group. This was a shock as I had not noticed them before. I had imagined they were well behind me. They must have gone by when I went to the toilet at 33 km. (There were so many toilets on the course and yet all of them had long queues so I waited ages before I found one without a queue.) I needed to put on a spurt, and I did so but with difficulty because the road was so congested and runners were weaving all over the place. I had to go into the oncoming runners' lane a few times, and since those folk were on their home stretch this was fraught with danger. I expected to get yelled at for this transgression but nothing happened and I managed to get clear of that group. However I was forewarned that my result was not going to be all that good.

I kept up a good pace to the finish despite several awkward turns. Near the finish I ran past the comedian - he was pretty much collapsed on the ground. The finish was right by the bright red torii of the Heian Shrine. Then we had to walk along slowly being given things like a towel, medal, drink and a very small snack of a rice cracker. For the cost of the race they could have given us more food, surely. 

I didn’t know my time until I got my certificate, and I wasn’t overwhelmingly happy when I saw it. Only 3 minutes faster than Himeji. But I had had a nice run and I had survived despite all my aches and strained muscles. I only have myself to blame if I do too much (like a long hike just before the race...)

It was easy enough to leave the race precinct, something I really appreciated, and I got a bus back to my hotel. This was much simpler than getting to the start. As soon as I reached the bus stop and boarded the bus the marathon seemed a million miles away; Kyoto is so busy that even 16000 runners get swallowed up without a trace.

Kumano Kodo hike

Kumano Kodo Trail, an old pilgrimage route across the Kii peninsula, through the mountains from Kii Tanabe on the west coast to Kii Katsuura on the east coast. From Kii Tanabe to Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine (the goal of the pilgrimage) it’s the Nakahechi route and from there it’s the Kogumotori-Goe route to Koguchi and the Ogumotori-Goe route to Nachisan near the coast.

Monday 

Train from Himeji to Osaka, dropped my main bag off at Osaka left luggage, train to Kii Tanabe, bus to Takijiri and then I could start walking.

There was a little shrine at the start and then the path went straight uphill into the forest. 

Mostly it was big, rocky steps or steps made from logs. I was taken aback at the steepness, having assumed the route description was an exaggeration. But it was lovely and quiet. I stopped at a cave, some tiny shrines and lookouts over the mountains and had lunch at the top of the first hill. The path was crisscrossed by tree roots and rocky, and the forest was dense with spindly, leafless trees.

I emerged from the forest at the hillside village of Takahara. There was a nice shrine at the entrance to the village, painted red. The village was small and scattered beneath an impressive mountain panorama. At the hotel in Takahara the onsen looked out over the mountains, and also a long way down over some villages, and so did my room. I didn’t mind at all having a short 4 kilometre day, and I enjoyed the meal they provided - sashimi, cooked fish, mountain vegetables.

Tuesday

I woke up to see the great view from my room and then noticed some tiny snowflakes. Within minutes there was full snowfall and by the time I went to breakfast (fish, vegetables) the ground was white. I thought I had read that they don’t get snow on the trail.

It snowed all morning and it was, of course, a very cold day. I started out with some Australians from Brisbane, which was lucky for me as I would have immediately gone the wrong way. At first I had a lot of uphill, but not especially steep, through forest of tall, straight trees. Going uphill on the snowy surface was fine.

There were more little shrines, and an almost frozen lake, and glimpses across to the mountains which seemed to have a fresh snow covering. I was cold despite walking fast. After a couple of mountain passes the trail descended to a point close to the road where there was a rest area (for drivers) with a shop and vending machines. I got a coffee from a machine and bought some emergency chocolate.

There was a large village not much further on, after I crossed a wide gravelly river, and I had another can of coffee. Hardly anyone was around. From here on the walking was mainly on a minor paved road. The snow was virtually gone but I was still very cold.

I came to another, tiny, village strung out along the road and I saw something in the middle of the road. It was a monkey, and I then saw another one on a roof. I was so excited, and I remembered the Japanese for monkey, so I wanted to tell someone what I had just seen, and lo and behold only a bit further on was a long staircase leading to a shrine and an elderly couple standing there. I told the man about the monkey but he was more excited about meeting a solo non Japanese hiker. After confirming for him several times that I was alone, didn’t live in Japan, and was doing the full walk, he went to his car and got out a packet of orthotic insoles to give me!

It’s impossible to tell from the map which of the villages have shops and which do not. I seemed to have missed my chance to buy lunch at the large village. There were to be no more shops for the day.

It wasn’t much further to my guesthouse but finding it was tricky. I continued on the trail past the marker where the place should have been according to my map but there was nothing. I went on and saw a couple of houses that had cars parked outside: this was promising, but no guesthouse. Then a woman got out of her car so I went over and asked her. The guesthouse was literally across the road, as I found out later, but she hadn’t heard of it. Then I took a different turn and found it, with 2 goats tethered outside. The Brisbane pair were also staying there so the house was full. 13.6 km today and another nice dinner including tempura vegetables and chicken in a wasabi sauce, but, curiously, no fish.

Wednesday

Today was the longest day of my hike, 21 km,  and it was great. It was a beautiful cloudless sunny day. I started out on a road along the edge of the forest then turned deep into the forest for several hours, some of the time with the Brisbane couple. There were 2 climbs to mountain passes; the first was very snowy and slippery but the second had very little snow, however the ascent was endless.

 I saw a few waterfalls and sometimes walked along narrow rivers. There is a long detour to the main track because of a crack that developed in one of the mountains after an earthquake in 2011. The views were generally different from yesterday too: empty valleys and steep hillsides.

On the far side of the higher pass the vegetation was totally different from the tall spindly trees and intermittent bamboo, with lusher trees and lots of ferns. No more snow at all. It was cold in the shade and the sun was not strong on the hilltops. At one point I was lamenting that I had not seen a shop or even a vending machine for about 18 km, when a man drove by and stopped; he gave me 3 mandarins. I ate my lunch by a roadside shrine and saw the Australian family from Canberra. After lunch the walking was easy, for my last 8 km, and I saw several vending machines while walking through some villages.

The highlight for today, and for the hike as a whole, came at Kumano Kodo marker 73 where a path led up to a lookout. Although I had descended a lot I was still fairly high up. I didn’t know quite what to expect here but when I suddenly saw the view of the Kumano Hongu Taisha torii sitting in the valley with huge mountains as a backdrop I was completely blown away. Funnily enough, at the very moment I was saying 'Wow!' aloud a Japanese guy turned up, the first person I had come across hiking the trail apart from the 2 sets of Australians I had already met. The sight of this torii was just staggering. It is huge, the largest in Japan, but to stand out like that against the mountains its positioning had to be perfect.

I walked slowly down the last kilometre to the shrine buildings which inevitably were less impressive. Then I walked out to the torii, but as a structure seen in isolation it is just a big archway, although very, very big. This marks the end of this section of the Kumano Kodo, but I am continuing on another branch to the coast.

Thursday 

I had to walk along the road for half an hour to the new trailhead, and at the shop where I stopped to buy lunch I bumped into the Brisbane couple, so I walked with them all day. The day was a long but gradual climb through lush forest, passing a couple of tea house ruins, some obelisks with poems and a few tiny shrines. There was a great view over the mountains, apparently about 3600 peaks. No snow in sight at all.

We ate lunch at a different lookout point. And then an undulating descent, quite rocky and slippery where the rocks were damp. We came out of the forest by a wide river into a tiny village. The mobile grocer was trying to sell vegetables from his van but there weren’t any customers.

It was a kilometre through the village and across a hillside cemetery to the next village, Koguchi. My friends were envious of where I was staying because they had been unable to get in and had heard good things about it, and then I met someone else who had failed to get in there tonight. When I arrived the owner told me I was his only guest.

The dinner was great: lots of tiny plates of very simple foods including wonderful sashimi. The owner wife came to chat with me and I managed to pull off a reasonable conversation in Japanese.

Friday

After a breakfast that was almost a rehash of dinner I set out, gift wrapped lunchbox in my backpack. I saw my Brisbane friends briefly and gathered that their accomodation was not all that special.

The first part of the hike was a long and often steep climb, on rocks and narrow log steps, often mossy. There was a lot of bamboo among the foliage. It was not so cold today. I quite enjoyed the climb, but I was glad to reach the top, at over 800 meters from an almost sea level start. There were some tiny patches of snow.

Soon after the top the path was closed due to a landslide and instead of another hill climb I contoured around the hill and had occasional views over the surrounding mountains. I was a bit concerned by the lack of signage but I could see footprints. At the end of the detour I came out to the road, a rest area and a vending machine. I left a note there for the Brisbane folk as I wouldn’t see them again.

The route followed the road and a gurgling stream for a while. In many places the road was icy as when I went back into the forest the stretches of ice became more extensive. The path rose and fell, with steps and rocks, until about 5 kilometres from the end there was a viewpoint where I saw the coast for the first and only time. 

The gradual descent to Nachisan was welcome. The path came out into a huge open area of grass then went back into the forest for the final kilometre. The steps down to the finish seemed endless, and the finish itself, by the Nachisan temple grounds (Kumano Nachi Taisha), was quite an anticlimax. There were several temple buildings and a nice red pagoda, but the main shrine was under renovation and was covered by white cloth. I could see the Nachi waterfall not far away, the highest in Japan.

I caught a bus to Kii Katsuura (on the coast) from near the waterfall. I was delighted to discover that Kii Katsuura has the biggest and best tuna fishery in Japan, and consequently dozens of tuna restaurants. I was also pleased to find the town has several foot spas and I made good use of them.

And that is the story of my 70 kilometre hike. 楽しみました！

I made a wallhanging based on a plaque I had seen along the trail.

Himeji Castle Marathon

So here I am, again, at Mister Donut to write about today’s marathon. I was so pleased when I woke up this morning that the rain had gone, and I was also pleased that the large amounts of food I had eaten yesterday had not upset my stomach. 

I ate breakfast in my room - coffee and a bun, luxury after my race breakfasts in India - and walked to the start by Himeji Castle. It was absolutely freezing and I was in no doubt that I had made the correct decision to wear tights. The wait in the starting chute seemed unnecessarily long, with a drumming interlude, lots of speeches, introduction of elite runners etc and I wanted to get going, but surprisingly the race started dead on time. It was just very cold so the wait felt longer.

We ran away from the castle and through the town. The field was very dense with runners, 7000 in this marathon apparently. There were masses of spectators, all cheering, and it was generally extremely noisy. I settled into what felt to me like an average sort of pace but in actual fact was very slow. I think I am still weakened by having been so sick and not yet back to normal running strength. I decided upon a modest goal of beating 5 hours and at this stage I did not think I would have much difficulty.

Once we left the town we followed a river on a straight road, so I could see runners way ahead in the distance. Japanese runners always look very colourful so it was a pleasant picture. The wind was icy. The whole route was lined by marshals in green jackets, and there was barely a metre without any spectators, even out in the countryside. We went along the edge of many villages - I guess the field was so large that we couldn’t go through any villages - and past those small communal farm plots. We were surrounded by low and not so low hills looking very wintry with leafless trees and grey-green grass.

As I ran along I realised quite soon that my right hamstring/glute area was causing me more discomfort than usual. It threatened to make the race very uncomfortable and I did my best to ignore the increasing pain.

One of the race highlights for me came at around 15 km when I saw tiny white flakes in the air. Snow! There’s nothing as good about running a marathon in Japan as when it snows. I don’t know why, I just love it; it’s like it lets me excuse the extreme cold. This wasn’t much of a snowfall, but it got thicker for about five minutes before stopping and starting for a while.

By 18 km I had yet to see another Caucasian, when suddenly a half-Caucasian appeared next to me. I was happy I could speak, even if only briefly, to someone. He told me he was with NHK, the national broadcaster, and wanted to interview me. That was fine and I told him why I love running marathons in Japan. I do love them, but today I was in more than a little pain so I had to remind myself constantly of my goal. 

By half way the pain was bad. I tried to tell myself that soon enough I would be at the finish and I would look back and think this wasn’t too bad. Luckily the aid stations quite suddenly remembered that they were in Japan and morphed from modest water and Pocari Sweat tables into the buffets that they are supposed to be. Good food can go a long way towards alleviating pain.

First there was a tent dispensing big bowls of noodles. I passed on that one. There followed a table with tiny bowls that each held just 2 noodles in ponzu sauce. Delicious. And so cute. Then there were tables with banana and mandarin segments, and bowls of that famous Japan marathon food: cherry tomatoes. There were frequent tables with wrapped lollies and wrapped chocolates. I picked up some chocolate croissants one time; not chocolate covered but with chocolate in the dough. One time I took a risk and tried a wrapped cylindrical thing called 'hamochiku' having checked first that it was food and not a hand wipe; it tasted like seafood and I found out later that it is a rolled sheet of solidified fish paste cooked on a skewer. And green tea mini kitkats. I didn’t take up the offer of red bean soup.

Needless to say (I hope it is needless to say) I didn’t have all these foods at once, but over the next 20 kilometres. 

My hamstring was getting worse and I stopped twice to spray on the ice spray that they always offer at Japanese marathons. I wasn’t sure if it helped but it may have controlled the pain a bit. Lots of people were walking and I started to pass quite a few people. The spectators were still cheering and not appearing bored as if they had been standing there for hours; instead they looked as if they had been waiting for this very moment that we would come by. That was great, but one of the worst parts of the course was a stretch that was inaccessible to spectators so there were loudspeakers offering cheer instead. I hated this even though I could not understand much of it. I think someone needs to pass on to the Japanese the news that silence is golden. Not forever. Just for a while.

We came back into town on a bike path along the river. Actually we had never really left the river. There were a couple of school bands playing, and some drummers. The fervour of the spectators had not diminished at all, but their chant had changed from 'ganbatte' or 'fight-o' to 'mō sukoshi' (just a little more). At the 39 km mark I heard loud cheering and realised that the 5 hour pace group was right behind me. That was a shock but acted like a bullet up my backside and I ran to the finish as fast as I could. Which was not fast. I had been too focussed on making the numerous intermediate cutoffs and forgotten about my 5 hour goal. 

It was wonderful to suddenly see the castle moat and then the castle, then a few turns and we would be done. I made my goal, finishing in 4:58 on the clock and 4:56:03 net. I would never have believed it could be so hard to get under 5 hours. I was slow, I was down near the back, but at least they weren’t yet packing up. 

Here’s a marathon where you not only have a fabulous castle as the backdrop to the finish but you then have a compulsory walk through the zoo to get to the refreshments area. Isn’t that wonderful? The zebras, flamingoes and - yes - kangaroos, didn’t mind either having so many visitors. Oh, and also I was interviewed by 2 journalists about my race experience. I tried to speak some Japanese but it was a big effort and not so successful.

In the finish area there were nice foods. First, hot broth. Then a dough thing with a savoury creamy centre on a stick. Then hot soupy rice pudding. And then you got your certificate to prove that this was not all a dream.