Fifty-Nine Days to Wakkanai

Kicking Back

2006-08-11T14:56:00.000+10:00

This is a present day entry. Twenty-three years have passed since I finished that run and now I am a 47 year old geezer. I am still running regularly, though. Not as fast as I once did, but I still plug away on a daily basis for about an hour or more.

The photo shows Mr. Kanzo Ito, the man who ran in the Berlin Olympic Marathon back in 1936. He was the President of the Japan Marathon Association when the photo was taken. We met up in Tokyo and went to the UPI office for the photo. Later, I visited with some of my former track and field teammates from Sophia International University.

After completing the run, I did go out and buy some new clothes at a fancy-dancy men's clothing boutique in Wakkanai. I had some people taking my measurements and putting me in some cool clothes. That was a big mistake, getting precise measurements immediately after my run for some new clothes. In just a few short weeks, the clothes became too tight. That's how skinny I was at the finish.

I remember getting a pair of some olive green pants, and an orange, tan, and brownish green plaid shirt at that one store. They looked good and fit just right. They ended up in the trash later that year.

The memories remain, and so do some photos and slides that I did not have the opportunity to post on this blog. Perhaps one day I will expand the account to include more photos and details.

Until then, my friends, keep on running, walking, or whatever it is that you do to stay fit and happy!

The End of the Tracks

2006-08-09T12:43:00.000+10:00

August 9, 1983, Tuesday

Today is my 24th birthday and I am already feeling too old to be doing this sort of thing, the activity of running the length of a country. I should have picked a smaller one, like Vatican City.

My run today started at 8:30am after breakfast, on a sunny and cool day. This day was perfect for finishing the long journey covering the entire length of Japan. I felt good from the start. I covered 25km before taking my first rest stop. During this stop, I ate lunch at a little store and rested to gather my strength for the final portion of the run. I had planned on resting again after about 10km, but I felt so good that I could not stop. I ran non-stop at a very fast pace from after lunch until I reached Wakkanai Station, the northernmost train station in Japan. This is where the tracks end (See Photo).

The people in the streets saw me run by at a fast pace, but they did not know what was going on. I must have had a different sort of look (one of determination?) because many of them yelled, "Gambare!" (Go for it!) as I made my way into the city.

I felt refreshed after running the 40km distance today. Now I can say my two legs covered every inch of road from Kagoshima to Wakkanai. It is over at last.

It was a lonely finish, but appropriate because as I said earlier in my posts, it was a very lonely 2000 mile run considering there are not very many people who can understand the mental and physical strain associated with this kind of run.

I called my mother from a pay phone and told her I was in Wakkanai and that I finished running the length of Japan. She said, "Ah so?"

Later in the evening, I went to a small bar near the inn where I am staying. I ordered a beer at the counter and sat down. No other customers were there. The lady tending the bar asked me what I was doing in town. I told her that I just ran to Wakkanai from Kagoshima and I was celebrating because today is my birthday. She gave me another beer on the house. She also told me I should stick around for Wakkanai's famous summer fireworks festival and went back to concentrate on wiping the wine glasses. I stared at my glass of beer and began to imagine how good it was going to feel when I put on my new street clothes that I plan to buy tomorrow.

Note: This is the last entry of the run, but I plan to post updates every now and then. To all the readers out there, thank you very much for your support. Please keep checking back for periodic updates in the future.

Jitensha

2006-08-08T14:03:00.000+10:00

August 8, 1983, Monday

Today became a day of rest after my last-minute decision yesterday to run the extra distance into Toyotomi. My legs are very sore from yesterday’s hard effort. Today was a nice, sunny day, almost like how a summer day is supposed to be. I bet Toyotomi does not see too many days like today outside of August.

To loosen up a bit, I rode an old papa-san bicycle that I rented from the ryokan. I just puttered around town on the clunker and then rested again in my room. It is funny how easy it is for me to feel tired now. Just a little bit of effort, and I feel like lying down for a while. I spent most of the day doing just about nothing. Watching TV and eating were about all that I wanted to do today.

I am already thinking about what I'm going to do after I finish. I called an old high school friend, Jimmy Clark, who now lives in Tokyo. I let him know that I will be there soon and we made plans to get together. Hanging out in the big city of Tokyo will be a nice change of pace for me, especially if I don’t have to run through it.

My desire is so much stronger now to wear regular clothing and just be normal again. I am tired of these running clothes! Just one more day and I will have covered the entire country of Japan on foot. How is the run going to be on my final day? I hope it will be a memorable one.

Ramen in Teshio

2006-08-07T16:28:00.000+10:00

August 7, 1983, Sunday

8:00am start after taking pictures with the helpers working at the Youth Hostel. Haboro Youth Hostel is recommended for those heading up to this part of Japan. The food is good and the people there are super nice.

The day was cloudy and cool--perfect for running. I felt pretty good today running on the deserted road to the town of Teshio.

When I arrived in Teshio in the early afternoon, I was a bit surprised to find the town so quiet. I did not see a single person walking around in the streets of Teshio. It looked so deserted. A wind would come up and blow a piece of trash up in the air, and that was about the only activity I saw. I spotted an open ramen shop and decided to go in for a bowl of noodles.

I ordered my noodles in the small wooden ramen shack and began chatting with the ramen chef. He asked what I was doing, and I let him know that I was on my way to Wakkanai. I asked if he knew of a place in town that has rooms for the night. The ramen chef turned out to be the owner of the place and offered me the room upstairs. After eating, I went up the stairs and entered the small 6-tatami matted room stacked with comic books. As I rested, a male Ainu high school student came up to read some comics after eating his ramen. We talked a bit, and then he proceeded to concentrate on the comics as he entered the magical world of manga.

I took a nap and woke up in the late afternoon. For some reason, I just felt I needed to get out of this town. I just had to get out! It was just too gloomy for my taste. I made a quick decision--make a run for the next town of Toyotomi and try to make it before the sun goes down. I told the kind ramen guy "thank you" and let him know of my decision to move on to the next town. Then I started to haul ass all the way to Toyotomi.

Now, today's evening run was not a typical run. It was foggy and gray, the road ran through a heavily wooded area, there was no traffic, and I was thinking about bears. I ended up running like a madman. What I did all the way to Toyotomi was run in the middle of the road, sing out loud while running, and run like there was no tomorrow. I felt like I was flying! The running was effortless and I felt I had all my supporters pushing me along. I had the entire road to myself. In fact, to mark the road as my own territory, I even took a big leak in the middle of the road with my hands on my hips, like I was the Jolly Green Giant.

It was dark and kind of spooky during the last 10km into Toyotomi, but I made it there in one piece. I really was afraid of running into a bear or something out there. I found a ryokan near the Toyotomi train station, took a nice hot bath, and ate some good sashimi. To top it all off, I got to watch the World Championships Women's Marathon on TV before going to bed. Man, what a day!

Napping on the Beach

2006-08-07T05:05:00.000+10:00

August 6, 1983, Saturday

I had planned on starting at 5:00am, but I woke up late and started the run at 7:45am. Actually, I started by walking a couple of miles before stopping in a store to get some breakfast. I had a nice little chat with the lady in the store as I bought my breakfast of rice balls and a coffee drink. She was very friendly and pointed out some things that I should look out for on today’s route to Haboro. She let me know about a fairly long tunnel that I had coming up.

A cloudy day today, so no worries about running under the pounding of the sun again today. However, my knee was hurting today. It must be all the pounding with the extra weight on my back.

I reached the town of Haboro in the early afternoon so I went to the beach and took a short nap on the sand. It was really relaxing, just lying there and listening to the waves coming in. I was thinking about how the ocean here is not quite the same as what I was used to in Guam. This place is close to Siberia and I am sure that the water is freezing cold, even in the summertime.

I got up after a short nap and made my way to the Haboro Youth Hostel to call it a day. I had read on the bathroom wall of one of the other Youth Hostels that the food here is exceptionally good. It’s not really something that you want to see while sitting on a toilet seat and it makes you wonder if the person writing it is being truthful. Well, it turns out that the food was quite good here, at least the dinner was tonight.

What I am worried about, though, is why they have so many signs here about what to do in case you run into a bear. The bears are exceptionally hungry this summer due to the lack of food in their usual foraging areas and are coming closer to town. I can use some of those bells for my shoes right now.

Open Road, Fast Cars

2006-08-05T16:33:00.000+10:00

August 5, 1983, Friday

Started at 8:00am for a long stretch of running--65km today. It was the hottest day since I arrived in Hokkaido. The temperature was about 35C degrees. The first 4 kilometers were covered with Mr. Shima. Man, my legs were still hurting, even after the day of rest. The heat really got to me, too, especially after the recent cold days of running.

At one point, when I was on the road, I was about to pass out from the heat. It was kind of tough today, running with my brain frying under the hot sun. The cars scream by you in Hokkaido because of the wide open, uncrowded roads. In fact, I heard that Hokkaido has the most traffic deaths per capita compared with other prefectures due to this reason. People just go crazy with all the open space. I certainly didn't have any people slowing down to chat with me today or any of the days while running in Hokkaido. Running here is really different from the running in Kyushu and Honshu due to the less-traveled roads.

By the way, I must admit I am really getting tired of this routine. I just can't wait until the day when I can wake up in the morning without having to worry about the distance ahead of me that day. Just about every morning, I have been waking up all tired and sore with the realization that I must cover a certain distance, which was usually longer than a full marathon. How nice it would be to wake up and just stay in bed all day.

Genghis Khan

2006-08-04T16:49:00.000+10:00

August 4, 1983, Thursday

I decided to make today a rest day in Sunagawa, since I am so close to the finish line. Better to be safe than sorry. I slept in until 9:00am then went to the city museum with Mr. Shima's son.

After returning, I ate lunch and then slept for a few hours. Later in the day, I called Mark Cook, a reporter with Guam Cable TV and talked for a while. The highlight of the day was going out with the Shima family and friends to dinner.

We had what they call a "Genghis Khan" in Japan, which is very popular in Hokkaido. It is a dish with a mixture of onions and other vegetables cooked with sheep or goat meat (see photo). It was delicious and went well with the Sapporo beer. I felt a bit strange eating so much on a day when I did not run a step.

After discussing with some of the runners tonight, I decided to alter my course to Wakkanai. We felt it would be better to avoid going through Asahikawa, which is a fairly good-sized city. The decision was to take the route along the western coast of Hokkaido all the way to Wakkanai. It is a less traveled route and may be less stressful due to the avoidance of the large city.

The plan still is to finish the run on the 10th of August.

Where Can I Get Some Bells?

2006-08-03T15:09:00.000+10:00

August 3, 1983, Wednesday

A sunny and hot day in Hokkaido. I had a late 11:30am start after going to Iwamisawa with Mr. Sawabe. I met up with the Iwamisawa runners and ran with them to the outskirts of the city. I reached the town of Sunagawa at 6:30pm today after 60km of running in the hot sun. I felt good though, quite a change from some of the other days. Running under the hot sun also gave me a chance to get myself tanned again.

Mr. Shima met me along the way and after the run, took me to his ryokan. I can't believe that this man is 76 years old. This is the same person who ran the length of Japan four years ago. His running form is excellent and his appearance does not reveal his age. I asked him why he ties tiny bells on his shoelaces and he tells me it is to scare the bears away when he is running alone on the deserted roads in the area. OK, now he has me worried.

By the way, I ran with a group of about 50 kids earlier this morning. They were kids that came out to Mr. Sawabe's early morning rajio-taisou (radio exercise) group, the kind that seems to exist in most Japanese towns during the summertime. I enjoyed running the 1.5km distance with the little kiddies and shaking each child's hand immediately after the run.

Lost in an Even Bigger City

2006-08-02T16:37:00.000+10:00

August 2, 1983, Tuesday

8:30am start. It was sunny--the first sunny day since I arrived on Hokkaido! I had a long 60km route to the city of Ebetsu today. I had to go through the city of Sapporo to get there. When I got into the city of Sapporo, I met two nice girls near Odori Park, the famous place where they have the ice sculpture festival during the winter. It is also the place with interesting historic structures like the one in the photo. The girls were friendly and struck up a conversation with me, which surprised me, because I really look like a bum.

Information on Sapporo: Prior to its establishment, the area occupied by Sapporo (known as the Ishikari Plain) was home to a number of indigenous Ainu settlements. In 1866 at the end of the Edo Period construction began on a canal through the area, encouraging a number of early settlers to establish Sapporo village. The settlement's name was taken from the Ainu language, and can be translated as "large river running through a plain".

By the way, I did not imagine that Sapporo would be so huge! It looks just like Tokyo. I got lost and wandered about for hours. I needed to find my way out of the city to go to Ebetsu. I finally got on track and made my way to Ebetsu to get in touch with Mr. Sawabe of the Ebetsu Marathon Club.

When I got into town, Mr. Sawabe picked me up in his car and we made our way to his house at 6:00pm. I felt exhausted today. Maybe it was from all the excitement (or stress?) of being in such a big city like Sapporo.

Big City

2006-08-01T12:50:00.000+10:00

August 1, 1983, Monday

Started at 8:30am today on a partly cloudy day. It was a bit warmer than yesterday. I had a hilly 62km of road to cover with many tunnels along the way. I counted at least 8 tunnels including one which was about 1.6km long. It was pitch black in some of these tunnels because of the exhaust from cars.

I had lunch at Yoichi city and took a short nap on the beach (for about an hour). I felt really refreshed after that nap. When I arrived in Otaru city, I was surprised at the large size of the city. I arrived at around 4:00pm and walked around the shopping area to check it out. This may sound strange, but I felt so much like a person from the sticks. As I saw in the stores the kind of normal clothing that people wear every day, I had a strong urge to stop wearing running clothes. I just wanted to wear some regular clothing of a civilized person and just blend in with the crowd.

Eventually, I called Mr. Shimizu of the Otaru Running Club to say hello and let him know I was here, then I checked into a hotel. I was left alone tonight in order to get a good rest. I believe Mr. Kayano contacted the folks here to let them know of my preference to rest up for the final days of the run.

It is already the month of August. June 11, the first day of this run, seems so far away. So much has happened since then, and I know that anything can happen in the next few days.

Support from a Friend

2006-07-31T21:20:00.000+10:00

July 31, 1983, Sunday

Along with some runners from the Rankoshi Running Club, I started at 9:30am. The Rankoshi runners came with me for 2km, then I was on my own. I was heading for the town of Kutchan 32km away. Although it was cloudy and raining at times, I felt pretty good today. Maybe it was because of the relatively short distance.

The scenery was beautiful from Niseko to Kutchan. A friend from Tokyo, Mr. Kayano, had arrived yesterday in Kamimena, and he jumped in for the last 5km run into Kutchan with me. He has been a big help, giving me a lot of encouragement. Mr. Kayano, who works for Toyo Ink, was the 10th place finisher in the 1982 Guam Marathon. He loves running and the marathon in particular, even though his job does not allow him the time to train as much as he wants.

I am now down to about ten more days of running until I reach that finish line. It will feel so good to finish.

Note: The photo is from the August 2, 1983 Guam Tribune newspaper.

Deserted Forest Station?

2006-07-30T15:06:00.000+10:00

July 30, 1983, Saturday

Got a relatively early start at 8:00am on a very cold and rainy day. I started by first walking the first kilometers to the outskirts of Oshamambe, then started running towards Kamimena. It was so cold out there, that I was wishing I had brought a long-sleeve shirt with me.

It was easy to get lost on the route today. I ended up going the wrong way and so I had to backtrack to Kuromatsunai. I am sure this added at least 4km to today's distance. I made it to Kamimena at last, but what the hell...it is just a tiny train station in the middle of the forest! No houses, no stores, no nothing! No way was I going to spend the night in the forest. I needed to get out of there fast and make my way to a real town.

I proceeded to make my way (fast, to avoid running in the dark) to Rankoshi to stay with Mr. Sasaki's cousin. Mr. Sasaki is the man I stayed with in Mori. The distance today was probably around 55km, including the extra distance from backtracking.

Mr. Sasaki's cousin told me a story about running into a bear in the near vicinity. Apparently, one night after drinking a good amount of sake, he was walking home alone on a deserted mountain path. When he turned a corner, he said he was face to face with a bear. He said he just froze for what seemed like an eternity (he says it was probably around 30 minutes) because he did not know if the bear had moved behind him and he was afraid to move. Eventually he gathered enough courage to haul ass all the way to his house.

I am not sure what I would do if I end up running into a bear. I don't think I can break out into a full sprint with my beat up legs.

Squid-rice in Oshamambe

2006-07-29T17:32:00.000+10:00

July 29, 1983, Friday

Started running at 9:00am on a cold and foggy day. I did a lot of walking with running on the straight and narrow road towards the town of Oshamambe. It seemed like a totally straight and flight 31km route to this old Ainu town.

I met Mrs. Suzuki of the Hakodate Running Club on the road while I was running. She was driving over to Obihiro to watch a track & field meet with another family.

When I got into Oshamambe, I hung around the train station before going to the Murakami residence for the night. At the station, I bought some ika-meshi, one of the famous dishes of this town. It is seasoned squid filled with rice. Very delicious, although I am still not sure what nutritional value squid has. All I know is that it was very tasty.

The town of Oshamambe seems a bit depressed. It may be due to the weather, but Oshamambe looks like a lonely town. However, the young couple, the Murakamis, made me feel at home. While relaxing earlier in the evening, I watched a video tape of the Tokyo International Marathon that took place earlier this year. Toshihiko Seko had won that race in 2:08:38, a first win for him in Tokyo. I truly enjoyed the evening and felt so relaxed here with Mr. and Mrs. Murakami.

Note: For an interesting account about this area written by a foreigner in 1878, read Unbeaten Tracks in Japan by Isabella L. Bird.

Phone Home

2006-07-28T16:49:00.000+10:00

July 28, 1983, Thursday

I left the town of Mori (named after the word for "forest" in Japanese) at 10:30am and started to do some easy running mixed with walking to the town of Yakumo, or Yakumocho. The total distance covered today was 32km on a cloudy and foggy day. It is cold in this area, especially at night and when you are close to the ocean.

My knee is hurting from yesterday's run. I must have been carried away from all the excitement. I need to rest the knee for a while and just do some gentle running and walking on these shorter distance days.

At 3:30pm, I reached the town of Yakumo and contacted Mr. Sahashi for a place to sleep. I spent a quiet evening with the Sahashi family. I called Guam today and spoke with Bill Thomasson, a close friend, and also with Cinde Whitman, president of the Guam Running Club. The call cheered me up quite a bit. I have been thinking about Guam a lot lately, and looking forward to being back home.

Northern Country

2006-07-27T18:57:00.000+10:00

July 27, 1983, Wednesday

After meeting with the mayor at City Hall and talking with reporters, I started running at 9:45am. I couldn't believe it--they had the streetlights turned off and cops at the intersections so that I could run through! This was the first time it's happened, and I did not expect it at all. Of course, I would not expect any other place to do it, either. It was a bit too much with the police escort.

Members of the Hakodate Running Club were there to see me off after a very formal ceremony with many people watching. It was a bit embarrassing for me, but I must admit, it felt good to be treated like this after coming all the way to the northern island of Hokkaido.

A couple of Hakodate runners joined me for the first 20km of my 41km run today. I had lunch at the Onuma Country Club. The club is a very impressive one. I was told that they use it for cross-country skiing in the wintertime. I would love to come back here to do some cross-country skiing, something that I had done a bit of when going to school in Gunnison, Colorado.

It was fairly comfortable running in the cloudy and foggy conditions that lasted all day. I reached the town of Mori at 3:00pm and went to Mr. Sasaki's house to spend the night. I had a delicious steak dinner and drank lots of beer--Sapporo beer, of course.

Running on Water?

2006-07-26T16:53:00.000+10:00

July 26, 1983, Tuesday

The morning was spent touring the city of Aomori. I rode the 12:15pm Seikan Ferry to the city of Hakodate past the Tsugaru Strait. It's been very cold due to the fact that it's been raining all day.

I tried to get some sleep on the ferry, but could not rest because of the loud kids running around the boat playing tag. I should not blame them--it's a great experience and a lot of fun for them to be on this ferry. They are probably on some sort of a school trip.

In case you are wondering--No, I did not run in place while the ferry was making its way to Hakodate!

I reached Hakodate at 4:30pm and was greeted by a gentleman and two ladies from the Hakodate Running Club. We all went to a historic building that was also a classy restaurant and ate a nice dinner. The Hakodate runners are great--the president is a doctor here and really seems to know his stuff about running and the body. I enjoyed talking with him. It was a fun evening, a good start for the next leg of my journey, this time, through the northern island of Hokkaido.

Last Honshu Run

2006-07-25T21:54:00.000+10:00

July 25, 1983, Monday

It was a sunny and HOT day. I started running from the hotel at 9:30am. I should say running/walking because for the first 20km of today's 40km route, I was suffering from leg soreness and the intense heat. At about the halfway point, I met up with some Aomori runners and ran at a pretty good pace for the rest of the distance into Aomori city.

It was nice to see the ocean again while running and I was super happy, thinking that this was it for the island of Honshu! I made it through the largest island!

I reached the finish at 4:30pm and met the mayor at City Hall. Aomori is such a beautiful town. I'm sure the scenery here is quite different in the middle of winter, giving another view of the city's beauty.

The knee is really bothering me now and it seems to be getting worse every day. Will it hold up in Hokkaido?

Hard Rain

2006-07-24T18:41:00.000+10:00

July 24, 1983, Sunday

I left the house at 10:30am in the heavy rain. In fact, it rained heavily all day. I made my way to Hirosaki station, 50km away. I saw on the news that the heavy rain has caused a lot of damage, especially in the town of Masuda where about 50 people died and about 100 people are still missing. Those landslides caused by the rain can do a lot of damage in these towns.

My knees are still bothering me, but I should be fine for the rest of Honshu. I hope the weather is nice tomorrow for my last day of running on the main island of Japan. The Hirosaki people treated me kindly. I got to tour the city with some of the Hirosaki runners and went to see the famous Hirosaki Castle.

Some interesting information about this city: There are numerous remains of cultural assets in Hirosaki, a town centered around Hirosaki Castle. The town is also known as Little Kyoto for its historic set up and the cultural atmosphere. After the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), the town developed as an agricultural district and became Japan's largest producer of apples. Plantation of the fruit is known to have started in 1875 when seeds of western apples introduced through a foreign teacher were planted and since then research brought forth improvement in quality. The prefecture's highest peak on Mt. Iwaki-san is on the west, the mountain ranges of Hakkoda-san are on the east, mountain ranges of Dewa-san are on the south, and Iwaki-gawa River's stream runs from north to south through Tsugaru Plains.

Tsunami Tragedy

2006-07-23T19:33:00.000+10:00

July 23, 1983, Saturday

I started running at 9:00am this morning, but first visited the port where 36 people were washed out to sea by a tsunami last May. Amazing how such things can happen so quickly and without warning.

It was mostly cloudy, with some rain showers. Today I felt very tired and sore from the start, so I did more walking than usual to mix up the running. I told myself I'd better take it easy before I end up in the hospital again.

I ran into the town of Odate in the evening, and walked around in the rain to find a place to eat. After eating, I called Mr. Takeda of the Odate Running Club and was picked up to stay at his house. Later at night, I had dinner out in town with the running club and went back to Mr. Takeda's house to get some rest.

While everyone else was the drinking and eating, I kept saying to myself, "I've got to survive the next 2.5 weeks."

Attitude Adjustment

2006-07-22T22:09:00.000+10:00

July 22, 1983, Friday

8:00am start. Cloudy day with no rain--perfect conditions for running. I ran the 62km to Noshiro fairly comfortably today.

Today I decided to work on changing my attitude. I am attempting to be more of a positive thinker and having more of a positive outlook during these runs. It seems to be working. I was feeling good today. Now I'm waving and smiling a lot more whenever I see people.

I reached Noshiro City Hall at 5:40pm, talked with news reporters there, then went to the Noshiro Kogyo High School to spend the night. The table tennis club is having their summer training camp here, so the team members are also staying overnight.

This is a much nicer place than I expected (the accommodations). In addition, the folks here are leaving me to do as I please.

Only 3 more days to go until I get to relax on the ship to the island of Hokkaido. That will be a nice break.

By the way, I am writing in ink now because I threw away the pencil to lighten my load. Yes, I am that conscious about the weight that I carry on my back.

Lonely Road

2006-07-21T19:05:00.000+10:00

July 21, 1983, Thursday

Today is Liberation Day holiday back home on Guam. Again, just like the 4th of July, it's just another day here in Japan.

I started early at 6:30am today, while it was raining. I did not eat breakfast until 10:00am. I was feeling especially tired on the run today for some reason. Perhaps it was because of the lonely road I was on most of the way, with hardly any drive-ins or stores. During the run, I started to feel sick so I had to take a number of breaks.

Eventually, I made my way to the city of Akita. All I could think about today was to be alone and get some rest. The Youth Hostel that I stayed in last night had a bunch of noisy people that kept me up until past 2:00a.m.

Can it be that my mental condition at this point is deteriorating more than the physical?

Following Basho

2006-07-20T21:28:00.000+10:00

July 20, 1983, Wednesday

Started at 6:30am on a cloudy and cold morning. I first thought I had the whole day to myself to run freely for the 60km to Kisakata. I was feeling good, running easily, until someone hopped out of a car all ready to run. This happened at around 7:00am.

At first I was a bit disappointed that I would not be running alone, but the feeling went away. This man, Mr. Tanaka, joining me today turned out to be a very kind, quiet runner who gave me my space as I ran my pace on the road. Unlike the other gung-ho runners, Mr. Tanaka respected my need for some quiet time while I put in my distance. He ran about 50km of the way with me, and at that point, I think he realized why I had preferred to run alone--He was not very talkative in the later parts of the 50km!

I ended up going a bit longer than intended today because we had passed the Youth Hostel by a couple of kilometers. Just 3 more weeks--I've got to make it through just 3 more weeks. I am going to try to enjoy these last remaining days of the run as much as possible.

By the way, I am now in Akita prefecture. The poet Bashō visited Kisakata as part of his 1689 travels in Honshu, and composed a famous waka about Kisakata's islands. However, an eruption of Mount Chōkai in 1804 caused the seabed to rise, and the islands are now surrounded by land, not water. There is a statue of Bashō at the Kanman Temple, which he visited.

Beautiful Yamagata Prefecture

2006-07-19T21:40:00.000+10:00

July 19, 1983, Tuesday

I started the run alone today at 11:00am to cover the 45km to the town of Tsuruoka. It was another nice run along the coast on a partly cloudy day with no rain. Yamagata is such a beautiful prefecture. People here are really down-to-earth. At times, it is difficult for me to understand their dialect, though.

As I was running along the coastline, I met a young man who is walking from Soya Point in Wakkanai to Kagoshima (He's going "downhill"). The man pulled out news clipping of me from his wallet. He said he had been looking around for me. It was great meeting up with him...now I don't feel so lonely knowing that I have a fellow traveler covering the same distance. This man really has guts. He quit his regular job to take this journey. People don't do that so much in this country.

Mr. Abe of Tsuruoka met me along the way in his car and following me in his vehicle as we approached town. I noticed signs welcoming me were posted in various parts of the town, on Mr. Abe's car, and even in Mr. Kageyama's house! I feel really grateful for the effort these folks made to make me feel so welcome.

I'm staying at Mr. Kageyama's house for the night. Earlier this evening, I drank so much beer that I started to feel sick. I need to learn to control my input of beer!

Photo: Finishing at City Hall in Central Honshu.

Matsuo Basho's Inn

2006-07-18T21:36:00.000+10:00

July 18, 1983, Monday

Before beginning my run, I met with the governor of Murakami. Started running at 9:30am under sunny/partly cloudy skies.

Today's run was an extremely beautiful one along the coastline to Nezugaseki. It was about a 50km run today. It was such a pleasant run today--I truly enjoyed it. Events after the run were quite interesting.

Mr. Ono, who showed me around after my arrival, helped me to check into an old, historic ryokan. The owner of the ryokan informed me that the famous Haiku poet, Matsuo Basho stayed in this same inn. I was a bit skeptical, because this must have been over 300 years ago, according to my calculations. The innkeeper came back with an old registry to prove that he had stayed. Really fascinating! I asked which room, but he did not have any idea. Still, it was a real thrill to know that I am staying in the very same inn as the poet who took the "deep and narrow road" through Japan. This is probably his most famous haiku: furuike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto (the old pond / a frog jumps in-- / water's sound) [1686]
(See Photo: Matsuo Basho 1644-1694)

When I settled into my room, I sat down with Mr. Ono, had a few beers, and started to talk about various topics. As we sat talking and drinking, Mr. Ono started to cry. I was not sure what was up, but then he started to tell my why. He was recalling the time he was in New Guinea during World War II. He had some very pleasant memories of being in the islands, but what made him cry was the recalling of atrocities that were committed by the soldiers. I did not ask him to elaborate, but I could only imagine what was going through his mind. We continued talking and he seemed to feel much better by talking through his emotions.

Mr. Ono should come out to the islands once again to erase the bad memories and return with the good. I hope he can make it out to Guam someday.

Today I reached Yamagata Prefecture, another milestone indicating that progress is being made.

Bear Country?

2006-07-17T19:21:00.000+10:00

July 17, 2006, Sunday

Another rainy day today. I started the run at 9:15am in the cold rain. I am prepared with my lightweight red poncho from Champion Products, that easily folds up into a pouch. Mr. Ito is running with me again today. I really respect this 66-year-old man who has experienced all kinds of running adventures. He's such a nice guy and fun to be with. He understands how tough it is putting in these long distances and is very sensitive to not disrupt my pace.

The legs are feeling much better, but I still need to monitor the pain in the knees. The knees can really put a stop to your running, especially when you are prone to the sharp pain that can come and go, like big needles being rammed into the knee joint.

When I reached Murakami and checked into a ryokan, I got a massage from a Murakami runner. The Niigata people are really helpful. This part of the country feels so different from being in the big city environment. The people really seem to be so much friendlier.

Today, I heard that bears appear every once in a while out of the mountains. In fact, this year, because of the lack of food in the mountains the bear sightings are more frequent. The other night, I watched a news clip on TV about the apparent sighting of a bear in the vicinity. The TV camera showed a pile of bear droppings, proof enough that it was not just a vision from a guy drunk on sake.

Cold Temps. in Niigata

2006-07-16T23:45:00.000+10:00

July 16, 1983, Saturday

A cold rain was falling when I woke up this morning. Still, there was no choice but to head out for a 60km day. This may sound repetitive, but I'll say it again--My legs were sore and I didn't feel like running at all. I felt that way all day today.

I still ran most of the way though, but after lunch, I was really feeling it. Three runners from Niigata joined me from that point and accompanied me the rest of the way. The moral support was welcome and the guys were gentle on me. Gentle running is about all I can do now.

Being in the city of Niigata is interesting. It's a fairly good size and is famous for cold winters, with freezing winds blowing over from Siberia. There is an island off the coast (Sado) where prisoners were sent during the Edo period. The Tokugawa Shogunate also operated gold and silver mines on Sado Island. Refining of the gold and silver ores was also done there. Descriptions of the operation can be found in numerous picture scrolls (See Photo).

Only 9 more days until I leave the island of Honshu. I just can't wait to reach Hokkaido, or the land of Ezo as it was called in times past.

City of Fireworks

2006-07-16T00:18:00.000+10:00

July 15, 1983, Friday

A cloudy day with some showers. I started the run at 8:00am for a manageable 35km to the town of Nagaoka. Two runners from the Nagaoka Running Club joined me today. No problem, they took it easy on me.

Today's distance was short (21+ miles is short? It's all relative, I guess). The legs are still hurting though. As you can see from the photo, I am now wearing a knee support.

A bit of history: On August 1, 1945, the city of Nagaoka experienced approximately 126 B-29 bombers bombing Nagaoka for one hour and 40 minutes, starting at 10:26 p.m. The air raid turned most of the city into a deluge of fire. It claimed about 1,460 lives, and nearly 60,000 people lost their homes.

In 1946, the city designated August 1 as a day to commemorate the rebirth of the city. In 1951, the day was chosen as Nagaoka’s Festival Day. On August 2 and 3, Japan’s largest scale fireworks show is held along the banks of the Shinano as a reminder of the people who lost their lives during the air raid.

To the people of Nagaoka, the city’s annual fireworks show is a symbol of peace and an expression of enthusiasm for Japan’s postwar reconstruction. Unfortunately, I won't be around to enjoy the fireworks with the citizens of Nagaoka. In fact, I'll still be continuing this run.

I'm trying not to think too far ahead about the future right now. No use asking myself, "Am I going to be able to walk if I make it to Hokkaido?" I need to take one day at a time. Things will work out.

Tunnels Again

2006-07-14T23:08:00.000+10:00

July 14, 1983, Thursday

I had a late morning start today with a lot of distance to cover. I'm not sure how many kilometers I ran today, but I do know that it was over a fairly long distance. The guys here at Nyuzen informed me about the tunnels. No way you can run in these tunnels, according to them. They are way too long and are not built for pedestrians to pass through, they said.

They insisted to follow me in their vehicle, and believe me, I was glad. The Nyuzen Marathon Club guys were right--these tunnels were huge and long. They were filled with exhaust fumes. I know I would have been terrified to go through these monsters on my own. For just the terribly dangerous tunnels, the guys insisted I ride with them. I did not argue. No way...I want to live!

I reached Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture in the late evening. I'm staying at the Youth Hostel here, which is crowded with Tsukuba University track athletes. They remind me of the time I ran for Sophia University in Tokyo when I was a freshman. The training camps with the team were so much fun. Train hard, eat, sleep, and do it again with the rest of the team.

This run is nothing like that experience, although the activity of running is the same. Nothing compares to this long journey, at least nothing that I have encountered so far in my lifetime.

The legs are still sore and I especially feel it in the knees and hip.

Note: Photo above was taken on the first day. Almost a distant memory by the time I reached Kashiwazaki.

English Teacher for the Day

2006-07-13T20:12:00.000+10:00

July 13, 1983, Wednesday

I'm still in Nyuzen. According to historical town records, the present town center was an important hotel town in the 17th century and attracted merchants to come and open their shops here. It turned out to be an important hotel town for me, too.

For the first time in a while, I got to sleep in until late morning, then got a haircut. Not really sure who I was getting it cut for, but I figured it would be best not to look too scraggly. I don't want to scare away people who see me on the road. It's bad enough seeing a skinny, dark, sweaty, half-naked guy hyperventilating all over the place. Later in the day, I did a bit of jogging on the grass again at the Nyuzen High School track.

Today, I was an English teacher, speaking with the high school English-speaking Club. It was fun interacting with the students. I love being in the small towns where the schools just have a special atmosphere that encourages friendliness and support.

The legs are still sore, especially in the knees and the hip joints. Whatever the case is tomorrow, I need to start up on the route again. Tomorrow I will head out to Kashiwazaki, in Niigata Prefecture.

Sleeping in School

2006-07-12T21:10:00.000+10:00

July 12, 1983, Tuesday

This morning, I went back to where I rode the bus yesterday and started a slow jog from about 10:00am. This shuffling went on for a couple of hours, and by noontime when I reached the town of Nyuzen, I called it quits. That was enough for the day.

I went to Nyuzen High School, where a Nyuzen Running Club member teaches. I asked for a quiet room and took a nap. Later in the afternoon, I did an easy jog on the grass to loosen up a bit and to see how my body was reacting to the running. Even after the nap, I was still sore and very tired. I definitely need more rest. I'd better listen to my body and just rest another day before resuming my run tomorrow.

Tonight I am staying at another Youth Hostel in Asahimachi. I'm thinking about the upcoming route. I heard that there are many tunnels, and with construction going on, it will be quite dangerous. I'd better be extra alert on the road.

Lay My Body Down

2006-07-11T23:04:00.000+10:00

July 11, 1983, Monday

I woke up feeling sore all over. My entire body is aching--even my earlobes! I started at 8:00am from Takaoka station, but I didn't really feel like running a step. After about 5km of running, I just stopped. I walked a bit to keep moving. Then I started to feel so tired that I felt like I was just going to drop dead. I just wanted to lay down right there on the asphalt to get some rest.

At that point, I made a quick decision to go to Toyama to rest in a hotel. I rode a bus to the train station and found a place to relax a bit. The sound of cars, the smell of exhaust fumes, the act of running, all of a sudden, had become too much for me to handle. I just didn't care anymore about the distance I scheduled to put in today. I need to get some rest if I am to finish this run. No more running today.

Halfway through Honshu?

2006-07-10T23:50:00.000+10:00

July 10, 1983, Sunday

I have just about one more month to go! It will be kind of nice to get back to a more normal routine. I miss wearing regular clothes. I miss music. I miss not being tired all the time.

It was another surprisingly cold day for summertime. I left Komatsu at 8:15am on a partly cloudy day. I had a long run ahead of me--over 70km of road. I was not enjoying the running today at all. It was just way too long! I am starting to think that approximately 50km is just about the right amount of distance to run now without wiping myself out. What a difference an additional 20+km can make.

Tonight I am staying in a Youth Hostel in the town of Takaoka, the second largest city in Toyama Prefecture. If you take a look on a map, you'll find Takaoka in the center of the Japanese archipelago along the Sea of Japan, at latitude 36 north and longitude 137 east (See Photo). It is almost on the same latitude as San Francisco, Beijing, and Athens.

When I was lightening the load of my backpack the other day, I had sent my Youth Hostel card along with my other "non-essentials." The lady at the Youth Hostel gave me a hard time about not having a card. After a while, the lady let me slide but she had to make sure that I received an ample dose of stress to add to my already depleted body and mind after running 70+km.

I had arrived at the Youth Hostel at 6:50pm today, the latest finish so far. This does not give me as much time as I want to do my post-run routine (washing, eating, writing, etc.) before going to bed. Every little bit of rest counts now. I can sense that the fatigue is starting to affect my patience and my mood.

Sukiyaki Again is Fine with Me

2006-07-10T00:47:00.000+10:00

July 9, 1983, Saturday

There was a sprinkling of rain when I started running at 8:00am today. It's still cold, just like it was yesterday. The distance for today was 55km to the town of Komatsu.

I had a group of runners with me for about 30km of the run today, so I was able to run on my own for about half of the planned route. The runners took it easy on me, knowing that I am experiencing some fatigue after close to a month of high-volume running. (Yes, I did have to remind them.) By the way, I am now in Ishikawa Prefecture. Being on the big island of Honshu, it really is a morale-booster when you find that you’ve traveled from one prefecture to another. It really makes you feel like some progress is being made. So far, Honshu has felt like a never-ending piece of landmass. I will be so happy when I get to the northern end of Honshu and take the ferry to Hokkaido.

Tonight I'm staying at Mr. Ogawa's house. He has a couple of young daughters who swim for the Komatsu Swimming Club. They have some sort of an exchange program with Guam swimmers and had a number of swim meets here and on Guam. I was introduced to the swim team coach who will be on Guam in January for the next meet.

I had Sukiyaki again tonight, but I'm not complaining. It was very tasty. So was the beer.

Note: The photo shows me in a small town with a train station at a dead-end street. Many of my daily runs started and ended at train stations like this one which, in many places, are far removed from my main route.

Not the Tunnel of Love

2006-07-09T01:08:00.000+10:00

July 8, 1983, Friday

I left Tsuruga Station at 8:00am this morning. It was raining and quite cold. Last night, I had thrown a number of things away from my backpack and had others sent back home so that I could run with a lightened load.

Unfortunately, today's run had me go through some hilly terrain. Wherever you have hills or mountains in Japan, you are bound to be going through some tunnels. These tunnels that I encountered today were dark and dangerous, just like the ones in Kyushu. (See Photo) They are also damp, with ice-cold water dripping down on you as you pass through some spots. All you hear is the dripping water and the echo of your footsteps, which sound like someone is running right behind you. Drip...Drip…Pitter-Patter, Pitter-Patter, Pitter-Patter…Drip… Drip… There is also the smell of earth, moss, and, sometimes, mold. You can almost smell your own fear.

When I was running through these tunnels in the isolated mountain road leading to Fukui, I started to freak out a bit. I remembered the ghost stories that people used to tell me when I was a child growing up in Japan. Like the one about the woman who was jilted by her lover and committed suicide by hanging at the entrance of tunnel located on an isolated road. While I was thinking about this, the sound of my own footsteps started to play with my imagination. I picked up the pace in the tunnels, and the echoing sound of "another runner" picked up the pace as well. I never thought I could be spooked like that in the middle of the day, but believe me, the hard-falling rain, isolated environment, the tunnels--they all contributed to establishing a sense of urgency for me to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE TUNNELS!!!

I reached the city of Fukui finally, and stopped in front of Fukui Station at just before 4:00pm. I met up with Mr. Sato of the Fukui Marathon Club. We went to a restaurant to eat some Sukiyaki before going to my hotel for the night. I was glad to finish running through the tunnels today and celebrating by drinking lots of beer.

Compact Camera Weighing Me Down?

2006-07-07T23:18:00.000+10:00

July 7, 1983, Thursday

I left Obama Lodge a few minutes before 7:00am. Unfortunately, I had to cover ground that I had already gone over yesterday due to the fact that the town is a bit removed from my route. I wasted about 40 minutes getting back to where I left off.

It was another long day with 55km to cover under the hot sun to Tsuruga. Again, my back started hurting as soon as I began the run. Now I am serious about getting rid of a lot of things in the backpack, although I am already down to my bare necessities. Maybe the camera will go next? It really isn't that heavy. It's one of those compact Olympus XA cameras (see photo). I really like it and would hate to part with it.

For some reason, I felt terribly lonely on the road today. Ultrarunning is such a mind game. You just need to push on no matter what or how you are feeling. On a brighter note, I did meet a young Japanese man who is cycling from Kyoto to Wakkanai near the tail end of today's run. We exchanged some stories on what we had experienced so far. It is encouraging to meet people like him along the way, although I was a bit envious of his ability to eat up the long distances on the bicycle. Smart guy.

No Rest for the Weary

2006-07-06T23:20:00.000+10:00

July 6, 1983, Wednesday

I was awake by 4:30am and left the inn at 6:00. I had a long 70km stretch of road to cover today to the town of Obama. My back hurts like hell! I've started to do more walking and I'm just tired of it. I would rather run the whole way if only my back felt better. It would be great to get rid of this backpack so that I can run unimpeded. Lately, I have been going through every single item in my backpack to see if I could dump it. Believe me, I have thrown a lot of stuff away already. I am so careful about adding to the weight of my pack that even the thought of throwing out my money ran through my mind.

The truth is even if I got rid of the backpack, it would still take a while for my back to feel normal again. With the walking, these distances are taking up too much time, leaving me less time to rest/relax after the day's journey. The routine after each run has been rush to the inn to eat, bathe, wash clothes, and make phone calls, etc. This feels like a low point of my trip. Bad back = Bad mood. If you have experienced major back pain before, you know what I'm talking about.

Now I am in Fukui Prefecture. The city of Obama prospered as a good natural harbor along the Sea of Japan since ancient times. It was an important port for international trade with Korea and China via the Sea of Japan. This made it one of the first Japanese cities to introduce the advanced culture of the continent. It was known to Nara and Kyoto as the closest port from the capital through the Saba Road (salted mackerel road).

The history is interesting. Learning about these new places helps to get my mind off the painful back. Am I going to make it all the way to the northern point of Hokkaido with my back feeling this way? I am starting to wonder.

Ringing in a New Day

2006-07-06T00:15:00.000+10:00

July 5, 1983, Tuesday

I gathered up my belongings and prepared to walk the two boys to school before beginning my run. The priest gave me the privilege of hitting the big temple bell, a ritual that takes place at daybreak and at sundown. From the top of the mountain, the sound of the bell rings loud and clear, telling everyone in town that the day has begun, or that it is time to go home. "Gong!...Gong!...Gong!" I asked the boys to help me as we swung the wooden pole into the bell. It was quite exhilarating. I know I won't have much of an opportunity to do that again. Not unless I become a priest at a temple.

After we finished our bell duty, we said good-bye to the priest and headed down the road to school. The boys were relatively quiet, but very respectful. We talked about school, sports and the importance of finding out what it is that we enjoy doing. Before long, we reached the school. I shook hands with the boys and started my 60km run to Miyazu.

I encountered a little rain, but it was cloudy most of the day. I had my backpack with me all day again. When I reached the town of Mineyama, a passing motorist offered me a ride. I thanked the gentleman, but turned down the offer. Nice guy. It never ceases to amaze me how many kind people there are in this world. They show up when you least expect it.

My back and feet were hurting quite a bit on the run today, mainly from carrying my heavy pack. The feet I don't mind so much, but pain in the back is really hard to handle. I hope this is not going to lead to any serious injury.

Note: Although it is oftentimes difficult to identify the direct cause of lingering back pain, I believe that the back problems I encountered in later years stemmed from this 1983 experience. I had learned in 1999 to somewhat ease the discomfort by doing some yoga after each run, but 23 years later a similar pain still comes and goes.

One Special Night

2006-07-04T18:12:00.000+10:00

July 4, 1983, Monday

It's Independence Day! No sign of that here--no fireworks, no barbecues, etc. It's just another hot, summer day in Japan. In fact, it's very HOT today! To top it all off, I had to carry my belongings all the way for the first time this time. Up until now, I had some crew members from the running clubs transporting my bag to designated points.

Today's route was 45km to the small town of Kumihama. I had to run through some dangerously dark and winding tunnels in the mountains and was almost killed on two occasions. It happens so often now that I don't get as spooked as I did earlier. I am just extra alert when I go through these tunnels so that I can get out of the way in a split second if required.

As I was running on a lonely stretch of mountain road leading to the town of Kumihama, I was offered a ride by two beautiful girls in a car. It was really tempting, but I had to turn them down. Believe me, it was a tough decision. The car slowed and the girls asked me a few questions, like "What are you doing?" and "Why?" I told them I was on my way to Kumihama, so they informed me they would see me there at a certain coffee shop. The run into town was on the downhill side of a mountain pass. I picked up the pace, but it wasn't entirely due to gravity. When I got into town, instead of going straight to City Hall, I went directly to the coffee shop where the two mighty fine girls were waiting.

The girls and I had a cold drink and we chatted for a while. They are fashion models, they said. I believed them. They also asked, "What are you doing later tonight? We are going to be free after 8:30pm." I told the girls that I was not sure where I was going to be staying tonight, but I can meet them at the coffee shop again at 8:30. They agreed, and we parted. I was not feeling so tired anymore.

I had to get to City Hall, so I started running again mainly to get myself sweaty again so that I would look like I just finished running into town. I met with the people at City Hall and they introduced me to the man who was to take me to the place where I will be staying. No hotel or ryokan rooms are available tonight, I was told. I got into the car with him, and we exchanged greetings. The man said to me, "Mr. Schumann, I am a Zen Buddhist priest. You will be staying at my Zen Buddhist temple tonight." What??? The one night when I am supposed to hook up with some mighty fine ladies, I am staying in a temple on top of a mountain? There is something wrong with this picture!

So here I am, in a 600-year-old Zen Buddhist temple. This is an interesting place. I am not tall (5'9"), but I have to duck to go into the rooms. People were much smaller when this place was built. The nails in the wooden beams are old. They are square and solidly planted in the wood. The room I am staying in is bare with just tatami mats and a futon mattress. When I lay down, I can hear some strange rustling noises from some kind of animals under the floor.

This is like staying in a museum. The priest heard that I am a history teacher and he knows I have a strong interest in history. He brought out a 1000-year-old scroll and showed it to me. Wow! You can just sense the history of this place. He also gave me a few coins that were found when they changed the wood flooring a number of years back. These coins are at least 200 years old. I will be sure to take good care of these. This place is very special and I am fortunate to be staying here. I'd really like to come back here to spend some more time in this temple. Maybe I can get in a summer of training here.

The priest pulled me aside later in the evening and told me about two children (boys) staying here with him. According to the priest, the father of these boys is a Yakuza and the mother has basically abandoned the kids because she is unable to support them. They are staying here at the temple and the priest and his wife are the kids' parents now. The older boy is a junior high school student and is a distance runner on the track team. The priest has asked me if I could walk the kids to school in the morning and talk with them about the sport of track and about life in general. Of course, that would be great. If there is any way I could help the kids, that would make me happy. With that, I said good night.

As I lay here on the bare tatami mat, I can't help but think how I would be spending the evening if, just this one night, I were staying in town. Someone must be watching over me.

Party Tonight

2006-07-03T22:57:00.000+10:00

July 3, 1983, Sunday

It was a hot run all the way today. I left Sakyu to go to where I left off yesterday to cover the 60km to Kasumi. The route was very scenic along the coast, which was dotted with many beaches. Unfortunately, what seemed to be Bosozoku punks, or members of car/motorcycle gangs, broke up the pleasant running along the coast. These guys would zoom by with no regard for human life (other than their own) in their souped-up hot rods. All of these cars were decorated with a mighty fine looking chick sitting in the passenger seat. I must be doing something wrong...no mighty fine chick is going to want to be seen next to a skinny dude who uses his own legs for transportation, I guess.

Each time when I heard a car coming from around the bend, I scooted over to the extreme edge of the road to avoid becoming a hood ornament. Sure enough, a young punk trying to impress his chick with his “driving skills” manned every car that was speeding. Oh well, the girls must be imagining that they are riding with the late James Dean.

I was completely exhausted from being out in the sun all day and was ready for replacing my fluids. The Kasumi group put together a small gathering for me at dinnertime and I truly enjoyed their company. They kept it low-key to allow for a more relaxed, intimate atmosphere. What a wild and fun-loving bunch of people the Kasumi folks are! I had a lot of fun. The beer (Sapporo this time) was delicious. Maybe I had a few too many.

Maniac Driver

2006-07-03T00:33:00.000+10:00

July 2, 1983, Saturday

Started running at 9:00am this morning. It was cloudy at the start, but the rain started falling in the early afternoon. It got to be very cold with the hard rain. I eventually made my way to Tottori Station, a distance of 50km today. The last few kilometers were with an 80-year-old runner from the Tottori Marathon Club. This I didn't mind--it was at a very slow pace.

I reached the train station at 2:30pm, but had to wait there until about 3:00pm. I was told that we had arrived too early and had to wait for a film crew so that they could film us finishing. The crew finally arrived and we conducted an interview in the rain. By this time, the rain was really coming down hard.

Mr. Ishimaru, of the Sakyu Running Club, then offered to give me a ride in his car to the inn in Sakyu where I will be staying overnight. Sakyu is one of the more scenic spots in Tottori Prefecture and is famous for its sand dunes (See Photo). These sand dunes are Japan's largest (about 16 kilometers long and about 2.4 kilometers from north to south). They were formed by the deposit of volcanic ash on the Sendai-gawa River blown roughly from winds coming from the Sea of Japan.

I thought I would never make it to Sakyu. Why? Let me tell you why? Mr. Ishimaru is a nice, elderly gentleman (75 years old), wears Coke bottle glasses and drives like a MANIAC!!! We were going so fast that the tires were not touching the rode--they were floating on the rainwater. Yes, hydroplaning. The driving rain made it very difficult to see and there were times when we were zooming down the road in the wrong lane! In fact, at one point, Mr. Ishimaru entered a one-way route and we were driving head on into traffic. Oh, I forgot to mention that Mr. Ishimaru's car is one of those lightweight super compact cars that can still gather up plenty of speed. There was no more "Long and Winding Road" playing in my head. It was more like "Stairway to Heaven." We were very fortunate that the other drivers were not driving as recklessly as Mr. Ishimaru was.

I finally made it to the Sakyu Inn, but my heart rate is still not back to normal.

Music in My Head

2006-07-01T23:24:00.000+10:00

July 1, 1983, Friday

I woke up feeling good this morning after getting plenty of undisturbed rest last night. After meeting with the mayor, I started my run this morning at 9:30am on another very hot day with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. It was a scenic 50km route to the town of Yura with the ocean in view much of the way.

It's great running alone, allowing me to think about things and to let my mind wander, while at the same time monitoring my body. I found myself singing The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" in my head while I covered the black asphalt roads today. I've never been a big fan of The Beatles and I don't remember where I last heard that song. But it just kept playing over and over in my head--

"The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door..."

All I know is that this music playing in my head gives me the energy to continue with the running, almost like a gentle shove on my back to allow me to cruise along with less effort. It is a bit strange how this is affecting me. The song is just playing over and over like a broken record. I don't think the sun has gotten to my brain just yet, though.

I finished running by 2:30pm and met up with the mayor before checking into my ryokan. I'm staying in a bare-bones Japanese inn tonight. Nothing fancy, just tatami mats and a mattress. No problem, though. I'm still able to rest comfortably with nobody to bother me. This time, I again let the good folks of Yura know that I wanted a little quiet time on my own. I'm glad I did. The rest is so important. I can party every single night and end up in a hospital again, or finish with my mind and body still in decent shape to recover from this journey. I am realizing how much of a strain this is, not only on the body, but also on the mind.

Matsue and Lafacdio Hearn

2006-07-01T00:36:00.000+10:00

June 30, 1983, Thursday

I was awakened before 5:00am this morning to what I thought was some kind of an emergency. After grabbing a hold of my BVDs that were already loose due to my skinny waist, I found out that some villagers had arrived and wanted to see me off before they headed to work. Yes, it's true that I needed more sleep, and in a way I did feel like an animal in a zoo. However, I also felt grateful that these folks came all the way to Mr. Mochida's house to wish me well. I rubbed the sleep out of my swollen eyes and thanked everyone for coming.

The run to the town of Yonago today was a long 70km leg. Another extended haul, with very little sleep this time. It rained for about an hour and a half from noontime. Right about that time, I had reached the town of Matsue. This is the town where Lafacdio Hearn (see photo) spent some time and was inspired to write so many of his books on Japan, including "In Ghostly Japan" (1899). Hearn (1850-1904) became a Japanese citizen and married a Japanese, taking the name Yakumo Koizumi. Matsue is a very scenic town, known for its Matsue Castle and the beautiful Lake Shinji.

The rest of the run into Yonago was a pleasant one, especially when running along Lake Shinji. This lake is the seventh largest lake in Japan, and is a combination of fresh-water and salt-water, depending on the tide. When I arrived in Yonago, I explained my desire for some time alone to catch up on some much-needed rest. The Yonago Running Club folks understand my situation and are leaving me alone this evening. I really appreciate their understanding.

Now I am in Tottori Prefecture. The name "Tottori" has an interesting history. During the Nara Era (8th century), there were many lakes and marshes in the area near what is today Tottori City. Many water birds lived here, and there were many "tottoribe"(people who catch birds (tori) for work). Hence, the name Tottori came to be used to describe this area.

Again, I am noticing the subtle changes in speech and customs as I make my way to the central part of Honshu. Now I can sense that I am getting somewhere, but I still have a long way to go.

For more information about Lafcadio Hearn, see http://www.trussel.com/f_hearn.htm.

Please, No More Gung Ho Runners!

2006-06-29T23:43:00.000+10:00

June 29, 1983, Wednesday

Today was a bright, sunny day. In other words, it was HOT!!! I left Nima at 8:30am, starting from City Hall with three runners from nearby Ohta City. These runners followed me for 13km. I had asked them how long they were going to run with me and I was looking forward to going at it alone after they completed their planned distance.

As we approached the 13km mark at the corner of road, I was beginning to smile and feel at ease, knowing that I could just relax and run on my own for the rest of the way. I started to joke around with the runners who, by this time, had picked up the pace knowing that they would soon finish. I thanked the three runners and shook their hands as they slowed. When I turned the corner, I couldn't believe my eyes. In fact, if I were wearing shades, my eyeballs would have knocked the glasses 25 feet in front of me. What I saw was a fresh group of runners, stretching and doing sprints with their Kamikaze headbands. These guys were GUNG HO! They waved at me and informed me that they will run the next 12km with me. I didn't have the heart to turn them down, especially after seeing these guys getting so psyched to run the 12km.

Again, I worked hard to keep my cool and maintain my composure as an Ambassador from Guam. I really wanted to be left alone, though. I guess it is not obvious to people about how fatigued one can get when putting in this kind of distance and that a certain form of concentration is required.

I remember reading a study about how recreational runners dissociate while running. They like listening to music or do other things to take their mind away from the task at hand. Elite runners, on the other hand, associate with the activity of running and are constantly gauging their breathing, effort level, etc., i.e. they listen to their body. I definitely don't consider myself an elite runner, but this run requires that I monitor myself very carefully while running, and running solo is the best way for me to do that.

At 3:00pm I eventually reached Izumo City Hall and met with the mayor. (See Photo) I later toured the outskirts of the city as well as the famous Izumo Shrine. I'm staying at Mr. Mochida's house tonight where we had a huge party earlier this evening. Guests kept arriving well into the night to say hello. Today I am especially tired; maybe a result of running in today's heat. I feel like hiding in a dark corner so that I can just rest...just a little bit longer.

Silver City

2006-06-28T23:32:00.000+10:00

June 28, 1983, Tuesday

The scheduled 8:00am start was delayed until 8:30am due to an unplanned visit to City Hall. The running club members wanted me to meet some city officials prior to leaving the city. Of course, I was anxious to get on the road to get moving, but I did my best to follow through as a good ambassador.

It was very hot by the time I started running. The police escort that I had for the first 7km did not make it any cooler, but it was nice to be ensured a safe passage even if for a relatively short distance. The Gotsu Chief of Police gave me a reflector-sash after hearing about my close encounters with cars in the dark mountain tunnels. That was really nice of him. The sash was not too heavy for me to carry, and was definitely worth the weight if it was going to improve my chances of survival. This gift is a very practical one and I really appreciate the Police Chief's kindness and consideration for my safety.

I reached the town of Nima after 32km of running today. Today was an easy day, distance-wise. I was finished by around 11:45am in front of City Hall. The office employees were outside of the building to greet me at the finish line. Receiving flowers for the first time on this run was a big surprise for me. I chatted for a few moments with the mayor and then went to Mr. Kanzo Ito's (Japan Marathon Association President's) sister's ryokan. I checked into a very traditional Japanese inn that looked like it had quite a history. I love these old structures and prefer to stay in these over the modern business-type hotels. I relaxed by soaking in the onsen. This is what I call the real Japanese experience.

Later I toured Omori and Nima. This area at one time produced the bulk of the silver that was mined in Japan, which was about one-third of the world's entire production. The mines started producing silver from about 1526 and continued for about 400 year Francis Xavier, the Spaniard who introduced Christianity to Japan, wrote from Goa, India to Father Rodriguez in Portugal, "Castilians call these islands (Japan) the Silver Archipelago... As for the availability of silver, no other island has been found other than the Silver Archipelago." (From a letter dated April 8, 1552 in Goa, addressed to Rodriguez). Many lives were lost while working in the mines over the centuries, and the areas around the mineshafts are scattered with graves. See photo above for some of the old graves near the mine.

After visiting the mine, I went to Nima Shogyo High School to talk with some of the students until the evening. We had another party with lots of food. I also did not forget to get my share of Kirin Beer.

Should I Punch, or do a Drop-Kick?

2006-06-27T23:43:00.000+10:00

June 27, 1983, Monday

Sunny/partly cloudy day. The 70km run to Gotsu today started off with a "Bang" from a starting gun at 8:00am sharp. This imaginary starting line was made in from of Masuda Station. It was a tough running in the heat of the day. Man, 70km is a long way. I've learned to take my time on the run, and have started to intersperse the running with some walking to break things up. I know that some strange things are happening with my body as it adjusts to covering these extremely long distances. Although I’ve run long distances like this before, my body has not experienced this kind of volume on a daily basis.

My body seems to be wasting away. (See photo. Even though the photo to the left is in black and white, you can see how dark I've become, and how thin my arms are. I will never forget the smile on the old man's face as we both ran the last few kilometers together into the city.)

I finished the run in front of another train station in Gotsu at 4:15pm. The press was there, waiting for me at the train station. They made me run around the parking lot not once, not twice, but at least three times so that they could get a good photo of me breaking the tape at the "finish line." Man, I was pissed off! Maybe that was why I had to do it so many times. I probably looked like I was ready to punch one of the photographers in the first couple of photos. I may have even gathered up enough energy to do a drop kick, like one of those pro wrestlers on TV.

Later, I checked into my hotel room and had an interview with the Hochi; one of Japan's sports daily newspapers. Later in the evening, there was a party with the running club. I hope my hosts don't catch on that I am not as sociable as I should be. It is hard to describe how I feel...I appreciate the support from these folks, but at times I just think about sneaking off to be on my own. Is this the result of fatigue, or am I just being a jerk?

Group Run vs. Solo Run

2006-06-27T00:07:00.000+10:00

June 26, 1983, Sunday

8:00am start on a sunny/partly cloudy day. Today's route was a mostly downhill course to the town of Masuda, 45km away. The run today was not too tough, except for the very hot stretch of road where I had no water. The route was very scenic, though, through small towns.

I bought some Shoe Goo today to build up the heel of my ASICS shoes that are wearing away from all the miles. During the run today, I was thinking ahead of the 70 to 80km days that I have coming up. I really would like to be alone on these runs so that I can take my time and run at my pace.

Of course, I appreciate the people who are out to help me on the run. They are extremely enthusiastic and very supportive. I have explained to the folks running with me that I have traveled a lot already and have a long road ahead of me. I need to monitor my pace so that I can survive this run.

Think back, if you will, two months from today. Do you remember what you were doing? Two months is a long time. That is how long I am scheduled to be running high mileage on the road, day in and day out, rain or shine. Once the support crews say good-bye to me, they get to go home and rest until they feel like running again. I don't have that luxury. I hope this message is getting through to the supporters and that they understand how I feel.

A Lesson Learned

2006-06-25T22:41:00.000+10:00

June 25, 1983, Saturday

The day of running started at 10:30am after an interview with NHK TV. Four runners from Yamaguchi Prefectural track team ran 6km with me. One of the runners was a very pretty young woman. While I was running with her, I was thinking about how I would like to see her again. I haven't had any excitement since that day in Kumamoto when the nurses placed the suppository up my rear.

It was sunny and hot today, running on a very hilly route through many tunnels that cut right through the some of the mountains. I covered about 42km today to Tokusa station. This is a nice, small town in a valley. High school students greeted me as I finished at the train station. I checked into a traditional Japanese inn and ate a very huge dinner of steak, sashimi, oden and other delicious dishes. I feel like I am a bit dehydrated so I have been drinking a lot of fluids.

I met an older man, Mr. Nakajima, who is also staying in the same inn that is riding his bicycle around Japan. This man looks like he is in his late 60's and is riding not a touring bike, but an old papa-san one-speed clunker that must weigh a ton! He has a basket on the handlebar where he puts his possessions. I asked him how he tackles the hills with that thing, and he just said, "I take my time and go as I please." I began to envy his freedom to start and finish as he wishes. We talked for a while as brothers on a crazy adventure to see the country and to meet interesting people. Now I am considering doing something more sensible like cycling through Japan for my next adventure, if there is one. Meeting people like Mr. Nakajima is what this experience is all about. I know I will never forget his healthy demeanor and carefree attitude that allows him to accomplish what he has done so far. We talked for a while about the attitudes of people on the road.

Today I had many people waving and smiling from their cars as they passed me on the road. This is surely a result of newspaper and TV coverage that I have been receiving recently. It's nice to see this friendly response, but I still wish that I had more freedom to do as I please, like Mr. Nakajima.

By the way, people were not smiling and waving before the TV coverage. In fact, I received many dirty looks along the way. Here was a guy with a dark tan, wearing shorts, tank top, cap, and a backpack, running along the streets. I must have given the impression that I was some kind of a bum. Nothing had changed from the time before and after the media coverage--I was wearing the same kind of clothing, doing the same thing, for the same reason. Why, all of a sudden, do people have to see me in a different light? Does television legitimize what a person is doing? I learned a valuable lesson today--Every person has a story and it doesn't have to be on TV.

Note: This experience has left a deep impression with me and 23 years later, I am still conscious of how people still put so much weight on what is shown on television. I've personally made it a point to change the way I view things. I try to keep an open mind and will not "pigeon-hole" people based on how they look or where they come from. It's not always easy to do, I understand, but when your background is like mine, you are constantly being reminded of how people try to place you in a certain filing system in their brain.

Feel Good, Look Awful

2006-06-25T00:32:00.000+10:00

June 24, 1983, Friday

It was sunny when I started the run at 6:30am. (The photo shows me in front of the Youth Hostel. When I first saw it, I couldn't believe it was me! The bags under my eyes show how tired I was.) I ran from Kanmon Bridge with Mr. Yasuda of the Shimonoseki Running Club. He lasted for about 40km, then I went the last 30km on my own into Yamaguchi City for a total of 70km for the day. Not a bad start on Honshu, but I know this island is going to be a very long stretch before I reach Hokkaido.

A TV crew was waiting for me about 5km outside of the city and started filming as I ran into town. I was soaked from the rain that started falling from about noon. I did start to worry about getting cold and sick like I did in Kyushu, but it turned out to be a relatively short downpour.

Near the end of the run, I started feeling pretty good. This seems to be a pattern. The last 10km are usually no problem and I am able to finish in "cruise control." After finishing the run at Yamaguchi Stadium around 3:00pm, I took a shower there and headed for my hotel.

Now I am eating and drinking in huge amounts. This is a good sigh. I must be burning at least 4000 to 5000 calories on my runs, plus the average 2000 calories that a person needs for everyday activities. I not only eat dinner, but also eat snacks all evening afterwards. Even though I was not a regular beer-drinker, I have become almost dependent on a beer or two to relax in the evening after each run.

Good-bye Kyushu

2006-06-23T23:37:00.000+10:00

June 23, 1983, Thursday

The run today started from Yahata Station at 9:30am. It was mostly sunny and partly cloudy during the run. Mr. Ito followed me in a taxi for the 30km to Shimonoseki. To go from Kyushu to the main island of Honshu, I had to run in an underwater tunnel. (No, I didn't see any fish!) The tunnel is a totally safe one and has a place for pedestrians. It's about 800 meters long. (See Photo) I finished running by noon after reaching the major milestone of Honshu.

I now feel like I've accomplished something by making it to another island. Tonight I'm staying in a Youth Hostel near Kanmon Bridge. I really want to run more mileage everyday, but I don't want to be rude to the running club members who are here to help me. I need to stick with the fairly conservative plan that does not involve the kind of high volume that I started with. I feel fairly confident that I'll make it to Wakkanai in early August if I don't get sick again. Or get flattened by a truck.

After running today, I weighed myself and saw that I am now only 58kg, down from 60kg at the start. That is a lot of weight coming off a skinny guy like me. It's OK, though. I'm feeling pretty good.

It's raining again tonight. I hope it stops by tomorrow morning.

Slow and Steady

2006-06-23T00:18:00.000+10:00

June 22, 1983, Wednesday

Before I started my run this morning, I met with the Mayor of Munakata City at City Hall and talked a bit with some reporters. The run started at 10:10am to cover 35km to the city of Kitakyushu. This is the town where marathon runner Kenji Kimihara, Japan's Olympic Silver Medallist lives. He won the medal running at high altitude in Mexico City in 1968, soon after Kokichi Tsuburaya had committed suicide.

The story of Tsuburaya is a sad one. He was running in 2nd place as he entered Tokyo's Olympic stadium in the 1964 Olympic Games, but was passed up by Basil Heatley on the home stretch. Still, he won the Bronze medal and was a favorite to come back in the next Olympic Games to take the gold. Tsuburaya was a runner in Japan's Self-Defense Force and was training very hard to represent Japan in Mexico City. Eventually, partially due to pressure from the public, and injuries sustained from hard training, he took his life. He just wrote in his diary after thanking his family and friends for their support, "I just can't run anymore." Such is the kind of pressure that weighs heavily on the shoulders of runners representing a marathon-loving nation.

I took it nice and easy on the run today, holding back some energy in reserve. Mr. Shichida of Kitakyushu ran with me most of the way. I'm staying in a hotel on top of Hirosaki Mountain. The view is fantastic (See photo.)

Mr. Kanzo Ito traveled all the way from Tokyo to see me and to work on a revised schedule for the rest of the run. I really hope to stick with it. Tomorrow I will be leaving Kyushu. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Country vs. City

2006-06-21T21:43:00.000+10:00

June 21, 1983, Tuesday

I woke up to the sound of rain, pounding on the rooftop this morning at 5:30. I went right back to sleep. I eventually crawled out of bed and started my run from the train station at 9:50am. The rain had stopped by this time, and I was able to run under cloudy conditions--perfect for running.

The distance covered today was 50km to the town of Togo. Unfortunately, I had to run through the city of Fukuoka so I had to deal with heavy traffic at some points. The exhaust from cars, trucks and buses was just too much. I was so happy to reach the outskirts of the city. Urban running is just not my thing. I prefer the open country roads, cruising by the farming communities that are fast disappearing from the countryside. I'll put up with the snakes. They are not as dangerous as the cars and bicycles in the cities.

One good thing about running in Japan is the abundance of drink vending machines. As long as you have a 100 yen coin, you are never going to die of thirst. You can be in the middle of nowhere and see one or two vending machines in the corner somewhere, waiting to quench your thirst. Some even have a roulette-like game with a light flickering around a circle. If you select your drink with the right timing, the flickering light may land on the "winner" segment and you will be treated to another canned drink. Sodas, vitamin drinks, coffee, tea--you name it, the machine has it.

At around 4:00pm, I reached Munakata City and called it a day. I met up with Mr. Kawano, of the Munakata Running Club, and got a ride to his house for the night. The hot bath was very relaxing.

Note: Urban running has become even more of a dangerous activity since 1983. When I was running in Tokyo last year, a bicycle in the dangerous hands of a middle-aged housewife rammed into me. I was on a sidewalk, too, running at a leisurely pace. I was OK, and the lady apologized, but I’ve learned to be extra careful. Nowadays, you also have young kids staring at their keitai cell phones while they act like they are watching the road. You are supposed to know that the keitai is a universal license to be rude, so you'd better get out of the way. Although it is against the law to do so, you also have young adults riding bicycles with an umbrella in one hand and a keitai in the other while riding on the crowded, narrow sidewalks. Both eyes are on the keitai, of course, because they are all brain surgeons by profession and have some very important messages coming through. Right! If you are running on the sidewalks, especially in the suburbs of Tokyo--watch out!

One Island at a Time

2006-06-20T20:44:00.000+10:00

June 20, 1983, Monday

I'm still dealing with the Tsuyu season as I follow the northerly route of the rainy season. Tsuyu season will be over soon in Okinawa, but not here in Kyushu. When I started my run at 6:30am, the rain was coming down strong. I know I said I was going to avoid running in these conditions, but I started running anyway. I just can’t waste any more time. The rain let up by mid-morning, so I lucked out. I took my time covering the 35km into Futsukaichi, where Mr. Inaba, whose daughter Sachiko is in Canon City, was waiting for me at the train station. He took me to his home. I took a bath there and relaxed in the house while the hard rain began to fall again. We continued our discussion about Colorado and his daughter. It was a good way for me to unwind after being on the road.

It does get stressful running on the road. Small things can become major nagging points in your mind. I already mentioned the extra distance I was putting in by running to the train stations. The exhaust from the cars has been bothering me. The black smoke from buses and cars can do a number to your head. Running through long, dark tunnels where the smoke just sits also affects you on the run. I usually come out of those tunnels with a massive headache from the exhaust. Some tunnels are narrow and winding, which have resulted in some close calls with cars. The drivers don’t expect to see a skinny, dark Japanese American running in these tunnels and hug the turns as they drive through. I’ve flattened my body against the wall of the tunnel to avoid getting wiped out. I also should mention the snakes. Japan has Mamushu (see photo), a deadly snake that you need to watch out for. On a number of occasions, I have come close to stepping on a snake. These creatures like the rice paddies and I frequently see them while running by the rice farms.

Later in the evening, I had some tempura, made by Mrs. Inaba. It was delicious. I bet Sachiko misses this tempura. I doubt Canon City has this kind of tempura to offer its residents. However, I'm sure Sachiko is making up for the lack of authentic Japanese tempura. Come to think of it, a big, fat juicy steak from the state of Colorado sounds really good to me.

Now I only have a few more days of running on Kyushu before I reach the main island of Honshu. Just take it one island at a time...Hey Robert Baldridge, I just may make it out of Kyushu after all!

Reminiscing: Life as a Mountaineer

2006-06-19T17:18:00.000+10:00

June 19, 1983, Sunday

I woke up before sunrise and started to get ready for an early start. It was 6:00am when I took my first steps out of Ueki. Today was a 40km day, a distance that I covered fairly easily. I am now in Fukuoka prefecture, the prefecture that has hosted the Fukuoka Marathon. This race is recognized by many elite marathoners as the unofficial world marathon championship race. It has been held on the first Sunday of December for a number of decades. It really is a first-class event.

As I travel from town to town, I try to pick up on the new things that I've observed. I've noticed the slightly different speech patterns here. Hearing people speak Japanese with a different dialect tells me that I have traveled a good distance. The Kyushu dialect has many different forms, depending on where you are on the southern island. I know that I will be able to catch even more dialects as I continue running north.

Mr. Ushiyama of Kurume was waiting for me at the train station. The train stations have become my official starting and finishing points on many of my daily runs. I am not too excited about this arrangement, because train stations are not necessarily on the roads or parallel to the roads that I am running on. This means I have to run extra distance. It may not seem much for a single day to run an extra kilometer or two, but if you have to do it again to leave the town, and do it day after day, it adds up to a considerable distance. This has to be the way it's done, I guess. The support from the running clubs is worth the extra effort.

In addition to meeting with Mr. Ushiyama, I also spent some time with a Mr. Inaba, who has a daughter going to a high school in Canon City, Colorado. He heard that I had graduated from Western State (Go Mountaineers!) in Gunnison, so we chatted for a while about life on the Western Slope. Training at 7703 feet above sea level in Gunnison was a real challenge for me. The altitude, cold air of the Gunnison Valley, snow and icy conditions for much of the winter and early spring--these were new experiences for me. I didn't mind living in the small, rural community of Gunnison, though. Life in Gunnison and Canon City is nothing like life in Japan. I'm sure Mr. Inaba's daughter is getting a taste of the real America in the small Colorado town. We decided to get together again tomorrow to talk some more.

In the evening, I went to a Chinese restaurant for a Japanese-style Chinese dinner. The food was excellent. Back in my hotel room, I loaded up on bananas for the potassium to help prevent muscle cramps. The ones in the calves are extremely painful, especially when they come on in the middle of the night.

It's raining again tonight.

The Long Way Home

2006-06-18T23:45:00.000+10:00

June 18, 1983, Saturday

We left the Inoues’ house at 7:00am. Mr. Inoue gave me a ride in his car to Uto High School so that I could start running where I left off a few days ago. Some press people were waiting (UPI) so I talked with them for a while before starting the run at 8:10am. I really was anxious to get started.

I ended up going the long way to Kumamoto, as I followed the narrow roads away from the main highway. It was hot out there on the blacktop, and I had to double back a few times because I took the wrong road. I ended up taking a whole 3 hours to put in the 15km back into Kumamoto. When I finally got to the city, I was greeted by more news people who were waiting for me at the Inoues’ house. This time it was reporters from a TV station. I took a short break and chatted with them for a bit. (The photo above is with Mr. and Mrs. Inoue, in long, white pants, with some Kumamoto Running Club members.)

I hit the road again and ran on to Ueki for another 20kms. I was able to run this distance today with no problems, other than the fact that I got a bit irritable when I found I was running extra distance earlier the heat this morning. The afternoon turned out to be partly cloudy, with a little sun. I reached my goal of Ueki at around 2:15pm. I quickly found a traditional Japanese-style inn and soaked in a hot bath. I then proceeded to stuff my face with food and drink. My schedule for the rest of the afternoon/evening was to kick back and watch TV, something that helps me to relax and not worry too much about the distance ahead of me. Tomorrow I will have to get up early to put in as much distance as I can before it gets too hot.

I am starting to feel like myself again due to the fact that I am running again. I am easing back into the longer distances in order to survive and not break down. Each step that I take is getting me closer to my goal. I need to keep reminding myself, though, that getting to the goal is not the primary purpose of this run...the experiences along the way there are what really count.

Tourist with a Headache

2006-06-17T21:47:00.000+10:00

June 17, 1983, Friday

This is my final day of my rest before I hit the road again. My head still hurts and I am still feeling very tired. I'm just not used to feeling this way. I'm usually the guy who bounces back quickly after a bad day. That's always been my strength. My body must have been really beaten up by the pneumonia experience.

Mr. Watanabe of the Kumamoto Running Club took me on a tour to Aso National Park. This park is a region of scenic contrasts. You can see lush green meadows and dense forests, alternating with bare blackish-brown lava fields and bizarrely shaped mountain ranges. This beautiful tract of country is very characteristic of the scenery of the volcanic island of Kyushu.

After going to Aso, I was asked if there was any other place I wanted to see. Although I was tired, I wanted to see Kumamoto Castle so we ended up going there, too. We toured the castle grounds, took some pictures, and then went home. I went straight to sleep in the afternoon. All the excitement of sitting in a car, standing around like a nerd for pictures, and walking around like a zombie in an old tracksuit just wiped me out.

I got up at dinnertime and had a delicious meal prepared by Mrs. Inoue. She really knows how to cook. We had spaghetti, ham, vegetables, miso soup, rice, beer, tea...just to name a few of the menu items.

To be honest, I have been thinking all day about my run that is scheduled to begin again tomorrow. The volcanic steam that I saw rising up from the caldera at Aso just reminded me of how much my head was throbbing. Am I going to survive to finish this run in Hokkaido?

Tonkotsu Ramen

2006-06-16T21:39:00.000+10:00

June 16, 1983, Thursday

Today, I was finally given the OK to leave the hospital after finding that my temperature was down to 36.4. At 2:00pm, I got my stuff together and headed over to Mr. Inoue's house to rest. The plan is to stay there to gather my strength today and tomorrow.

I spent the entire afternoon in the house skimming through Mr. Inoue's large collection of running magazines. Hell, if I can't run, I may as well read about it. My appetite is slowly returning.

In the evening, the entire Inoue family (Mrs. Inoue and 2 young elementary school-age sons) went out to eat ramen at a noodle shop. As I spent time with this family today, I was able to observe how happy this family was together. It was obvious how much each member of the family enjoyed each other's company. I was also trying to think of ways that I could possibly repay this family for the kindness they had shown to me during this setback. Having a stranger like me imposing on their lives must have been difficult for them, but they did not show it at all.

The ramen that we ate at the noodle shop seemed to be the perfect nourishment for me. In Kyushu, they use the Tonkotsu soup, which is made from simmered pork bones. This broth tastes much different than the more common Shoyu (soy sauce) flavor soup that you find in Honshu.

From reviewing what I have been writing in the past couple of days, it seems that food is my second love next to running. Do I run to eat, or do I eat to run? What difference does it make? I enjoy doing both. I know that I am not quite ready to start up with the running just yet. However, I do want to get moving on down the road.

Swordsmen and Kumamoto

2006-06-15T19:00:00.000+10:00

June 15, 1983, Wednesday

This is the town that the famous Japanese swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi(1584-1645), settled in before dying at the age of 62. Musashi wrote a book on swordsmanship titled Gorin no sho (The Book of Five Rings) and was immortalized in a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962), that was serialized in a newspaper from 1935 to 1939. I would love to go to the Kumamoto Castle to learn a bit more about the history of this city.

Today is a damp, gloomy day. The rain is driving down very hard on the rooftops of the homes surrounding the hospital. To get a feel for this gloominess, one can watch any of the Zatoichi (The Blind Swordsman) films. You usually get the scenes of Zatoichi walking with his cane in the driving rain on a deserted country road before he slices up his ambushers with his sword, which doubles as his cane. Those movies provide a sort of escape into a dark, gloomy world. What I am experiencing now is real. You can't help but feel depressed, being in a hospital while staring out the window at such bad weather. It feels like Minamata all over again.

Physically, I feel weak, have a bad headache and have absolutely no appetite. They are feeding me Okayu here at the hospital. Okayu is rice gruel; watery, soft cooked rice that resembles oatmeal. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice and is often served to sick people because it can be digested easily. (See photo)

I have been thinking over and over about all the time I am losing, just laying here in bed. I am just hoping that I don't have to stay here much longer. My head really hurts...I don't think I will run again on this journey when the cold rain is coming down as hard as it is right now.

Thank God for Nurses

2006-06-14T20:49:00.000+10:00

June 14, 1983, Tuesday

Mr. Inoue picked me up at the capsule hotel at 9:00am this morning to drive me to the point where I stopped yesterday, 15km from the city. The plan was to run the 15km to Kumamoto and another 20km to Ueki. The distance of 35km sounded like a piece of cake.

On the way to the start, we stopped by Kumamoto Nishi High School, where Mr. Inoue teaches social studies. When we arrived, he took me to the nurse's office just to get myself checked by the nurse. The nurse took my body temperature and found it to be 40 degrees Celsius. The normal core body temperature of a healthy, resting adult human being is stated to be at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.0 degrees Celsius. With a temperature at 40 degrees Celsius, we knew that I was in trouble. I was immediately taken to a hospital and had to check in.

For the rest of the day, I received numerous shots and IV's. The body temperature eventually rose to 41 degrees Celsius. I asked the doctor about my condition, and he informed me that I had some form of pneumonia. He explained to me that their priority was to get my body temperature down. To that end, a couple of young nurses came into my room giggling, as they asked me to lower my pants. They then proceeded to insert a suppository in my rear that was supposed to help bring down my body temperature. I would not recommend this experience to anyone. In just a few days, I went from running ultra distances to laying flat on my stomach while young girls forced a pellet in my arse.

Now I can't help but hear my buddy, Robert Baldridge, laughing as he joked, "You may not even make it out of Kyushu!" There is no way I can quit at this point.

I will be staying in the hospital tonight. I just can't believe that I am actually a patient in a hospital. I was never hospitalized in my life other than the day I was born. I've been thinking back about the past few days, wondering what it was that contributed to my condition other than the distances. It must have been the runs on the mountain roads in the cold, driving rain. When I left Minamata, the road took me into some mountainous areas, which included a number of dark, narrow tunnels. Although I did have some close calls with cars in those tunnels, it turns out that the wind and rain did more harm to me after all.

I'm not sure how long they will keep me here. It all depends on how quickly I recover. I'd better focus on getting some rest now.

Hitting the Wall

2006-06-13T20:44:00.000+10:00

June 13, 1983, Monday

I left the hotel in Yatsushiro at 8:45am to cover the 45km to the city of Kumamoto, the one famous for its castle. My legs are very sore and feel very heavy. I can barely pick them up. The distance in the first two days was just too much.

Although I mixed in a lot of walking with my running, I was still only able to manage 30 km today. I had some major stomach problems. In fact, I felt very sick with a terrible headache and diarrhea. I decided to pack it in after 30km to make up the 15km into town tomorrow. Mr. Inoue of the Kumamoto Running Club picked me up and took me to a capsule hotel. It was my first time to stay in this kind of hotel. If you are not familiar with capsule hotels, it is a bit difficult to describe. As shown in the photo, these "rooms" are not very big, but they are big enough for an adult to sit up in. There is a TV and radio in each capsule. Valuables can be put in a locker. Showers are available in a separate shower room that is not capsule-size. I felt so sick that I just checked into my little hole after the shower. The way I feel is not exactly the same as hitting the wall in a marathon race. I know that something other than plain fatigue is causing me to feel this way. However, the result is still the same. I dropped out from finishing my planned distance today.

I really need to recover quickly. I'll have to revise my schedule. This is the price I pay for biting off more than I can chew in the first couple of days

Feeling Kind of Down

2006-06-12T20:37:00.001+10:00

June 12, 1983, Sunday

I ran alone today from the start, and what a relief that was. I finally got a chance to run at my desired pace. Yesterday was nice and sunny, but today the rain is falling. June is the time for tsuyu, the rainy season. Come to think of it, I will probably be following tsuyu as it also creeps in a northerly direction in the coming weeks. I left from the Akune train station at 8:00am sharp. I knew it was going to be a long day. “Man, I am sore and tired and it’s still just the beginning of the 2nd day of a long journey,” I thought.

Later in the day when it started pouring rain, I was running into the town of Minamata. The rain was coming down pretty hard and there was a cold wind blowing. As I entered Minamata, the news of this town started coming back to me. The case of Minamata, Japan, and the mercury poisoning (originally called Minamata disease) that took place here, appeared briefly in news headlines in the 1970s and then receded from public attention, outside of Japan. The Minamata tragedy was fully and richly documented by former Life photographer, Eugene Smith, and his wife, Aileen. They lived in Minamata for several years. Chisso Corporation in Minamata, that employed up to 60% of Minamata’s workers at one time, had been allowing mercury to spill into the bay from about the 1930’s. This mercury eventually ended up being part of the food chain, leading to unfortunate consequences for the people of Minamata. At first, cats showed bizarre behavior, first dancing out of control, and then jumping into the ocean. These were called “cat suicides.” Eventually, the loss of motor control began to appear in children and adults. I remember seeing the photos and news reports of this major event in Japan in the 1970’s when the people afflicted with this itai-itai byo (ouch-ouch disease) were letting everyone know of what was happening in their hometown.

Knowing the history of this town, and running in the cold rain in windy conditions, made me feel depressed while traveling through Minamata. To top it all off, the streets were deserted. All I heard was the lapping of the ocean water up against the sea wall, which just reminded me of the uncontrollable muscle spasms displayed by the victims of mercury poisoning. I just plain felt miserable.

After trudging through the cold rain, I eventually made it to Yatsushiro by 5:30pm. It is not much of a scenic place, but the people here are very nice. Another long 86km day. I checked into a hotel to soak my legs in a hot bath.

For more information about Minamata, see http://www.lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers111.html

Leaving Kagoshima

2006-06-11T15:47:00.000+10:00

June 11, 1983, Saturday

After a number of introductions and photos with the Governor and the Kagoshima Prefectural government people, I started running right on time at 9:00am sharp. I was glad to get going, away from all the media. I did not expect so many newspaper reporters, as well as television and radio people. They all hit me with a lot of questions all at once. "Why are you doing this run, Mr. Schumann?" "What do you do for a living back on Guam?" "A teacher? Is that at an elementary school?" "Can you use chopsticks?"

I had a couple of Kagoshima Running Club members accompany me on the run until I reached the outskirts of the city. It was good to get into my own rhythm after that and I ran on my own until around the 35km mark. That was where the running crew from Akune found me. A group of runners from the town of Akune ran with me all the way into Akune, while a van with a loudspeaker followed us, announcing my arrival to the townspeople. Although it was quite embarrasing to get all that attention, I did wave to the folks who gave me a nice reception as I passed them on the road. All this noise also encouraged me to run a bit faster than I had planned.

Total distance covered today was 86km, and I feel it. Immediately after the run, I took a nice, onsen bath and then ate dinner. Next on the agenda was a party with the Akune runners. The food is great, especially the sashimi (fish, this time). I'm worried about tomorrow. On schedule is about the same distance as today, but on very hilly terrain. And I'm sore!!! I guess I'll have to take it easier to survive this run.

Chicken Sashimi

2006-06-10T20:44:00.000+10:00

The daily entries for 1983 will begin today, although the running part starts tomorrow, June 11. I have scanned a number of photos and newspaper articles to include with most of the daily entries. Unfortunately, the quality of the photos and articles are not top-notch due to exposure to the elements. Things don't keep well when your house gets trashed by a number of super-typhoons that frequently visit Guam. I've made some digital enhancements on the photos for better clarity. Entries from 1983 are in italics. Here goes:

June 10, 1983, Friday
Traveled directly to Kagoshima on the Air Nauru flight earlier today. I had heard stories about this airline, about how the flight schedule could change any time if the President of Nauru needs to go somewhere. The flight had only about 3 passengers. I settled into my seat and after take-off, looked around for the flight attendant to ask for a drink. I couldn't find one, so I just kicked back in my chair. I felt a little shove from behind my seat, so I turned around and found a flight attendant with her feet on the back of my seat, reading a paperback book. No problem, I thought. I don't really need a drink.

After landing in Kagoshima, I was greeted at the airport by Mr. Shimizu, Mr. Iizuka, and Mrs. Kouno of the Kagoshima Running Club. Mr. Mito of Goldwin Co. (distributor of Champion Products) had also flown in from Tokyo to meet with me before the start of my run. All were very kind and I felt very comfortable in preparing for tomorrow's start. We all traveled to a hotel at Shiroyama, which has a nice onsen with a huge window facing the Sakurajima volcano. After settling in, I had a short meeting with Mr. Mito who gave me some running equipment and provided instructions if further assistance is needed in getting more running equipment. I took a nice, long bath at the hotel's onsen and ate dinner with the running club group. Had chicken sashimi for the first time in my life. It tasted pretty good--not like chicken, but more like fish sashimi. People from the Kagoshima running community kept arriving at the hotel to wish me well. Kagoshima is such a beautiful place and the runners are super nice. They keep telling me about their marathon in January. I'd like to run it sometime, maybe next year.

Now I am really looking forward to the 9:00am start tomorrow at Kagoshima City Hall. I called my mother, who lives in Sasebo. All she had to say was, "Be careful."

Final Preparations

2006-06-09T10:39:00.000+10:00

In 1983, I was a History and Civics teacher at Academy of Our Lady of Guam, a Catholic girls' high school. It was a job that I enjoyed because of the challenges involved in teaching young students. As all good teachers know, the job is not an easy one if you want to be most effective. It took a lot out of me to teach a number of classes every day in addition to advising school clubs, but I think I benefited from the experience just as much as the students did. Unfortunately, AOLG being a small, private school, it did not pay very much. I dug into my savings to purchase my airline tickets to Japan and the one-week railpass on Japan National Railways (JNR) that I planned on using after the run.

My first year as a schoolteacher was coming to an end and I had the entire summer break ahead of me. I had meticulously planned the route for my run, which I had been working on since the time I was still a student at Western State College of Colorado. For technical assistance, I had been communicating with Mr. Kanzo Ito, the president of the Japan Marathon Association. This association had ties with running clubs throughout Japan and Mr. Ito was in touch with the ones on my planned route to let them know I was coming through. Mr. Ito had represented Japan as a marathon runner in the Berlin Olympics back in 1936, the Hitler Olympics. As a veteran marathon runner and Olympian (once an Olympian, always an Olympian, and never a "former Olympian"), Mr. Ito was well respected by all the marathon club members throughout Japan. He and I became friends in the previous year when he came to Guam with a number of runners for the Guam Seiko Marathon.

The logistics for the run were worked out with Mr. Ito. Some running clubs were to have runners join me on certain segments of the run and would help carry my belongings. We also decided that I would travel on the western coastline of Japan to avoid going through the major metropolitan areas in the Kansai and Kanto regions. The route would hug the Sea of Japan most of the way. From Kyushu to Honshu, I would run through the underground tunnel at Shimonoseki. To get to Hokkaido from Honshu, I would have to take the Seikan Ferry (owned by JNR) since there was still no tunnel that connected the two islands.

I was able to find two excellent sponsors--ASICS and Champion Products. ASICS provided me with some shoes for the run, and Champion Products supplied the running wear. Champion also contributed some yen to help defray the cost for food and lodging, which was going to be no small amount for the planned 2-month period of the run.

At this point, I started asking myself, "What are you getting yourself into?" A friend of mine from Sasebo, half-jokingly (or maybe he was dead-serious) asked, "What are you going to do if you don't even make it out of the island of Kyushu?" and followed it up with a loud laugh, "Wa Ha Ha Ha....!" This question and the laughter played over and over in my head as I lay in the hospital bed a few weeks later in Kyushu...

Heat & Humidity

2006-06-07T06:51:00.000+10:00

I've been back home on Guam for a few days now, and I am reminded of how extremely hot and humid it gets during this time of year. From my experience running on Guam, I would say that May is the hottest month of the year, with June coming in a close second only because we get a little more rain. Even with the rain, it is still hot, hot, HOT!!! A short 4-miler yesterday, which started at 5:56AM had me sweating like a pig right from the start. I was incoherently babbling something like, "Squeal like a pig, squeal like a pig!," on the tail end of that run.

Looking back at my training diary from 1983, I can see that I was putting in a considerable amount of mileage in preparation for the length of Japan run. Daily runs were in the 10 to 20 mile range, with long runs of up to 3-4 hours. Many days included two runs, once in the morning and another in the evening. The fitness level was pretty good. I have recorded in my diary doing 10 miles of the Pre-Memorial Day 13.8 Mile Race from Anderson Air Force Base to the Paseo in late May. I led the race with Joe Taitano, putting in miles just over the 5:00 to 5:15 per mile range on the rolling course in the oppressive heat of May. I told Joe during the race that I was dropping out at 10 miles to save myself for the soon-to-start length of Japan, but I think he didn't believe me. Whenever I put in a little surge to increase the pace, he came with me. He seemed surprised when I told him at 10 miles to take it in for the rest of the 3.8 miles. Actually, he begged for me to continue running with him. Being the nice guy that I am, I declined. I think he didn't want to suffer the last 3.8 super-HOT, brain-frying miles all alone. (By the way, the race is no longer being run. Today's runners can opt to race the more sane 5K distance in May.)

By early June 1983, I had received the special running backpack that I ordered from an ad in Runner's World magazine. Although these are widely available today, it was a challenge to locate a runner's backpack with a strap that comes across your chest. This strap keeps the pack from bouncing up and down as you run. There is no way one can do an ultra-run with something as annoying as a bouncing pack on one's back. I tried a few runs with this backpack, not really knowing how much I would end up having to put in it, and how I would later on the run weigh the pros and cons of taking with me even one small sheet of paper in the backpack.

The mind and body were just about ready by this time. I was all set for the flight to Kagoshima, a direct shot from Guam on Air Nauru.

Kodoku

2006-06-03T17:37:00.000+10:00

Let me "Begin with the End in Mind" as Stephen Covey of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People would have you do things. Just some thoughts here from the day after I completed the length of Japan run, before I begin with the daily running entries from June 11, taking us back to 1983.

Kodoku is a special Japanese word for loneliness, and it was the word that kept coming to mind when I was running. It also seemed like an appropriate title for this story about my run. In fact, on the train ride back from Wakkanai after completing my run in August 1983, I had written a few words on the back of gift-wrapping paper from the Trappistine Monastary in Hokkaido where I had bought some monk-made cookies. I still have the paper with all my chicken scratch writing on it. It reads,

...This is the story of my personal experience with this type of Kodoku, which lasted for 59 days from June 11 to August 9, 1983. The 2000 miles covered by my footsteps between the cities of Kagoshima and Wakkanai have brought forth many interesting experiences of pain and joy. It was also a very lonely journey. However, this loneliness was not caused by the lack of regular companionship (there were many friends made along the way), but more of a lack of psychological companionship. How many people can relate to someone who is extremely fatigued from pounding the pavement, day after day, covering up to 55 miles a day for almost 2 months? This feeling of being alone from this fact was almost unbearable.

Mental preparation for this run was just as important, or maybe even more important, than the physical. As I high school student, I had read the book about Bruce Tulloh's transcontinental run across the United States called "Four Million Footsteps" (1970). In that book, he describes how he just stopped running one day, sat on a sidewalk and just started to cry because he was so tired. Reading about his run helped to to prepare for the relatively unknown field (at that time) of mult-day ultrarunning.

More about the run preparation will be added in the coming days. Stay tuned...

On the Road Again...

2006-05-31T01:50:00.000+10:00

Hello, everyone! I am back pounding the pavement after taking about 6 days off from running. Man, it felt really good to get back out there. The first day, I was doing kind of a limp-jog for about 2 miles around the track. I must have looked like Fred G. Sanford. I kept adding about a mile a day and today, I was able to put in a total of 8 miles, which included a hard 10 X 400M.

I am starting to run like a normal, uninjured human being, but I will never be as smooth as Pat Porter as show in the photo above. Pat, an Adams State College runner who was my contemporary when I was running for Western State College, dominated cross-country running in the U.S. for a number of years. Pat's running was poetry in motion. He did not just fly like a bird--he soared like an eagle. Some of us just dream of moving like that.

Anyway, I spent most of my down-time reading and want to make a few book recommendations here for those of you who are interested in modern Japanese society:

First, The Enigma of Japanese Power by Karel van Wolferen is a must-read, especially if you live in Japan. The book was written in 1989, but much of what the author presents still ring true today.

Embracing Defeat by John Dower is another excellent read about the Occupation Period in Japan immediately following the war. Did you know that the Japanese constitution was written in just over 7 days by an American team selected by SCAP? One of the architects of the constitution was a sharp, young 22-year old female who made sure that women's rights were not overlooked.

Finally, Japan's Quiet Transformation takes a look at what has happened in Japan following the bursting of the Bubble Economy. The 1990's is commonly known as the "Lost Decade" but the author, Jeff Kingston of Temple University Japan, argues that the economic realities of the period helped cause Japan to transform into a state giving more power to the citizens. He goes on to give a number of interesting examples of this quiet transformation.

OK, enough of the academic stuff. June 11 is coming up. I will be traveling to Guam very soon to gather my resources to post entries about the run across Japan. Why June 11? Because that is the day I started the run in Kagoshima in 1983. Why start in Kagoshima and not in Wakkanai? It just seemed like the logical thing to do, although I have been told I should have started in the North so the run would be all downhill!

Taking Days Off

2006-05-23T20:11:00.000+10:00

I don't like taking days off from running and I rarely do. Although I have loosened up a bit over the years, I never used to take a day off from running unless I was physically unable to run. One of the craziest things I did was go on a 3AM run in the city of Atlanta before catching an international flight. I've also done a 1AM run through the middle of Sydney, but that wasn't so bad. Knowing that I will most likely race better by taking days off has not convinced me to take any rest days.

I have taken days off when hospitalized, but that doesn't happen very often. I was hospitalized only once in my lifetime, and that was the time I was running the length of Japan. (That story will come up later in my trek through Kyushu.)

Yes, I have been quiet on the blog for the past week or so. It has been a rough week. I have been slaving over the final draft of my dissertation, which, by the way now has over 80,000 words. The deadline is adding to the pressure.

The toughest part has been the inability to run. I have a very nasty infection in the toes of my right foot. It is particularly bad on the bottom portion of the 2nd and 3rd toes. How did I get it? I think it all started with a simple scratching of the toes one day after a run, that most likely made a small cut in my skin. I knew something was different on subsequent runs, but I continued the daily routine. I think it all came to a head when I went on a rainy run on a very mushy field. The little bugger bacteria must have crawled in as a result of that run (I think).

Anyway, I was in pain for a few days with a huge swollen, infected foot. I won't go into details, but it was not pretty. I finally went to the doctor on Saturday and got some antibiotics and other good stuff to help the toes. I'll go back to see him again tomorrow.

The moral of the story...Anything can happen to anyone at anytime. Just keep running when you can!

The Long and Winding Road...

2006-05-12T19:49:00.000+10:00

That song by the Beatles played over and over in my head when I was putting in the miles across Japan...

A little over 32 years have passed since I began running or hyper-ventilating all over the place, as some would say. I was only 14 years old at that time, living in the city of Sasebo, Japan. Yes, it is the city with an American naval base and should not be confused with famous military town of "Yukuuuuuuska," which is located somewhere near the Japanese city of Yokosuka.

The running started as an attempt to lose weight. Nobody likes to have their titties grabbed by other guys when playing a pick-up game of basketball. One skinny kid named Virgil Fisher, who had ears the size of peanuts, asked if I ate too much gohan after grabbing a handful of my right breast. (I never did like the idea of "shirts" and "skins" teams.) I was so heavy as a kid that my jeans had holes in the inner thigh area from all the friction. I was lucky not to catch on fire like my friend Victor Rosier did, when he put a pack of matches and neebies (Japanese firecrackers) into his pants pocket and ran around the neighborhood.

The running began for me in 1974, and the weight came off, so much that by the time I was 18, the young ladies looked at me and said, "Man, that's gross." I took that as a good sign. When people say you look healthy, that's a sign that you need to drop weight if you are a distance runner.

"Hey Fred, no need to run. Just roll up the windows in your car on a hot day and you will sweat just as much as you do when you run. Try it." Right! This was advice given to me by an older lady that worked with me in the early 1980's. She was dead serious.

"If running is so much fun, how come people that run look like they are not enjoying it?" This I hear every now and then. I usually ask the person if they enjoy sex and imagine how silly the person looks, smiling and/or laughing out loud while getting it on.

The running was no longer to lose weight, but a way to gather my thoughts and to experience the outdoors. Just lacing up the running shoes put my body in anticipation of that kinesthetic flow of cruising over a long distance. Yes, I have had the experience of running at an exceptionally fast clip with the sensation that I was expending absolutely no effort. It's the feeling of being detached from your body and just watching as you cruise along. I've had this happen on regular runs and even on some of the days when I was running the length of Japan.

Unfortunately, I don't get to enjoy this sensation much anymore especially with the dead legs that have accumulated so many miles over the 32 year period. In any case, I believe this is what many regular runners seek, while others may run to train for specific races and may occasionally experience the "runner's high." The running that continues today is with the hope that there is a slight chance that the sensation will return, kind of like Halley's Comet. But I guess I can say like many runners, I just run for the sunrise and the sunset.

What are you doing in Guaaaaaam?

2006-05-10T21:00:00.000+10:00

I had someone ask me that question, as if it was some kind of a crime or that one had to be stupid to voluntarily move to a small island to live. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I still remember the details. The year was 1984 and I was standing in what seemed at the time like one of the most depressing places on earth--on a farm in Castroville, California. It was my first day there, and the dull artichoke farm scenery covered with gray fog did not leave a good first impression. All I could think of was John Steinbeck and The Grapes of Wrath. (Later on, as I got to know the place I found that it wasn't so bad after all. In fact, it is a nice, quiet community not too far from San Francisco).

Anyway, let me get to the point. I did not move to Guam for the scenery, although I must say it is spectacular. I did not go for the weather, either. The super hot and humid conditions do not make running easy. It just wipes you out. I first decided to move to Guam when I realized that by age 27, if I had not lived on US soil for 2 consecutive years, that I would have no citizenship. Yeah, that's right. I'll get into the details later, but that's about it.

Guam, being only 3.5 hours away from Japan, is the closest U.S. territory. It is where "America's Day Begins," with the territory being the first U.S. soil that greets every new day. I made the decision to move to Guam in 1978 when I was a Freshman at Sophia University in Tokyo. In 1979, I made the move. After moving to Guam by myself at the age of 19, I have learned to love the island for its people and the multicultural aspect of the island community. Sure it has problems--a disturbing crime rate, history of frequent super typhoon visits, among others--but the place grows on you. I have never felt more comfortable in a community as I have felt on Guam.

I am sure Castroville can be that way for many people. It just isn't right to assume that we all want to live in the same type of environment. Each one of us has our own priorities when it comes to selecting a place to live. For me, Guam is home.

Pets Rule!

2006-05-08T16:39:00.000+10:00

When I was in Tokyo, I did a lot of running around Shakujii Park, which is in a residential area ("Bed Town") located about 75 minutes away from central Tokyo. While on my runs, I would see elderly men and women talking to their pets as they walked them on the trails. The pets were clothed in fancy outfits--some wearing famous brands, like Burberry's and Adidas. These pets were all decked out. No doubt they are taking the place of kids in many Japanese homes.

On Children's Day in May, the newspapers in Japan announce the latest statistics on children. This year, it was announced that the number of children declined for the 25th straight year. Japan, with a population of 127 million, will start declining in population after 2007. The birth rate is at a record low of 1.28. When I was born, one out of 17 people, was over the age of 65. Today, it is one out of 5. Of all the prefectures and regions in Japan, Tokyo has the smallest percentage of kids per capita. At the current rate using moderate range projections, the population of Japan will be half of what it is by the year 2100!

Japan is changing, and the face of Japan will most likely change in the coming years. That is, if the immigration controls are loosened up for foreign workers to come in and take up the slack. In the meantime, you can travel around the country today and literally see the effects of the changing demographics of the country.

What is in the photograph? That is a pet-clothing van setting up shop at Shakujii Park. They must be raking in the dough.

Tourism Studies

2006-05-06T11:13:00.000+10:00

I never thought I would be going back to school to get a PhD in Tourism. I have heard all the comments, like, "What, tourism? What is there to learn about tourism?"

It's like if you were a tourist once, that makes you a tourism expert. Of course, we all know that understanding the deep motivations and desires of what tourists seek is not so simple. Anyway, I am studying the changing profile of the Japanese overseas traveler. The Japanese tourist today is not the same as the tourist of the 1980's. Today's tourists are a reflection of Japan's changing society.

How much has Japan changed since I completed my run in 1983? So much has changed, and yet so much has stayed the same. Convenience stores now dot the landscape in Japan, replacing the old mom and pop shops that used to be everywhere. The neighborhood rice and sake stores (Sakaya) have just about disappeared, to be replaced by discount liquor stores. The drink vending machines are still there on lonely country roads and you never have to worry about dying of thirst as long as you have some yen. Runners are pretty much respected today as they were over two decades ago, maybe even more after the Olympic marathon gold medals of Takahashi and Noguchi.

During my run across Japan, I met so many people, most that had never left the country for a vacation. At that time, only about 5 million (from a population of 120 million) Japanese went overseas for vacation. Now, approximately 17 million travel overseas. Perspectives on how they view the world have changed. An interesting observation is that I now often hear young Japanese naming all the overseas countries that they have visited, and then talk about their "wish list" of other countries that they would like to visit in the future. Unfortunately, many have not visited the other main islands of Japan, like Hokkaido or Shikoku.

Most of the young people that I see on campus were not yet born in 1983--man, that makes me feel old. Oh, I should not forget to mention that I don't recall seeing any blonde Japanese when I traveled the entire country in 1983. The only blonde I can remember from that time was Sting, singing "Every Breath You Take" on Japanese TV.

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

2006-05-03T14:45:00.000+10:00

I have been living in Japan since September 2003, again as a student. The last time I was here under the same status was back in 1978 when I was enrolled at Sophia University in Tokyo.

Being at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) is a completely different experience. It is great being away from the big city life. I had spent a number of months during the past 3 years living in Tokyo and I had struggled with the long, crowded commutes into the city. Functioning on little sleep is not always easy. That explains all the tired faces that you see when you walk around in Tokyo. It is also clear why the "energy drinks" do gangbuster business in the cities.

Now I am staying on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Beppu with the ocean in the distance. The air is clean and the water tastes so good. Running around the campus and the farming villages in the surrounding area is awesome. Sometimes, all I hear is the wind and the bamboo rubbing against each other in the hills. An occasional crow will break the silence. The photograph above is of a typical fellow traveler that you will encounter on the side of a now less-traveled country road in Japan.

Being out on the quiet country roads reminds me of the days when I was running the length of Japan. I only have another 2 to 3 months to enjoy this before I head back to my real home.

Introduction

2006-05-01T14:34:00.000+10:00

Why run the length of Japan?

I was asked that question many times. Let me give you a short answer first. The long one will be known after reading the posts.

First and foremost, I love running. I started running regularly at the age of 14 while attending an American school in Japan and had completed my first marathon at that age.

Secondly, I wanted to see parts of Japan that most Japanese don't really see. I felt that the best way to do this was on foot. Japan is not Tokyo or Osaka. The real Japan is in the small farming communities far removed from the cities.

The final reason is a bit complex. I am a US citizen, born and raised in Japan. I moved to Guam to live on US soil. As an adult, I was no longer allowed to reside in Japan unless I had a sponsor. Because of this the run was a culmination of my wish to see the country of Japan and also to say "Good-bye" as my new life was already beginning on the island of Guam.