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.
2 comments:
86km in one day? That is insane. Running a marathon in a day is a feat, but running 2.... That must have been some good sashimi.
Right, Wayne. It was insane. But at that time, I was a young runner whose strength was the ability to bounce back quickly. I didn't have much speed and talent, but I was able to handle volume. Later, I would find out that even this was too much and that I would not be able to continue going at this rate. I must say, though, the sashimi was good and so was the Kirin beer!
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