I just got back from running a 10K. The run - Ohme Marathon had two sections - 30K and 10K. Here is the info in English.
A word marathon ("marason" in Japanese) really means a long distance race. So, here in Japan, we can have a "5 km or even 3 km marathon". When we talk about the real full-length marathon, we say "full-marathon". Ohme marathon is one of the oldest of such "marasons" in Japan with this year being the 43rd with the first one held in 1967. However, this was the 41st race for in 1996 and 2008 (last year), the events were cancelled due to snow. The record shows that the first race was run with 337 people. This year, I understand that over 20,000 runners participated and of which some 5,000 ran the 10K.
When I applied for it back in November or December, I must have accidentally chose 10K instead of 30K.
A mistake like this is easy to do when via an internet homepage. Actually, I did not notice it until my wife asked me whether I entered for the 10K part when the confirmation postcard arrived about 3 weeks ago. I thought of calling them to change the category, but back then, I had a bad back and also a sore calf. So, I think it turned out OK and it was refreshing to run a 10 km race for a change.
I was worried about the weather for last year, the run which was scheduled for 3 February got cancelled due to heavy snow. But, this year, we were blessed with a beautiful, almost too warm of a weather. We had blue skies and temp. was about 10 deg. C (10 deg. F) when the race started at 10 AM. The runners that ran the 30K part - which started after the 10K runners finished must have been very hot.
It was a pretty fast pace run. I knew that I could afford to go a bit faster than usual for it was only a 10K. The route was hilly, but I did not have the usual frustration with trying to pass slow runners. At 5K, my time was approximately 22:50 or so (from actually crossing the starting line). The second half did feel long, but I finished it at 44:46"07 according to my stopwatch. My official time was 45:14 and I was the 112th finisher for 10K Men in the 40s. I am satisfied for this means my speed was faster than 4:30 per km pace.
A word marathon ("marason" in Japanese) really means a long distance race. So, here in Japan, we can have a "5 km or even 3 km marathon". When we talk about the real full-length marathon, we say "full-marathon". Ohme marathon is one of the oldest of such "marasons" in Japan with this year being the 43rd with the first one held in 1967. However, this was the 41st race for in 1996 and 2008 (last year), the events were cancelled due to snow. The record shows that the first race was run with 337 people. This year, I understand that over 20,000 runners participated and of which some 5,000 ran the 10K.
When I applied for it back in November or December, I must have accidentally chose 10K instead of 30K.
A mistake like this is easy to do when via an internet homepage. Actually, I did not notice it until my wife asked me whether I entered for the 10K part when the confirmation postcard arrived about 3 weeks ago. I thought of calling them to change the category, but back then, I had a bad back and also a sore calf. So, I think it turned out OK and it was refreshing to run a 10 km race for a change.
I was worried about the weather for last year, the run which was scheduled for 3 February got cancelled due to heavy snow. But, this year, we were blessed with a beautiful, almost too warm of a weather. We had blue skies and temp. was about 10 deg. C (10 deg. F) when the race started at 10 AM. The runners that ran the 30K part - which started after the 10K runners finished must have been very hot.
It was a pretty fast pace run. I knew that I could afford to go a bit faster than usual for it was only a 10K. The route was hilly, but I did not have the usual frustration with trying to pass slow runners. At 5K, my time was approximately 22:50 or so (from actually crossing the starting line). The second half did feel long, but I finished it at 44:46"07 according to my stopwatch. My official time was 45:14 and I was the 112th finisher for 10K Men in the 40s. I am satisfied for this means my speed was faster than 4:30 per km pace.
The City of Ohme is famous for plum blossoms ("Ume") from which the name derives from.
Runners registering for the event.
After the run, Onigiri were distributed. It was a nice treat!
By the way, Tokyo is one of the 4 candidates for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
My next race will be 26 April - Half-Marathon in Maebashi.
4 comments:
very good blog, congratulations
regard from Reus Catalonia
than you
That is a really great time for a 10K--especially when one considers how much a big crowd like that can slow you down.
One note of correction though: 10C is 50F. Which is almost perfect for running and is what it was like today in Long Island NY. I had a nice 10 mile run here while visiting relatives for the weekend.
Thank you for your nice comments.
OHH
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