2014/12/02

Shodoshima Turtle Marathon

On Sunday, I participated in the "Shodoshima Turtle Marathon".  It was held on Shodoshima Island.

I stayed the night before in a hotel in Takamatsu and took a high-speed ferry to Shodoshima in the morning.

Leaving the Port of Takamatsu.

The ferry ride was about 35 minutes and it was comfortable.

At the Tonosho Port of Shodoshima was a sesame oil factory.

I changed at the top of the roof of the town hall and could see people gathering for the run below.

Getting ready for the run - listening to the speeches of dignitaries.

People lined up at the starting line.

I do not have photos during the run - here are some pictures from the news on TV the next morning.


About 1,200 people participated in the full marathon (approx. 3,000 total runners for all races).  The course was beautiful - running along the northern shore of the island.  Red and yellow autumn leaves of the season were so pretty.  Weather was clear and very nice, too.  I thoroughly enjoyed the run.

The MapMyRun trace of the run.

The island is famous as the location of a famous Japanese classic movie - "Niju-shi no Hitomi (Twenty Four Eyes)".  Here's a statue commemorating the movie by the ferry port.

The island is also famous for olives. Olives are fed to cows for the production of a specialty called "olive fed beef".

Leaving the island on a ferry after the run in the afternoon.

The shoreline where I ran - there were still people running.

Back in Takamatsu - Sunport building with Christmas tree lights.

This was my first full-marathon in 6 years.  I am happy to have finished it almost 9 minutes faster than that time!

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