22nd Annual Izumo Ekiden

Time: 84:07
Distance: ~11.5 miles

Shakeout: 9:27 for ~1 mile
W/u: 27:48 for ~3.6 miles
Race: 19:00 for 6.2k (13th fastest overall)
C/d: 9:25 for ~1 mile
C/d II: 18:36 for ~2 miles

**I am posting this but check back later (especially if you use an RSS feed) as I'm going to update the race recap in a bit more detail. We are traveling to Tokyo today and hopefully I will have internet access later this afternoon.

Race day started with a few easy shakeout miles along the bike path with Sam Luff. We saw other teams out doing the same thing. I felt good which is sometimes a bad sign as I tend to run better when I feel terrible on the shakeout and warm up. Back at the hotel I ate a decent breakfast consisting of coffee, toast, eggs, cereal and fruit. It's much more than I normally eat on race day, but I figured I wouldn't get the sash until around 2:00 pm.

Everybody loaded up on the bus around 11:00 am and headed to the Izumo Dome where the race would eventually end. All the guys racing had guides that help us get checked in and on the start line with no troubles. They were along for the ride as well. We dropped off our two alternates (Bobby and Paul), the manager (Ben Stern), Johnny Photogs and Frank Tinney who would be running the lead off leg. The rest of us remained on the bus and we were dropped off one by one at the start of our respective legs.

I hung out in the parking lot of a grocery store for an hour trying to get some rest. I've been getting really tired around noon here because it means that it's close to midnight back home. I was able to doze off just a little bit and stay loose under a tent. The race commenced at 1:05 pm and all of the 4th leg runners huddled around the tv to watch. The pack usually takes it out really hard for the first few kilometers and this year was no different. I missed the opening 1k, but saw the leaders had gone through 2k in under 5:30 which means they were running 2:45/k pace. I had to go warm up at this point, but I later learned that the leaders went through 4k in 11:06 and 5k in under 14:00. Frank didn't have the best leg, in fact it was terrible, but he owned up to it after the race. (Frank finished with a time of 25:52 which was well off the 23:07 run by the first athlete from Waseda University. Our buddy Comas Ondiba, who pushed the pace early, finished 2nd in 23:24).

My warm up consisted of me running really slow along the course. I ran out 15 minutes and came back in around 13. I purposely kept the pace really easy and was feeling good doing so. Last year I had a terrible race on this leg and effectively took us out of the top 10. I wanted to run close to 19:00 and finished in 20:00. This year the goal was to run 19:00 and keep us in the race.

When I got back I found out the Ivy League team was getting worked by nearly every school. Our goal is always a top 10 finish and looking at the race packet we felt that this was a great year to do so. I didn't see any of Michael Maag's leg and the tv coverage cut to the leaders just before Zac got the sash. Turns out that Mike passed 1 runner bringing us to 18th overall, and Zac ran down 3 teams bring us to 15th overall by the time I grabbed the white sash. Mike ran 17:36 for 5.8k (12th fastest) and Zac went 23:55 for 7.9k (11th fastest). The winners of those two legs were Yutaro Fukushi of Nittai who ran 16:45 and Yuki Yagi of Waseda with 23:15.

I was 15 seconds back of Chukyo University when I started my leg. I knew there was a team close behind too. I tried my best to run the guy in front down and I picked a couple of points and counted out the lead. I think the gap closed to around 12 seconds at one section but at the end of the leg we both ran 19:00. I felt the best I had in weeks chasing the runner as my stride was really smooth. It might have been the fact that the wind was at my back, regardless I was pleased with how I finished the stage. I ran 53 seconds before coming to a k mark on the road. My next thousand was covered in about 3 minutes. I knew the halfway mark would be about 10 minutes into the leg and I could calculate the remaining distance from there. I glanced at my watch several times telling myself that the pain was almost over with 5 minutes of running left.

I ended with the 13th fastest time on the leg, but had I run 18:57 I would have been the 10th fastest. It's hard to make up time and push yourself when you're essentially time trialing way back in the field. There were 6 guys who ran between 18:58 and 19:04 so I can take pride in my mediocrity. The winner of my leg was Hiroyuki Sasaki of Waseda in 17:54 which was also a course record. Are you seeing the theme here with Waseda? Of the 6 legs in the ekiden, they would win 4 of them and set an overall course record of 2:10:05 for 44.5 kilometers.

Sam Luff ran the next leg and he didn't lose or gain any places. Sam finished in 19:59 for 6.4k (17th fastest). His leg was won by Wataro Ueno of Komazawa in 18:30. Our anchor was Steve Sundell who has run the final leg two other times. Steve ran respectably but couldn't pass anyone either. This is similar to the first year I came to Japan and we went from 3rd to 12th on the third leg and stayed there the rest of the race. Steve's time was 31:54 for 10.2k (12th overall). His leg was won by Shota Hiraga of Waseda in 30:00. I'll note that last year Daniel Gitau ran a foolish 28:17 for this distance.

I will recap more about the 5k alternate race, post-race banquet and night of karaoke later. I will however offer some insights to Japanese distance runner and marvel at how efficient their strides are. While Kenyans appear really fluid and lanky, the Japanese have no wasted motion in their arms, torsos or legs. All their momentum is going forward which is really something to replicate. Also, they are incredibly light weight. My guess is the average weight on a Japanese team is 120 pounds and it's not because they are all that short. Third would be the choice in footwear and most runners opt to train in flats or a shoe that is really lightweight. The shoes aren't necessarily of the minimalism concept, but they are definitely lighter and less shoe than in the states. The Japanese also really like their Phyten, magnets and other blood flow boosting paraphernalia. It's definitely not doping/cheating, but almost every athlete sports some sort of necklace, bracelet, waist belt or magnetic band-aid looking devices. Finally, the Japanese can go to the well like no other athletes I've ever seen. If the Kenyans "train hard and win easy," the Japanese "race hard and look in agony." Countless athletes collapse at the line completely spent from their race. The face of some of the runners 4k from the finish line look like it's going to be a terrible day yet they manage to hang on a run ridiculously fast splits.

Here is great recap from Japan Running News that is a must read.