22 July, 2011
13
Fujiyoshida City Office (Start) >> Summit (Finish) >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[The 64th Mt. Fuji (Summit) Race. Time - 4:29:36]
13
Fujiyoshida City Office (Start) >> Summit (Finish) >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[The 64th Mt. Fuji (Summit) Race. Time - 4:29:36]
The Mt. Fuji Race is one of the oldest races in Japan. Each year - weather permitting - participants run from Fujiyoshida City Office along the old historic Yoshida route all the way to the summit of Mt. Fuji. The race is 21km in length with an elevation gain of 3000m.
I entered my first Mt. Fuji Race in 2010 having only started running 12 months earlier. To successfully complete the race, runners need to reach the summit in a time limit of 4:30:00 and get through the 5th and 8th Station check points within strict cut-off times. I had missed the cut-off time at the 5th station by about 10 minutes in 2010. My general lack of running experience however didn't deter me and leading into the race in 2011 I was more determined than ever to make it to the summit. In the 12 months before the 2011 Mt. Fuji Race I had run 5 full marathons and hiked up and down Mt. Fuji 3 times in the month leading up to the the race. I felt physically and mentally ready to give it another try.
I spent the night in Fujiyoshida at Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's which was very close to the start line. The hostel was full of runners taking part in the race and some of them gave me good advice about running the race. My own goal was just to get through the 2 check points and then push as hard as I could to get to the summit.
The weather on the morning of the race was perfect - chilly but sunny. I joined the 3776 runners not too far back from the start line and at 07:00 the starter got the race under way. The first 8km was on an asphalt road that climbed steadily upto the start of a hiking trail which takes you to the first check point at the 5th Station. I ran all the way to the start of the hiking trail proper and then hiked as fast as I could and made it through the first check point with about 10 minutes to spare. I then made it through the 8th Station with only minutes to spare and looking up at the summit it seemed like an impossible task to cover the remaining distance in the 30 or so minutes remaining.
As I got nearer the summit I could hear people shouting, screaming encouragement to those nearing the finish line. Having climbed Fuji up and down the Yoshida route many times already I knew exactly how far it was to the finish and knowing how close I was to mising the cut-off time I just pushed as hard as I could and crossed the finish line with only 24 seconds to spare. My official finish time was 4:29:36.
It would have been a huge disappointment had I missed the 4:30:00 time limit. I would have missed out not only on the finishers t-shirt and recognition as an official finisher but more than that it would have felt like I had "failed". As it was, it was a great feeling to make it across the finishing line just within the cut-off time. No marathon race finish had ever felt as exhilarating as it did to cross the finish line on the summit of Mt. Fuji. With the race over it was then back down the descending trail all the way to the Yoshida 5th Station where race buses ferried us back down the mountain to the start at Fujiyoshida City Office.
I collected my belongings which had been left not far from the start and then headed back to the City Office. At the back in the car parking area, they had set up stalls providing refreshments. The awards ceremony for the top finishers was taking place as I arrived. I recognized the second placed woman who I had met a few weeks earlier on a training hike on the Yoshida trail. She had finished in a time more than an hour faster than mine. My own race had been a race against the clock but to put into perspective the huge difference between average finishers like me and the real athletes, the first placed runner had completed the race in an incredible time of only 2:27.
The whole organization of the race and everything about it had been great - the friendly staff at the City Office, the many local school children who act as volunteers and the local people who had turned out to cheer us runners on. My special thanks to Robin Lawrentz whose job it was to look after the non-Japanese runners like myself and to my fellow runners who I met at the hostel, in particular Marco Pefferkoven who was not only a very strong runner but like me, a huge fan of Mt. Fuji.
Photos: ALL SPORTS Community
I entered my first Mt. Fuji Race in 2010 having only started running 12 months earlier. To successfully complete the race, runners need to reach the summit in a time limit of 4:30:00 and get through the 5th and 8th Station check points within strict cut-off times. I had missed the cut-off time at the 5th station by about 10 minutes in 2010. My general lack of running experience however didn't deter me and leading into the race in 2011 I was more determined than ever to make it to the summit. In the 12 months before the 2011 Mt. Fuji Race I had run 5 full marathons and hiked up and down Mt. Fuji 3 times in the month leading up to the the race. I felt physically and mentally ready to give it another try.
I spent the night in Fujiyoshida at Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's which was very close to the start line. The hostel was full of runners taking part in the race and some of them gave me good advice about running the race. My own goal was just to get through the 2 check points and then push as hard as I could to get to the summit.
The weather on the morning of the race was perfect - chilly but sunny. I joined the 3776 runners not too far back from the start line and at 07:00 the starter got the race under way. The first 8km was on an asphalt road that climbed steadily upto the start of a hiking trail which takes you to the first check point at the 5th Station. I ran all the way to the start of the hiking trail proper and then hiked as fast as I could and made it through the first check point with about 10 minutes to spare. I then made it through the 8th Station with only minutes to spare and looking up at the summit it seemed like an impossible task to cover the remaining distance in the 30 or so minutes remaining.
As I got nearer the summit I could hear people shouting, screaming encouragement to those nearing the finish line. Having climbed Fuji up and down the Yoshida route many times already I knew exactly how far it was to the finish and knowing how close I was to mising the cut-off time I just pushed as hard as I could and crossed the finish line with only 24 seconds to spare. My official finish time was 4:29:36.
It would have been a huge disappointment had I missed the 4:30:00 time limit. I would have missed out not only on the finishers t-shirt and recognition as an official finisher but more than that it would have felt like I had "failed". As it was, it was a great feeling to make it across the finishing line just within the cut-off time. No marathon race finish had ever felt as exhilarating as it did to cross the finish line on the summit of Mt. Fuji. With the race over it was then back down the descending trail all the way to the Yoshida 5th Station where race buses ferried us back down the mountain to the start at Fujiyoshida City Office.
I collected my belongings which had been left not far from the start and then headed back to the City Office. At the back in the car parking area, they had set up stalls providing refreshments. The awards ceremony for the top finishers was taking place as I arrived. I recognized the second placed woman who I had met a few weeks earlier on a training hike on the Yoshida trail. She had finished in a time more than an hour faster than mine. My own race had been a race against the clock but to put into perspective the huge difference between average finishers like me and the real athletes, the first placed runner had completed the race in an incredible time of only 2:27.
The whole organization of the race and everything about it had been great - the friendly staff at the City Office, the many local school children who act as volunteers and the local people who had turned out to cheer us runners on. My special thanks to Robin Lawrentz whose job it was to look after the non-Japanese runners like myself and to my fellow runners who I met at the hostel, in particular Marco Pefferkoven who was not only a very strong runner but like me, a huge fan of Mt. Fuji.
Photos: ALL SPORTS Community