LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
July
Lots of Ultra action this month (why do they have these things in hot weather?).
- But we begin with the Obuse Half Marathon on the 5th. 8,000 people took to the streets and paths of this town in Nagano, many of them in costumes. It was cooler than previous years, but with high humidity. Four club members enjoyed the race and the food at the aid stations, including fruit and cucumbers with miso. Derek Leong: 1:25:07 for 17th age group, 42nd overall; Bernard Plagge: 1:37:44 (coming back from Injury); Chika Kanai: 1:37:38, 7th age group; Takeshi Koide: 1:39:31, 65th age group.
- Also on the 5th was a fun 3-hour relay in Odaiba. See the story and photo to the right.
- The Kitatanzawa Adventure Race, one of the toughest races in Japan, was held on the 6th. It is 44.24km with +2,750m elevation. Eric Lebrasseur was delighted to break 6 hours, finishing in 5:55:35 for 101st out of 1301 men. Other Nambanners were Kevin Nadolny: 6:06:40, 132nd; Cory McGowan: 6:43:00, 288th; Don Roxburgh: 6:44:08, 300th; Yuki Seshimo: 7:49:17, 39th woman (with sore ankle); Mark?: 8:01:16, 778th.
- Aya Noyes, visiting from Hong Kong, was up in Fukushima on the 12th, where she ran a 50K Ultra, finishing as 1st woman and 2nd overall!
- David Passarelli was in Ontario, Canada on the 13th for the North Face Endurance Challenge, a 21K race with 1,700m elevation change. He endured in 2:26:07, good for 26th out of 125.
- Next we have a 100km race, the OSJ Ontake Ultra Trail in Nagano on the 20th, which started at midnight. With 3,000m elevation gain, Chih Hoe Liew was able to put his stair training to good use, coming home in an impressive 13hr9min for 114th out of 879.
- Also on the 20th, Keren Miers was in Bavaria, Germany for the Challenge Roth Triathlon, the biggest Ironman in the world. He made his trip worthwhile, setting a new PB in 10:59:36, finishing with a 3:54 marathon in 36C/97F heat! He was 33rd out of 251 in his age group, and 617th out of 3,500 overall.
- Stan Chow traveled to beautiful Whistler, Canada for Ironman Canada on the 20th. He also set a 30+minute PB with 11:10 (4:02 marathon), good for 181st out of 1,900 entrants.
- Apparently recovered by the 25th, Eric Lebrasseur was ready for another mountain, this time the big one: Mt. Fuji. He ran 21km up to the summit in the 67th Fuji Mountain Race, needing only 3:53:14, good for 268th among 2,500 starters. Yuichi Kanamori was also there—he ran the 15km course in 1:57:53, placing 183rd out of 1,191 and qualifying for the summit race next year.
- Another Ultra: Raymond Wong ran the Okumusashi 78K race (west of Tokyo) on the 27th. The temperature quickly rose to 34C/93F, causing over 100 runners to drop out after only 3 hours. Up to 50k is uphill (!), then downhill, but there was a thunderstorm! Anyway, he made it in 7:33, good for 11th age group and 47th male.
- Continuing his globetrotting, David Passarelli went all the way to Spain to run an Ultra (well, not only for that): the Vuelta al Aneto, a 58K race with 3,800m elevation gain and “boulder jumping”. Food at the aid station included melons, cheese and salami sandwiches, which powered him to a 12hr30min finish for 151st out of 440.
August
Wednesday night workouts are at Oda Field track from 7:30pm.
- 6 – 1000 x 6
- 13 – 1200 1000 1000 800 800 800 400
- 20 – 1000 x 4, 800 x 2, 400
- 27 – 5000m time trial
HAIKU OF THE MONTH
Cicadas chirping
But then, beer drinkers burping.
The sounds of summer.
