第３回精華マラソン The Third Seika Marathon

On October 7th, runners from all around Seika came to the Mukunoki Center to participate in the 3rd annual Seika Marathon. Not having anything else to do on a Sunday morning, I thought it would be fun to participate.

１１月７日(日）に、精華町内のランナーは、第３回精華マラソンに参加するためにむくのきセンターに集まりました。参加したら楽しいだろうと思っていました。

The event had a 2km jog, and 3km, 5km, and 10km races. People from all age groups took part, with elementary school kids running in the 3k and 5k races, while some of the people in the 10k were clearly over 60 years old. I had signed up to do the 10km race, so even though I got there at around 8:30, I had a good long wait. It was really fun seeing everybody else go though, especially watching all the races start, and the little kids just straight out sprinting. Although the 2km jog was mostly for fun, the 3km and 5km were clearly serious business, and some of the times posted were really impressive. (I think 17 minutes was the winner for the 5km).

当イベントは２キロ、３キロ､５キロと１０キロのレースがありました。あらゆる年齢層の方が参加し、小学生は３キロと５キロを走り､６０歳以上の方も１０キロを走りました。私は１０キロに参加するので、８時半に着き、結構時間がありました。他のレースを見るのが楽しかったです。特にスタートです。子ども達がスタートでの全力ダッシュはかわいかったです。２キロは楽しみの為ようだったが､３キロと５キロのレースは真剣勝負で、ランナーの速さは本当に凄かったです。（５キロの優勝者のタイムは１７分ぐらいと思います）

The start of the 10k/ １０ｋのスタート

Finally, the time for the 10km race had come, and all the racers were getting lined up to start. Now, I am not a runner. I’m about as fast as molasses in January, and I couldn’t even finish a 2km jog when I was a kid. So all I was aiming for finishing, ideally in under an hour. I got an ok start, but I slowed down really quickly, and watched nearly every single person pass me. A real nice thing was the support that all the other runners gave each other, and you could always hear cries of “Fight!” whenever they passed each other. After 10 long kilometers, I finally got back to the starting point, where some kids from a local school cheered me on. Sprinting to the finish line, I was able to finish in 59 minutes and 44 seconds. I didn’t care that I was the second to last guy; it just felt really good to finish.

ついに、１０キロのレースの時が来ました。ランナー達は並んで､準備をしていました。実は、私はあまり走るのが得意ではありません。大変遅くて､子どもの時２キロも走れませんでした。今回は１時簡以内に走り終えたらそれでいいと思っていました。スタートは好調でしたが、すぐペースを落とし、皆に追い付かれました。ただし､参加者がお互いに応援し合い、よく「ファイト！」を聞こえました。長い１０キロの後で､ついにスタートに戻って、精華町の生徒に応援してもらいました。ラストスパートをかけ、５９分４４秒で終われました。最後から２番目でしたが、１時間をきったのは最高です。

The finish. Notice how my face is the color of a bruised tomato

Obviously all the winners got prizes, but every participant got a Seika Marathon towel and a free udon lunch. (Apparently in Japan you get a towel instead of a shirt for events) The race was really well attended with a couple hundred participants and all their supporters. Running is clearly very big in Japan, and many people were already talking about what race to do next. Although I hurt like heck afterwards, the race was really fun, and I’m looking forward to running again next year. Time to start training.

優勝者は賞､それ以外の参加者全員はオリジナルタオルとうどん券をもらいました。参加ランナーは何百人と多く、応援者もたくさんいました。ランニングは日本でとても人気ようで、次のレースについて話している人もいました。１０キロの後で私はひどく痛みましたが、本当に楽しかったので、来年の精華マラソンを楽しみしています。トレーニングを始めましょう！