I've been there, done that and got the towel...

"What's yours is ours" moment. I couldn't really argue with that😜😜😜

38 - KIX Senshu International Marathon, Osaka, Japan, 18 February 2018

Since the running bug caught up with me in 2014, I have not been able to shake it off. I have not tried to shake it off. I do not want to shake it off. I have let it settle and dictate where I go, what I do and when. While I was preparing for my trip to Athens for the Athens Marathon. The Authentic, it occurred to me that completing 100 marathons before I turn 40 is not a destination, but a journey. I need to enjoy and celebrate every part of the journey, rather than the wait to celebrate upon completion of my 100th marathon. The 100BEFORE40 challenge is like war. You celebrate each battle and ground gained until you win the war. With this in mind, I decided to make the journey more exciting. Wild as it is, I decided to try running at least a marathon on every continent as part of the defining aspects of the 100BEFORE40. It was probably a dream gone to far, but it all starts with a dream. We will just have to “see how it goes.”

The Athens Marathon. The Authentic was the European leg of the 100BEFORE40. Before the Europe leg was over, I set my mind on the next continent. I chose Asia. I considered the Dubai Marathon, 2018 as the Asia leg of the 100BEFORE40. However, after a few days of going through marathons all over Asia on the internet, I decided to go to Japan. The Tokyo Marathon was my first choice, but I could not get in. It was fully subscribed as early as October 2017. I then stumbled upon two marathons that were a week apart. This was perfect. It meant I would run two marathons while I was in Japan. These were the Iwaki Sunshine Marathon in Iwaki City Prefecture and the KIX Senshu International Marathon in the Osaka Prefecture. In the end, I settled for the KIX Senshu International Marathon.

Osaka was closer to Hiroshima than Iwaki. I had always wanted to travel to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to visit the atomic bomb sites. With the KIX Senshu Marathon, I would be able to turn the trip into a runcation and baecation. Around 01:30 in the middle of the night (or was it early morning) on 20 October 2017, I pressed the button and booked the flights to Osaka. The following day, after beating about the bush for a while, I broke the news to the family Finance Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Agatha. She was not impressed at first. She did not understand why I would choose Japan of all places. It took a bit of effort to convince her, but once she bought the idea (with conditions of course), we were both crazy about the trip. That was it. The 100BEFORE40 train was going to Asia!

100BEFORE40 🚂 vs the door height contest.

For the next few months, I concentrated on the 17MarathonsFor2017 project. However, I would every now and then do some research on Japan and the things to do once we arrived in Japan. From the research, it became clear to me that we where in for a massive culture shock in Japan. That is exactly what happened when we landed in Osaka on 16 February 2018. Almost all the people were very short, at least by my standards. Suddenly, Agatha and I had become giants that attracted almost everybody’s attention on the streets. I was even taller that our hotel room door and had to bend each time I entered or exited the room. Everything, especially the food portions, was small. Despite all this, we had a pleasant first day in Osaka. 

On Saturday morning we collected our race packs at the registration center. This was where our races would start the following day. The race pack collection was low key. There was a dedicated race pack collection table for international runners. There was no queue. at this table Within five minutes we had collected our race packs and were set for the race the following day. We had planned to attend a dinner gala arranged by the race organizers on Saturday evening. However, we (Agatha) chose to go shopping for most of the afternoon and into the evening. The shopping escapade was quite eventful. I could not help noticing all sorts of “odd” things as we walked around the streets and in and out of the shopping malls. The people of Osaka are well organised (too organised actually), very disciplined and full of respect. There is no jaywalking in Osaka. No pedestrian crosses the road when the robot (traffic light) is red, even if there are no cars passing. Everyone walks in a single file and on the right-hand side of the foot path. On elevators everyone stands on the right and leaves room for those who want to pass, on the left.  I did not see a single person eating on the go. Even a visit to the toilet was an adventure. There were all sorts of notices or instructions on the wall. Some of them pretty funny. This was the funniest of the all:

"Flush the used toilet paper as it is" What the hell? I mean, what else would you do with used toilet paper? Clean  it up first, fold it nicely and then flush it down the toilet? 

You can forgive a guy for paying attention to all these notices in the toilet. The toilet seat was heated. Sitting on the toilet never felt that good. Then there was a moment when I went to try on a jacket in the fitting room in a shop. I was asked to take off my shoes and leave them outside the fitting room. Just to try on a jacket? No wonder their roads are squeaky clean. I could swear that the roads are marked every day. I could go on and on about the "weird" and great things I saw and encountered, but this blog is about running. So, we will stick to the race.

Finally, race day arrived. We left our hotel room just after 6:00 am. By now we were experts on the public transport network. We took a train to the race. The train trip was about an hour long. It was a very cold morning and getting to the start about two and a half hours early worsened our plight. We sat in an open space basking in the sun and stayed in our warm clothes until about 30 minutes before race start. Agatha’s race started five minutes before my race. I walked her to her start, just to be sure that the young Japanese men, and women, did not hit on her. It is not a chance that I was willing to take. I mean, who would not have been tempted.

I was seeded in Batch A, together with the elite runners and contenders. This did not help my cause at all. My dear brother Jefta Mavata had warned that the "Japanese are very athletic my friend. No overweight people there, watch out it will be quick." He was right. As soon as the gun went off, they all flew off. I was sucked into the atmosphere and tried to keep up with the rest of the A Batch runners. However, after three kilometers, I decided to stay in my lane and held back. I knew that if I kept going fast, I would struggle towards the end. It took a lot of discipline to go slowly as most of the runners were very fit and were flying as Jefta had warned. I decided to follow one lady whom I thought was pacing very well. I lost her just after 11 kilometers when I stopped for a toilet break. Talking about a toilet break, around the seven-kilometer mark I really needed to use the toilet. However, there were no toilets (or small bushes) in sight. I did not see anyone take any roadside toilet break like we do all the time in South Africa. By the time I got to the nine-kilometer mark, I had decided that if there were no toilets in sight by the 15-kilometer mark, I was going to pee on the go. "I have heard stories about the elite guys in the front peeing on the go. Today I will try it", I told myself. It did not look like I had a choice. Luckily, from the 11-kilometer mark there were toilets almost after every two kilometers. I did not use the toilet again but knowing that one would be there when I needed it was quite comforting.

I established my rhythm again about two kilometers after the toilet break. I felt comfortable and in control of my pace, even though it was still very cold. I have never felt so much in control of a race like I did on this occasion. I am not sure if I was flying, but I know for sure that the kilometers flew by. Before I knew it, I was at the half way point after 1h56min. I slowed down a bit as I was about three minutes ahead of schedule. I did not want a repeat of the Athens Marathon. The Authentic ordeal. I had crossed the halfway mark after 1h57min, but went on finish after 4h11min. So, I held back a bit for the next nine kilometers. I was still feeling very good and in control when I got to the 30-kilometer mark. I, therefore, ramped up the speed again. For the next three kilometers, my estimated finishing time was below 3h50. I was elated. I even entertained the idea of a 3h48 finish. This is the time that Agatha predicted as I walked her to the start of her race. The thought of being her hero and finishing below 3h48 crossed my mind, but I knew it was not an easy task and not within my reach, at least for the next few years.

While cruising after the 30-kilometer mark, I completely forgot about the climbs right at the tail of this course. These were the four climbs on the massive bridges between 34^th and 41^st kilometers. These climbs were a bit taxing to me. I took a walk halfway through the first climb. I hid the fact that I was tired by recording a video on my phone. These videos are always a good way of pretending to be in control of things when things start falling apart. After recording the video (catching a breath), I continued running. Before I knew it, the second climb was upon us. By that time, I had picked another lady as my pacer and had to stick with her. I kept following her and made it to the top. I sped downhill to make up for lost time and left the lady behind. She however caught up with me as I was going up the fourth climb. I never passed her again. During the last kilometer she seems to have noticed that I was playing catch up and gave me a “catch me if you can” attitude. She suddenly started sprinting. I hung on for dear life just to finish with her in sight. She finished about 50 meters ahead of me.

I crossed the finish line after 3:56:03. I had missed my target time on the day by four seconds but had run a personal best. I collected my Towel and Medal and went to find Agatha. While I was getting lost and trying to find Agatha, my newly found running mate, Alan Peacock, spotted me and came to say bye. I met Alan at the race pack collection the previous day. My stature always deceives many people about my athletic prowess. Alan was convinced that I would easily cross the finish line after two hours and thirty minutes or thereabout. The more I kept remonstrating and telling him that I was a sub four hours runner, the more he did not buy it. At some point he told me that I was being too modest. I must have disappointed him with my 3h56 finish. We took pictures and reminisced about the race a bit. Agatha and I then quickly went back to the hotel to freshen up before we headed to Hiroshima by bus. 

Atomic A bomb dome - Hiroshima

The bus trip to Hiroshima marked the end of the runcation and the beginning of the baecation. One of my childhood dreams of the visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Atomic Bomb finally came true (http://visithiroshima.net/world_heritage/20th/a_bomb_dome/). We also managed to visit the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3401.html). 

Itsukushima Shrine - Miyajima Island

As you, or should by now, know, if it is not on Facebook, it did not happen. I documented the adventure on Facebook as follows:

#100BEFORE40, Marathon5ofAtLeast18MarathonsFor2018, KIX Senshu International Marathon, is fully loaded. It went well. Better than I expected. It was cold, but the wind stayed away. Boy!!! The Japanese are fit. The pace was “catch me if you can” from the start. Starting right in the front with the speedsters didn’t help either. I was sucked into the moment. It took a lot of discipline to hold back and run my race. I was a massive giant in the sea of very short people😜😜😜Two words from the spectators stood out. I could swear they were saying “Kwaito” and “dumpling”😆😆😆I still have to figure out what they were saying🙈🙈🙈 I pushed all the way and managed to shave off 2 minutes and 27 seconds off my PB (Vaal Marathon, 2015). Finishing time, 3:56:03. Not bad for a PB, this being my 5th marathon in 5 consecutive weeks. Looks like “practice does not make you perfect, but it makes you better”👌👌👌 I was so looking forward to getting my towel. That’s what the race registration email said we would get. It also said medals would be given to the top three in each category. They didn’t disappoint. The towel was there waiting. You know how they always wrap it around the elite guys who finish while most of us are still at the half way mark? Well I got to "taste" that experience😜😜😜 Then a miracle happened. A few meters away there were tables with medals. You can imagine the excitement when I saw these. I collect my Marathon medals. I was even going to frame my towel, in place of the medal😜😜😜

KIX Senshu Marathon you have been great. Osaka your weather has not been so great, but you are forgiven. Oh, I almost forgot the TV (okay, almost TV) interview at the finish. Being one of the few (if not the only, proper straight from Africa, darkie(s)” I enjoyed a great deal of attention and this TV crew was not going to miss out on a scoop. Problem, the whole crew could not speak English (understandably so, because I cannot speak Japanese and cannot expect them to speak English in their own country). So, the whole interview was as follows:

Journo - #%>#<^¥>%<@$# comment.
Me - Great race, well organized. Being all the way from Zimbabwe, I loved it. I will be sure to go back next year (forgive me Lord for I have sinned. This was a lie🙈🙈🙈 I will not be back. Even if my Finance Portfolio Committee [Agatha] gave the green light I would not come back. I would rather do a different race elsewhere.)
Journo - (whispers something to cameraman and cameraman shakes his head. Journo keeps smiling and bowing for a good 45 seconds or so).
Me - (I don’t know what to do. Should I go or stay...)
Journo - (still battling to say something, eventually says) Congralations.
Me- oh oh, 🙏bowing.

Funny moment for me right there. Needless to say, that clip may end up on the “moemish of the week” segment, if it makes its way to the screen.

That’s it. The Asia leg is done. The #100BEFORE40 moves on. Next stop, I will have to seriously think about it, but I may go and play with other kids at the Gift of the Givers Township Marathon next weekend.

Other

Official race start video. The tall Ninja in the frame from 2:05 to 2:08 is the 100BEFORE40 train.

Video by spectator. 100BEFORE40 train in the frame around 20:00.