Strategies for the Lake Saroma 100km Ultramarathon and the Pride of the Unemployed

I don't know what came over me, but I entered the Lake Saroma 100km Ultramarathon to be held on June 29, 2025.

I managed to win the fierce clicking battle that unfolds from the moment registration opens and secured my spot.

However, while it's great that I got in, just imagining running 100km is depressing.
I really think people who do ultramarathons are out of their minds.

Has something changed within me?

Admittedly, I would like to see the world of finishing a 100km race.
Also, the fact that I moved to Hokkaido and that now is the only time I have enough energy, physical strength, and time to run an ultramarathon might have been a major push.

So, I decided to sneak into this prestigious festival of eccentrics that has been going on for 40 years.

Goals and General Strategy

The time limit for the Lake Saroma 100km Ultramarathon is 13 hours.
The race starts at 5:00 AM and the cutoff is at 6:00 PM.

By the way, top runners apparently finish the 100km in the 6-hour range. That's insane.

The completion rate seems to be roughly 60-70%.
It's about the same as the summit success rate for Mount Kilimanjaro, but since these are figures for people who have gained a fair amount of experience as runners, it must be quite a tough battle.

This time, I have set my goal to simply finish within the time limit.

However, constantly running with the pressure of not knowing if you can finish within the time limit is not good for mental health.

Therefore, I will build a strategy to have a little leeway and finish within 12 hours.

If I account for spending a total of about one hour at aid stations along the way, the actual running time will be about 11 hours.
That means my running speed will be 9km/h, which is a pace of 6 minutes and 40 seconds per kilometer, and I will have to keep that up.

Well, I'm used to moving for over 10 hours from mountaineering.

On Mexico's highest peak, Mount Orizaba, I was active for 10 hours with only half the air available compared to the lowlands.

Just run.

I checked out various books related to ultramarathons. Among them, the book that offered the most objective and sharp analysis was, surprisingly, this one.

An unexpected mountaineering book.

By the way, as the name suggests, this book is mainly about "Exercise Physiology and Training Science for Mountaineering," and while the content is quite serious, the latter half isextremely interesting as it pushes the possibilities and limits of human beings.

• "Nail necrosis"

• "Impaired consciousness"

• "Hallucinations and auditory hallucinations"

• "Austerity mountaineering"

• "The resolve to sacrifice body tissues and the ability to act while enduring diminished physical functions"

Death-defying words like these fly around at key points, making it quite intense.

I can confidently recommend this book to those who want to do hardcore mountaineering, those who believe that pushing their own bodies to the limit is justice, and those who are dying to know what kind of training these extreme enthusiasts are doing.

Hey, you there, grinning as you hear that. Go ahead and click to buy it and read it.
You won't find such an intense book in a regular bookstore.

You won't find such an intense book in a regular bookstore.

Although this book is about mountaineering, it also includes research and studies on ultramarathons.

According to it, the optimal training method for an ultramarathon, even academically speaking, is ultimately to "just run".

In other words, by putting in the volume, you build the legs for an ultramarathon and increase your "empirical knowledge" of ultra-long-distance running.
It states that top performers in ultramarathons run 260km per month, or 10 to 15km per day.

Furthermore, an ultramarathon is no longer a world of endurance, but a battle of "human body durability".

Unlike a 42.195km full marathon, simply increasing the muscular endurance of your quadriceps is not enough; you need to eliminate the factors that limit your performance during the race one by one and raise your overall durability.

There are several factors that limit performance, and typical examples include:

• muscle pain

• joint pain

• foot pain (blisters, calluses, plantar fasciitis, etc.)

• energy deficiency

• dehydration

• gastrointestinal damage

and you must implement measures that are appropriate for the individual and the situation.

Therefore, it is important to repeatedly engage in self-dialogue while actually running long distances to identify where your bottlenecks are each time.

And the chapter on ultramarathons concludes with the point that "this can also be applied to serious mountaineering." It is a mountaineering book after all.

Training methods

There are less than five months left until the race on June 29th.
From here on, I want to think about specific strategies.

First, I have set a general policy of running at least three times a week and doing long-distance runs (30km or more) at least twice a month.

While I will consider performance-limiting factors other than physical stamina as I increase my mileage, I have roughly devised the following monthly training menu.

February: Making running a part of daily life

Target mileage: 150km

This is the period to first instill running into my body as a "part of daily life."

Furthermore, since I live in Hokkaido where snow prevents outdoor running, my running will be limited to the treadmill at the gym.

The daily running distance is 8km.
I will use mountain skiing a few times a month as a substitute for long-distance runs.

March: Practical training

Target mileage: 200km

This is the period to gradually increase practical running.

For the first half of the month, I will continue to use only the gym treadmill, but from the second half, the snow will melt in the lowlands, allowing me to run outside, so I will start road running.

The daily running distance is 10km. I will try running 30km in one go.
Mountain skiing will, of course, continue.

April: Intensive training period

Target mileage: 250km

This is likely the most important period before the actual race.
I want to solidify my foundation as an ultra-runner during this time.

The daily running distance is 10 to 15km. I will try running 60km in one go.
I will take it easy on the mountain skiing.

May: Finishing Phase

Target mileage: 250km

A period to refine the body for peak performance. Since the mountain skiing season is over, I will focus on running.

Daily mileage will be 10-20km. As a simulation for the actual race, I will try running 75km.

June: Adjustment Phase

Target mileage: None

Focus on eliminating accumulated fatigue in preparation for the big day.

However, as part of my training, I will participate in the Chitose JAL Marathon held on June 2nd (aiming for a sub-4 hour full marathon) to get a feel for the race environment.

Daily mileage will be 5-10km.

And then, the race day on June 29th arrives.

*

I will aim for a pace of 10km/h during training.

Also, when I go to the mountains, I will convert the activity time multiplied by the METs value into running distance and add it to my total mileage.

For example, if I spend 6 hours mountain skiing on Mt. Yotei (5 hours climbing + 1 hour descending), I will count it as having run 45km, assuming a load equivalent to running at 7.5km/h.

For now, this is the general direction, and I will play it by ear from there.

Restoring Vital Assets and the Pride of Being Unemployed

The appeal of an ultramarathon, it seems, lies in the confidence and sense of accomplishment that await beyond finishing the race.

I have never reached that state of mind, so I cannot say for sure, but it feels somewhat like the "Super Essence" dungeon in Shiren the Wanderer 6.

Shortly after quitting my job, I spent my days living a decadent life, doing nothing but playing video games.

This is an unforgettable memory, but toward the end of my time as a company employee, I was so exhausted that an industrial physician diagnosed me with stress disorder. I suspect I was likely on the verge of clinical depression.

It has been half a year since I left the company, and I am still spending my days leisurely, considering this to be a period of recovering my "vital assets", as described in the book "The 100-Year Life."

The vital assets that were eroded over roughly ten years in exchange for building financial assets cannot be recovered in just a few months, and it seems it will take a bit more time for them to regenerate.

However, I feel that some kind of change is occurring within me as my vital assets recover, and my decision to enter the Lake Saroma 100km Ultramarathon this time is likely one of the signs of that.

Recently, I have finally begun to feel a desire to challenge myself with something in earnest. I want to face this feeling honestly.

If that is the case, then let's give it everything I've got. So as not to bring shame to the name of being unemployed!