In my 50s, my hobby was travel running
I started running marathons after being invited by a friend.
At first,
"Just this once."
That is what I kept telling myself.
After all, it is 42.195 kilometers.
If you live a normal life, you would never run such a distance.
I had only one goal.
It was fine even if I had to walk.
Just to finish the race, no matter what.
With that feeling, I stood at the starting line.
The first one I ran was the Naha Marathon.
And I became hooked not so much on marathons, but on the fun of the "event" itself.
The streets of Naha are closed to traffic and become the exclusive domain of the runners.
Running proudly down Kokusai Dori.
Constant cheers from the roadside.
"Go for it!"
"Just a little more!"
Along the way, there are many private aid stations lined up.
People offering drinks and food.
People playing the sanshin to cheer us on.
People dancing.
It was as if the whole town was a festival.
I thought, 'Marathon races are so much fun.'
That's what I thought.
And then my friend said,
'Where should we run next?'
That was the beginning of our 'travel running'.
Including half marathons, I think we've run in about 20 prefectures.
Hokkaido.
Niigata.
Saitama.
Chiba.
Yamagata.
Ibaraki.
Okayama.
Osaka.
Kanagawa.
And Okinawa.
I wonder if we've run the Naha Marathon alone about seven times.
A middle-aged man in his 50s who had no hobbies,
traveling across the country almost every month to run in those places.
I never imagined such a fun hobby was waiting for me.
"If it's come to this, I'll conquer the whole country!"
I bought a blank map and started coloring in the prefectures I had run in one by one.
I was still in the middle of it, though (laughs).
And halfway through, I gained another source of enjoyment.
I'm not a runner aiming for a fast time anyway.
So, I decided to stand out.
That's what I thought when I started cosplay.
The character I chose was,
Woody from "Toy Story".
This was a huge hit.
From the sidelines,
"Woody!"
"Go for it!"
They would cheer for me by name.
Maybe it's a habit from when I was aiming to be an actor (laughs).
When I get cheered on, I can't help but wave back.
And then there's an even louder cheer.
I feel like a star (laughs).
I've also run overseas.
It was the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia.
The cityscape is beautiful, and the support is the best.
Plus, Woody is universal.
From all over,
"Woody!"
"Woody!"
The voices come flying at me.
Without thinking,
"Yee-haw!"
I would reply like that (laughs).
Thinking about it now, it was truly fun.
Please don't misunderstand.
It's not that I liked running.
42 kilometers is painful.
No matter how many times I run, it's painful.
But I love marathons.
Tens of thousands of people walking, running, and laughing toward the same finish line.
I loved that atmosphere.
Actually, the most exciting part is before the start.
When I stand at the starting line packed with people,
I feel my heart race, thinking,
It's starting again today!
And the moment I start,
I think to myself,
It's already getting closer to the end.
I'm a bit strange, aren't I? (laughs)
The theme of the Naha Marathon is,
A Festival for Joggers
I think that's exactly right.
I was truly lucky that the first marathon I ever ran was the Naha Marathon.
I was enjoying that life of travel running, but then—
2020.
Suddenly, all of that joy disappeared.
It's COVID.
Aomori, which I had entered, too.
Kagoshima, where I had planned to run for the first time, as well.
One after another, notifications of 'event cancellation' arrived.
At the time, I never imagined that this event would end up changing my life so significantly.
I'll tell you that story next time.