Looking Back at March 2020

2 hours, 5 minutes, and 29 seconds. It was a spectacular new Japanese record.

When Suguru Osako let out a roar of emotion and crossed the finish line in front of Tokyo Station with a fist pump, I never imagined that such a chaotic future was coming.

Actually, saying "I never imagined it" is a lie. I had predicted it just a little bit. But I spent my days with the question of whether such a future would really come to pass.

The last month I lived in Tokyo. I don't think I will ever be able to forget this “March 2020” no matter how many decades of life go by.

April is already coming to an end. I thought about whether I should look back on March, but I really can't help but put my thoughts about this past month into words. I must write them down before I forget my time in Tokyo.

A year ago, could I have imagined the encounters I have now?

In March, I had the opportunity to meet several famous long-distance runners in quick succession. I was able to talk to former athletes I had been watching since I first got hooked on long-distance running after seeing the Hakone Ekiden, as well as athletes who are still competing as working professionals and trying to realize their dreams while sticking to their own styles.

I never thought I would be standing face-to-face with such people and talking to them. It might sound conceited to say it this way, but strangely enough, I have been able to meet the people I admire and want to meet. As I wrote on note last May, I am blessed with encounters.

When I accompanied an interview with Ryuji Kashiwabara last year, I felt a bit lightheaded, as if I were in a dream, knowing that the person I had been watching on TV 10 years ago was right in front of me.

▼ Those two interview articles

I am happy about the fact that I was able to meet them, but for me, it was even more significant to hear the stories of such elite runners up close. Of course, I don't know if I can apply it to my own competition, but until now, when I talked about athletes' challenges, I could only speak based on information flowing through the news.

In a sense, that was nothing more than the imposition of the logic of “this side” (and I felt guilty about that). However, by hearing their stories directly, I was able to learn about the environments they grew up in and their approach to competition from every angle.

What I felt in my own way was that, precisely because of that, I don't just want to listen to their stories, but as a runner myself, I want to get as close to them as I can. On top of that, I thought that the resolution of my understanding and the messages I myself can convey would emerge. First, I'll start with 1000m in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. (Haha)

The term “special ability” made sense to me

At the end of March, I had lunch with a friend. At that time, the conversation turned to what I was going to do from now on, and I shared my thoughts.

According to what I've heard from several people recently, I have the power to connect people. As mentioned earlier, I am blessed with encounters with people. It is true that wonderful people gather around me.

I have always wondered why that is... And I didn't feel it was anything special, thinking, “Isn't everyone like that?” The adults I have watched have built communities much, much more than I have, so I have thought “I am nothing special.”

At the end of March, while talking with various people, I received many comments like, “There are people I met thanks to you, Kohata-kun,” or “The things I can do have expanded.”

When I told my friend I had lunch with about those words, they replied, “Community managers can't do their job unless they have a special ability.” Calling it a “special ability” gives off a vague, suspicious vibe, but there is no other way to put it, and it felt like it made sense to me.

This is my own hypothesis, but I think that “special ability” fluctuates to some extent depending on the amount of action and one's own core. Of course, it is demonstrated just by meeting people, but I hypothesize that by increasing one's core (creating things and places that one can say “this is it”) and the amount of action, the variable called “special ability” grows exponentially. (Also, based on experience, I have a feeling that is the case.)

In that sense, being able to hold the Last 1K Time Trial event and a report meeting for this past year at the end of my time in Tokyo has become a personal treasure. Of course, I learned from the process of giving shape to my own thoughts, and I had the feeling that gears that had been stopped and rusted for a long time had started to move again.

It was deeply moving to think that I had been able to live for a year surrounded by such warm people, both inside and outside the company.

Having 'your own answer' in an age without answers

At 8:00 PM on March 25th, Governor Koike held a press conference and announced a request for people to refrain from going out for that weekend. That night, I went for a run in Yoyogi Park with Yuuri Suzuki, an overseas marathon collector, and she treated me to dinner afterward.

Of course, I had my schedule packed for that final week, right up until I was about to board the night bus on the 31st. Even though the infection was spreading, there was a part of me that viewed it as something happening far away, and a part of me that thought, 'If it's just a one-on-one drink...'

However, after learning that if we didn't stop the flow of many people going out at this stage, a city lockdown or the collapse of the medical system like in New York would be unavoidable, I decided to cancel all my plans from the morning of the 26th onwards.

Even after that, honestly, I couldn't find peace of mind. If I'm in Tokyo in this situation, should I return to Sendai early? That said, if I were to return to my hometown from Tokyo in this state and cause a cluster infection among other people, I would become someone who accelerates the spread of the infection.

If so, should I extend my stay in Tokyo?

That weekend, I was lost in indecision. I wrote about the details here, so please take a look.

The decision I ultimately made was not to wait until the 31st, but to choose to return to Sendai on the night of the 29th (Sunday). Instead, I took responsibility for preventing the spread of infection by self-isolating for two weeks after returning to my home in Sendai.

Honestly, I don't know which was better. Perhaps my housemate in the share house was asymptomatic and got infected through me. Because of that, there might be a patient with an unknown route of infection. If I think about the anxiety, it never ends, and I don't know which was the correct answer.

However, in an age and society that is chaotic and without answers, being able to make my own decisions and take action was a great life experience. It is similar to that time I experienced during my high school life immediately after the earthquake.

The time I spent living in that chaotic region and the world I saw must surely be resonating with the present. Perhaps when we emerge from this era of 'Stay Home,' and when I look back on my life decades from now, I would be happy if the image of myself living through this time becomes a catalyst for something yet to be seen.