#2 The toughest and most growth-inducing challenge of 2025
~This Year's Challenge~
Looking back on 2025, the most memorable challenge in my personal life was the
Itoshima 112km Walk that I participated in this April.
I had completed two full marathons and climbed Mt. Fuji, so I thought I had challenged myself with "tough things" before. But this 112km walk was undoubtedly the most grueling of them all.
It all started when a friend from college suggested it to me over the New Year holidays. "It's tough, but I think it'll be a great experience," they said. I decided to enter on the spot. I remember feeling an intuitive desire to do it rather than thinking about it too deeply.
Even though it was held in April, the day was chilly, and it rained twice along the way. Honestly, the conditions were quite harsh.
Four of us entered, but the other three retired during the first lap of the course. *The course involved walking two laps around the Itoshima Peninsula. At 1:00 AM, I parted ways with my friends and stood at the starting line for the second lap all by myself.
From there on, it was a time of just continuing to move forward one step at a time, while telling myself, "I can do this."
I managed to keep moving forward without stopping, thanks to acquaintances cheering me on along the way and encouraging other participants.
In the second half, my feet were in pain, my head was foggy from not having slept at all, and the thought, "Haven't I done enough already?" crossed my mind many times. Even so, I kept putting pressure on myself with the thought that
I cannot go home having retired.
The result was finishing in 27 hours. I think the sense of relief that "it's really over" was greater than the sense of accomplishment at the moment I crossed the finish line.
On the drive home, I slept as if I had literally collapsed.
Through this experience, I thought for a moment, "Maybe there's nothing tougher than this."
But what remained even more strongly was
trust in myself.
I am not a naturally gifted person. There are very few things I can do well from the start.
Even so, if I continue to move forward step by step, I can reach any goal properly.
I can keep a strong mentality, motivate myself, and keep going.
It was through this challenge that I truly understood for the first time that this is my strength.
And I think again:
Confidence is not something you gain by comparing yourself to others.
It is about whether you have at least one experience where you were able to believe in yourself.
I believe that is all a person needs to keep moving forward.
2025 was the year I learned that through firsthand experience.