I participated in the Ultra Trail Mt. FUJI, which was held from April 21st to 23rd, 2023. This is one of the largest races in Japan, and I have a lot of feelings for it, so I'm really happy that I was able to complete it.

Back in 2018, I went to this race to watch my first trail running race, as Ryo Doi and Yuko Yada were going to be running wearing the final prototype of the MS-F1: Trailmaster headlamp (now out of production), which I had developed with Doi. Having no sense of direction and no knowledge of the area, I vividly remember frantically driving to each aid station in order to photograph the two of them wearing the prototype.

I also had the opportunity to cover the 2019 tournament closely as a photographer.

I was also appointed as Doi's supporter for the 2022 race. Supporting a top athlete requires completing many tasks in a short amount of time, much like an F1 pit stop. Even though I had a single-lens camera hanging around my neck, I had no time to take photos. I had to empty the trash from his pockets, refill his drink, ask how he was doing, and tell him the distance to the next aid station.

This year, he finally fulfilled his dream of participating as a runner, with the support of the promising newcomer Yoshida.

The people I always run with from the Wednesday Budouzaka practice were also running, so I traveled from Osaka with them. The day before the race, we went to the registration desk. There was a long line, and we waited to have our essential equipment checked. I was nervous.

From left: Yoshida aka Yoshi (2022 FUJI finisher), Grape Elite Runner: Uemura-kun (64th place), Massan (affiliated with a major outdoor manufacturer), myself, Nishioka, Grape Elite Runner: Norio (104th place), Ban-chan, the banquet manager (2022 FUJI finisher)

After the event, we went to see the EXPO, and after saying goodbye to the manufacturers, shops, and industry people who have always been so kind to us, we all headed to our lodgings. Although it was a little far from the venue, it was a very relaxing lodging. The pre-event party continued well into the night, with people talking about races, gear, and mountains.

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, it was the start of the race. I was nervous, but I decided to take a walk around Lake Yamanaka. There was always laughter there, and my nervous expression eased.

When we arrived at the venue's parking lot, it was quite a walk to the starting point. It was hot and I was a little tired, but then I heard voices from afar. It was the members of TEAM THE NORTH FACE. I shook hands with Doi and took a commemorative photo. Up until now, we'd acted as a team, but this time we were rivals!? The stark difference in our abilities had me smiling, but I was just happy to be able to take part in the same race.

The first wave started in no time, and it was my turn. I took a commemorative photo with my friends and secured a good position, but I got nervous and had to go to the toilet again 5 minutes before the start.

From the start, it was mostly downhill. The concept for this race was to save my legs for the second half. *When I ran BAMBI100 SOLO in February, I went too fast in the first half and ended up walking the entire last 80km . ☜I have bitter memories of that time in my blog , so this time I tried not to rush and just keep moving forward steadily.

Before and during the race, many people asked me, "How long will it take you to run?", but my honest answer was, "Well, it's a course I've never run on before, so I really don't know how long it will take me 😅" and "I just need to keep moving forward."

With my limited experience, there was no way I could create a schedule to hand over to my supporters, so I got fed up and my reliable partner Yoshida, a seasoned 100-miler, had created a schedule for me and handed it to me, telling me to look at it while running, so I checked it as I went.

Originally, I wanted to do something like an Instagram Live during the race, take lots of photos, and write a report, but the truth is, I was running so hard that I didn't have the time for that.

There are three reasons why the race went well in the end.

1. Fine play from supporter Yoshida. I run with him regularly, so he understands my running ability better than anyone. He even helped me, who had no prior knowledge, with creating a schedule and planning everything, including how long I would stay at aid stations. He's a reliable partner.

*Just between you and me, I ended up falling asleep in the car when I got back to the Lake Shoji aid station much earlier than expected. He encouraged me by saying, "I'll be there 11.8km from the next aid station, so do your best until then!" But don't worry, I won't tell anyone that the aid station was actually 23km away.

2. As soon as I left the Lake Shoji aid station, I called out to a runner walking next to me at roughly the same pace to double-check the distance to the next aid station. Ehara-san is a sub-3 runner who completed the UTMF last year and is very familiar with the course.

Ehara: The next aid station is Fuji-Q Highland, 23.3 kilometers away.

Me: Hmm? Our excellent supporter just said it was 11.8kg.

Ehara-san said, "Look at this!" and showed me a reduced printout of the course map.

Me: "So, Support Yoshida overslept, got upset, and gave me the wrong information?" I thought with a wry smile.

From there, we started talking about the trail runners on the escalator, the 100 miles 100 times, and the conversation blossomed as we introduced ourselves. 23.3 kilometers passed in the blink of an eye. Before we reached the aid station, I asked him if he wanted to continue running with me to the end, and he gladly agreed.

In the end, I was able to finish the race much faster (about 4 hours) than the estimated 38 hours because I was able to talk with Ehara while running in the second half, and because I set my rest periods to be shorter.

3. I was able to talk to many people involved in the race at each aid station and along the course. I was also very happy to see so many people wearing our products, including headlamps, caps, apparel, and other merchandise, during the race. It definitely gave me courage and hope.

This year, I was really glad to be able to fully experience UTMF, Japan's largest trail running race. I'd like to thank the organizers, volunteers, management, runners, and Doi, who gave me the opportunity, as well as everyone at the Wednesday Budouzaka training, for their hard work. I would like to run FUJI again if I have the opportunity!

My main race for this year is over, so my supporter, Yoshida, will be taking on the Shinetsu Gogaku 100 Mile Race in September. Now it's my turn to support him, and I would like to fulfill my mission as Yoshida's pacer.