This series is a fictional podcast show in which writer Hagiwara (who runs #WednesdayBudouzakaRen together with the three members of milestone (Nishioka, Yoshida, and Haruka)) listens to and delves into the stories of these three members.

・2nd Anniversary Festival "RUN+MUSIC vol.2"

Nishioka (hereinafter, Nishi): Good evening! This is Nishioka from milestone.

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): This is Yoshida from milestone!

Omori (hereinafter Haruka): I'm Haruka from milestone!

Hagiwara (hereafter referred to as Hagi): I'm Hagiwara. Nice to meet you.

Yoshi: Since this is the 29th time, has "Oshi! Mai" been held even before the new building was built?

N: It started during construction, in a conference room in the building across the street.

Hagi: The story of when it was completed was recorded in the first and second parts of Episode 6, "The Milestone that Became a Map."

Yoshi: It's been two whole years since then.

Nishi: That's right. Today I'd like to introduce milestone TERADACHO's 2nd anniversary event , "RUN+MUSIC vol.2 ." "RUN+MUSIC" is an homage to the logo of the trail running magazine "RUN+TRAIL," which everyone knows (laughs), but it's an event where you can enjoy running and music.

Yoshi: Editor-in-Chief Suzuki also gave us permission to use the logo (laughs).

Nishi: This is a DJ event with guests Hiroki Ishikawa, aka "El Dragon," and "Mr. Rambo," Kuwahara Kei, representative of Run boys! Run girls!.

Nishi: By the way, do you remember what happened last time?

Yoshi: I don't remember (laughs). It was so much fun. It was like a dream.

Haruka: I wasn't able to participate last time, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Nishi: I can enjoy drinking and music with Hiroki and Kei. It's a rare opportunity to have conversations that I wouldn't normally have. They're just hanging out on the dance floor.

Haruka: You can even have casual conversations!

Yoshi: It's hard to talk to people at race venues, and you can only ask them to take photos. But in the field of music, there are no barriers and you can talk to people who share the same love of music, which is great.

Nishi: Before last year's 1st anniversary event, we had the opportunity to interview Hiroki and Kei on "Oshi! Mai."

Hagi: The 18th episode was "What Happened Before Running." They shared some unique stories about their musical journey and how they discovered trail running.

Nishi: Actually, we're still connected via video chat today!

Yoshi, Haruka, Hagi: Wow!

(Video chat begins)

Nishi: Good evening!

Hiroki Ishikawa (hereinafter, Ishi): Good evening.

Kuwahara Kei (hereinafter, Kuwa): Good evening.

Nishi: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Kei-san helped me out at the Hokuroku Park in Fuji the other day.

Nishi: The flyers have already been posted!

Ishi: Who made it? I'd love to frame it and put it on display!

Kuwa: That's so cool!

Nishi: He's the designer who always designs for milestone. He's a friend of mine who does music flyers with this kind of touch, so I've been wanting to ask him to do it someday. When you have a good visual, your imagination expands all at once and it really gets you excited.

Ishi: I don't remember when I did that pose (laughs).

Nishi: I think that's when I'm feeling the best while DJing. I'll be the first batter again this time, so Master and my brother should relax in the waiting room first. Kei-san, then Hiroki-san.

Ishihara: Why don't we draw lots to decide the order? It wouldn't be any fun if it was the same as last time.

Nishi: Please spare me. I'll just go by the order of career.

Ishi: Let's do it the other way around this time!

Kuwa/Nishi: No, no, no (laughs)

Nishi: First, I'll warm up the venue. We'll play for an hour each, then we'll have a 20-minute encore. We've still got to choose the songs.

Kuwa: Since the last event last year, whenever I hear a song that catches my eye, I think, "This could be useful," and play it.

The list continues to grow.

Nishi: As expected!

Ishi: I checked the records of old zones that I hadn't touched for a long time. This time I was definitely going to change the order, and I was thinking of it as a way to slowly raise the order. So, should I change it?

Kuwa: That was just something Hiroki thought up on his own, so that's not going to work (laughs). Even if I said that, he'd probably end up thinking, "Well, I guess I'll just have to do this too." I'd end up playing something that would cause trouble for him (laughs).

Nishi: Today we're connecting you as part of a column called "Tell me! Milestones," and I wanted to hear about your enthusiasm for the "RUN+MUSIC vol.2" event and your recent activities. Hiroki-san, you've had some sponsorship moves this year, haven't you?

Ishihara: The announcement was made in January. Did you not expect it at all?

Nishi: I had heard that Montrail was going to disappear.

Ishi: Actually, I've been trying on a few different shoes since last spring to see how they felt, and I kept quiet about it until the announcement.

Nishi: No, no, I was surprised.

Kuwa: It was right after we played a futsal tournament together, but I didn't think he'd say anything, so it was a surprise.

Ishi: I think many athletes have spoken out about the greatness of Altra shoes, so I hope that my involvement will help move things in a more positive direction so that people who have been using the shoes for a long time don't have negative thoughts.

Yoshi: On the contrary, I think it will increase the number of fans. Altra has an image of American shoes, so I think it fits Hiroki's image perfectly.

Ishi: The fact that it's set in America and the zero-drop design of the shoes really suited me. To tell you the truth, my feet have been in bad shape since the end of last year. Even when I play futsal. I've had an injury somewhere other than the hip joint where I had surgery, so I haven't been able to show anyone running in the Astra shoes yet. I've been feeling much better over the past two weeks, so I had a magazine photoshoot today and I think I'll be able to convey the image of me running from now on.

Nishi: You're busy with races too, right?

Ishi: In terms of event management, there is the Kaga Coast Seaside Trail Run in Ishikawa Prefecture in early April, followed by the Kitakyushu Hiraodai Trail Running Race, and it looks like preparations have begun for the Shinetsu Gogaku Trail Running Race this year as well.

Nishi: What about Kei?

Kuwa: We're starting something new separate from Run boys! Run girls!

Nishi: It's like juggling two pairs of shoes.

Kuwa: That's right. The grand opening will be on July 24th, but the gymnasium and the shower and locker facilities that we manage, which can also be used as a running station, have already been pre-opening since April. We've named it "Neighbors Sports Club," and it has a jiu-jitsu space and a mirrored dance studio, and we're running a school and renting out the space.

Nishi: So you're not doing anything completely different?

Kuwa: What's the same as a shop is that we're trying to create a community. Rambo has a lot of hardcore fans, but we basically want to lower the barrier to entry for trail running and running. The catchphrase for this place is "Sports aren't scary," and we hope it will become a facility where people who want to start sports in their older years or who aren't good at sports can try running just one kilometer or do a little jiu-jitsu because they want to move their body and are concerned about their health.

Nishi: I see.

Kuwa: The staff are working really hard, but we just opened so we're short on staff, so I'm currently on a shift. So I've just finished my shift (laughs).

Nishi: It's difficult until you get the flow going.

Yoshi: Kei yourself also completed the BAMBI100 last fall.

Kuwa: It's all thanks to Hiroki and the other members of our Avengers-like support team.

Nishi: We have an impressive lineup of pacers and supporters.

Kuwa: During the first half of the lap, when I was still energetic, I noticed a line at the Heguri aid station, so I went over to see what was going on, and saw that people were waiting to take photos of Hiroki.

Ishi: What are you talking about?

Kuwa: Hiroki was waiting for me at the aid station, but while I was waiting, the runners who had arrived before me started lining up to have their photo taken with him (laughs).

Nishi: Of course it would be a surprise. No one knew you were coming (laughs).

Kuwa: I was like, "Why is Hiroki Ishikawa here?" (laughs) Thank you so much. You helped me so much.

Ishi: I wanted to be a pacer, but I'm sorry, I couldn't run.

Nishi: I'm glad you made it to the finish line safely. Will you be coming again this year?

Kuwa: Yes. I'm planning to be Jerry Ukai's pacer.

Nishi: This year, Takeshi will also be appearing in the run-walk style.

Ishihara: I heard about it. And there's also Takeya from New Hale, right? He's the same age as me and Kuwabara.

Kuwa: We even had someone come to our group run who said he was a pacer at BAMBI100.

Nishi: It's nice to see the circle expanding in this way.

Nishi: I think the previous "RUN+MUSIC" was a great success.

Ishi: On the other hand, were there any parts that were different from the image you had in mind?

Nishi: As the organizers, we were slow to attract people to the morning session, and that is something we regret for the two performers.

Ishi: I was happy enough just to be able to play music.

Nishi: Was there anything you wish you had done differently?

Kuwa: I would simply like to improve the technical aspects of the transitions a little more.

Nishi: The equipment was new too.

Yoshi: But you also rapped.

Nishi: "Team Trail Running" was awesome. What about Hiroki?

Ishi: I think I should have brought some songs that people would be more familiar with. I'm sure people who like reggae know them, but that's why I'm thinking of bringing some Japanese music this time.

Kuwa: I thought it was a good balance. I know that playing J-POP will get the crowd excited, but if I play too much it changes the atmosphere of the event, so I limit myself to only one cliched song per set.

Yoshi: For us amateur audience members, it was a lot of fun, and when Hiroki heard Kei's song selection he said, "It's J-POP after all," and we were impressed by his ability to adjust the settings to include J-POP.

Kuwa: It was a stylish remix that wasn't too mainstream.

Ishi: It's fun to choose on the spot, so I'll start by slowly choosing which records I'll take with me.

Nishi: The crowd was really excited when Kei played "YAH YAH YAH" (laughs).

Kuwa: I think I'll include one big anthem that everyone can sing along to this year too.

Nishi: In terms of genre, Kei has an all-genre style. Hiroki focuses on reggae. I still want to focus on black music. I haven't added that many records yet, so the song selection will probably overlap with last time, but I'll keep thinking about it as I go.

Kuwa: Last year's second set felt good, so I'll play at that time this time.

Nishi: This time it will be a two-day event, from 3pm to 7pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Ishi: That week I will be giving a course guidance seminar for the Shinetsu Five Mountains in Morinomiya in a run-walk style, so I plan to stay until the weekend.

N: If possible, could you please bring buckles and other things like you did last time?

Ishi: Do you need it? Shall I bring some of your past magazine publications?

Nishi, Yoshi, Haruka, Hagi: I want to see it! I want to see it!

Kuwa: Whenever I visit Hiroki's house, he's meticulously taking clippings from magazines and newspapers. Back when Hiroki was first racing in America, there wasn't much of an internet back then.

Ishi: At that time, the Hasetsune bib was sponsored by JR East, and the Western States bib had the Levi's logo on it.

Everyone: Whaaaat?!

Ishi: I'll bring something that will help explain that history.

Nishi: Please do!

Kuwa: The Hiroki Ishikawa Museum.

Nishi: It's only for two days! It's super rare to be able to see it in Osaka. Thank you for your valuable time! I'll send you a poster!

Ishi: Please think about the order!

Kuwa: The signal is so bad I can't hear you (laughs).

Nishi: (laughs) Well then, thank you very much!

(Video chat ends)

Nishi: Wow, my expectations are rising.

Yoshi: Will we be able to see Hiroki's nervous face again, thinking, "What should I do if they play a song like that," as he watches Kei liven up the floor?

Nishi: As a DJ, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of songs the other person will play, and it's also a chance to show off my skills. Kei-san did quite a lot of tricks last time.

Yoshi: Although they said they would only play one J-POP staple song, they played two last year.

Nishi: That's a yellow card (laughs).

Haruka: I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll liven up the event this time, especially since it was held last time. What's more, this time it's being held over two days, Saturday and Sunday. The running event starts at 12 noon on Sunday.

Nishi: It was Haruka who suggested splitting it into two days. It was a flexible trial and error approach.

The biggest thing we were able to achieve in our second year was this visual. We were only able to create that poster thanks to the materials we had the first time. The photo was taken by Yama-san.

Haruka: That's Yamaguchi-san, who is also a graduate of BAMBI100.

Nishi: I think the atmosphere of the photographers having fun comes across in the photos and videos. We're asking for participation again this year, so I hope they can capture various moments that can be used for next year's poster. I'd like to continue holding the event and then do something grand for the 5th or even 10th anniversary.

Yoshi: I'll do my best to be on a poster by then (laughs).

Nishi: That's true. Maybe it's the image of me grilling takoyaki (laughs). That's good too.

Haruka: Then maybe I should sell beer (laughs).

Nishi: By upgrading the visuals, we hope to attract more participants and have as many people as possible feel the fun atmosphere. We've also revamped the participation certificate badges.

Haruka: This time, only DJ event participants are allowed to participate in the group run . As the title suggests, we would like everyone to participate in both the run and the music.

Hagi: So if you attend either the MUSIC event on Saturday or Sunday, you can participate in the RUN.

Haruka: Entry is not via Moshicom, but via the website, with advance payment in the same way as online shopping. As with last time, it costs 2,000 yen (excluding tax) and includes one drink. Your name will be confirmed at the on-site venue and you will be given a badge before you can enter. There will also be a set of a limited edition "RUN+MUSIC vol.2" T-shirt and ticket for 7,000 yen (excluding tax).

Click here to purchase tickets

Nishi: We've changed the base fabric of the T-shirts since the last time. They're printed in white letters on the same orange background as milestone's original canvas T-shirts, made from recycled polyester. Sizes range from XS to XL. We hope you'll wear them to the group run.

New wine

Nishi: Also, we will be releasing new wines. They will be canned wines from South Africa. The red wine is Merlot,

And the white is Chenin Blanc.

It's called "Rooibos Wine," but it's a wine that doesn't use any chemical antioxidants and is made using only rooibos and other natural ingredients.

Hagi: Rooibos, known as the ingredient in rooibos tea, is mainly produced in South Africa. I didn't know that.

Yoshi: Speaking of wine, I once hiked the Omine Okukake Trail with Nishioka-san (also featured in this blog) . He didn't know his left from his right, and even borrowed a backpack. Even though I told him to "keep your gear light and not bring anything extra," he ended up bringing two cans of wine (laughs).

Nishi: I remember. It was really hard. But I was so happy that it was my first time fastpacking. I was looking forward to mealtimes and alcohol as a reward for my hard work. I was sipping on 250ml cans. The first time is always the most important thing, and it was my first experience, so I thought it was amazing. Wine is heavy in bottles, but cans are light. It's about 14% alcohol, so it's enough to get you drunk. I really like wine and drink it often.

Haruka: When it's cold in the mountains, you can make hot wine.

Nishi: I met the distributor for this wine when I was exhibiting at a stall the day before the OMM main event.

Yoshi: I was drunk while setting up the booth (laughs) but I made the excuse that "this is also part of my job" (laughs).

Nishi: It's actually become a job, so I'm making it into a reality. I'm happy that the wine arrived in time for RUN+MUSIC. Good music, good drinks, and good company. I hope everyone has a happy time. By the way, please note that the one drink at the event will be beer, not wine.

Yoshi: I would like our business partners and various other people to come.

Nishi: Please come to milestone TERADACHO on June 28th and 29th. Whether you take the Shinkansen, an overnight bus, or a plane.

Yoshi: Kayaking would be fine too (laughs).

Haruka: It would be nice if you could come by walking along the Tokai Nature Trail (laughs).

Nishi: It's a once-a-year festival, so we hope people from all over the country will come. And with that, we'll wrap up the 29th event here.

Yoshi: Trail running is truly amazing.

Nishi: See you next month. Bye.

Yoshi: Goodbye.

Haruka/Hagi: Goodbye.

This month's issue is packed with content, including guest interviews, in preparation for our second anniversary celebration.

I think what makes running so interesting is not just the act of running itself, but the places you go, the people you run with, and the many other encounters and discoveries you can make. You might even discover new music at the event. See you in Teradacho!

Text and composition: Hagiwara Ken