Friday, August 30th, 5:45 PM. The starting point was in front of the church. 15 minutes before the start, an MC got the crowd excited, and the usual background music (Conquest of...) started, and the excitement was building to a fever pitch.

The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, commonly known as "UTMB," is truly the world's largest event. Not only were there runners, but there were also a lot of spectators, media, and other people involved, making it difficult to take photos.

I pushed through the crowd and spotted Doi before the start using a telephoto lens.

As the countdown begins, approximately 3,000 runners run through the city of Chamonix, setting out on a long journey of 170km.

At the first aid station, Les Contamine, the top runners Pau and Xavier had passed by, and as I was waiting for Doi, I saw an unbelievable sight... I spotted the distinctive shape of a headlamp and quickly pointed my camera at the runner. It was none other than Deng, a Salomon athlete from China. *I would later learn more about him from Ose, another Salomon athlete.

A top runner who is not Japanese is wearing Trail Master...

Jason Schrub, an American Altra ambassador.

This was the first time I saw him in a race, and he was tall and had a big stride.

An Asian player, but I don't know his name.

And then Doi came in 45th place. He looked calm, but he had earphones on. I wonder if he was listening to music? I wonder what kind of music he was listening to.

Afterwards, Fabien, a Frenchman who was our Trail Master model last year, also arrived. At this point, there were a total of six runners wearing our products. I was so happy I cried, as I had never expected to see such a sight in this world's most prestigious race. *This is true.

We moved to Courmayeur and waited for Doi. Just as I thought "Here he comes!", it was Okumiya who gave me a high five with a smile. It was clear that he was in good shape.

Just when I thought, "He's finally here!", Akutada-san from NEW HALE suddenly appeared from the side.

And finally, it's Doi! Huh? He's walking...

Hmm? Something's wrong.

An expression on Doi's face that we've never seen before.

My stomach is not feeling well...

I don't have the confidence to run to the end (even to the next aid station) in this condition.

Doi lay down and took a deep breath. I'm not a supporter, but merely a photographer, so it's difficult to casually call out to him. In my mind, I wanted to shout, "Let's do our best! Let's make it to the next aid station!" but I couldn't say it out loud. I watched carefully and took the picture. This was all I could do. And then the drama continued...