This weekend, I went to the "TDT100" for the first time. What is TDT? It's a 100-mile (160km) "group run" organized by Japan's proud trail runner, Tomokazu Ihara, commonly known as Tomo-san, who has decided to run 100 miles in his lifetime. The time limit is 24 hours.

The course starts from Tenkubashi Bridge near Haneda Airport and runs along the Tama River for about 65km, then goes on a trail from Ome Railway Park for 15km. The round trip is about 160km.

It all started at the so-called "Salomon." That "Salomon" is often mentioned in podcasts.

Before the start, a briefing was given by RD (race director) Tomo.

This time, I was asked to participate as a pacer for none other than Yoichiro Sakurai, commonly known as Saku, who I support as milestone. Just between you and me, even though my longest distance run was 60km, this was my first time as a pacer. And it was 90km. I was anxious and excited, but I saw him off at the start and then moved on with my fellow pacers.

The first drop bag point. Everyone took a short break, put on their jackets and then set off straight away.

Then, pacers joined us from the next point, Ome Railway Park. Now, it was finally time to take off. The trail section was 15km long. Along the way, there was the official Enoki aid station, where we were greeted by Matsui-san from Yamanashi Representation and Ryu-G from Michigama, who gave us a boost of energy.

Then, I enter the road area and just keep running.

Just run.

Running makes you hungry, and even though I had snacks with me, I wanted something warm to eat at night. The TDT aid stations were really good. Domi's superb soup at ULTRA-LUNCH (his revelations at the banquet were also great!), Naniwa aid station, Gasbashi aid station, Zero Calorie aid station, and Pork Soup aid station. Everything was delicious, and it really gave me energy.

Although there was a hurdle of a 24-hour time limit, I was very happy to be able to reach the finish line safely with fellow runner Saku. As this was my third time participating in the TDT, we took a commemorative photo together holding our gold buckles.

The next day was the banquet, where next year's participants were selected by lottery. Incidentally, the 25 runners who had completed the TDT nominated three people in advance, and the winners' names were read out in front of the participants. The odds of winning were one in three. My name was the first to be read out. This meant I had secured the right to run in next year's TDT 2021 (May 29-30), but thinking about it objectively, I was a bit worried: would I be able to run 100 miles?! However, I was truly grateful for the opportunity to have such a valuable experience.

"I had always wanted to run 100 miles myself, so I equipped myself with the flagship model headlamp MS-F1: Trail Master, which was developed specifically for 100-mile runs and is manufactured in our own factory , and there was no way I wouldn't take on the challenge. However, things were going so smoothly, and Saku, who recommended me, laughed, saying that everything was going just as I had imagined. In fact, knowing that everyone was cheering me on, it made me feel like I could take on the challenge in six months. So my own "road to 100 miles" had begun.