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

Nishioka (hereinafter, Nishi): Hello, good evening everyone! This is Nishioka from milestone.

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): This is Yoshida.

Hagiwara (hereinafter Hagi): I'm Hagiwara, a writer.

Nishi: I have some great drinks to drink today. I received some potato shochu from Haru Mandil, who runs a lodging and trail running shop at the foot of Mount Shari on the eastern side of Hokkaido. Shimada-san! Are you listening?

Yoshi: Thank you, Shimada-san!

Hagi: When you came to Osaka, Shimada-san and I ran up Budouzaka together. I'd like to go to Mt. Sharidake for a summer training camp next time.

Nishi: It was a gift to celebrate the first anniversary of milestone TERADACHO. It's wonderful. I'm happy to be able to talk about it over a drink like this. And this is the 21st edition of "Tell Me! Milestone." You're breaking records, not to be outdone by Shohei Ohtani. There's no end to the material.

Yoshi: Let's hold a public recording when we reach the 100th episode.

Hagi: That's still a long way off (laughs).

Nishi: We are currently recording in late August, and the world's top trail running race, UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc), is currently being held in Chamonix, France.

Nishi: The 100-mile race starts this weekend. Suguru Osako, whose performance in the men's marathon at the Paris Olympics is still fresh in our minds, participated in the MCC (40km, cumulative elevation gain of 2,366m). He finished 52nd overall out of 1,100 runners. I saw Rui Ueda, a junior from my high school and university class, following him on video, and I thought they had a good relationship, so I watched his posts on social media.

Hagi: It's great to see well-known runners participating in trail running.

Nishi: Also, the promising young athlete Omi Ryunosuke is running the OCC (57km, cumulative elevation gain 3,498m). He was in 24th place earlier, so we're looking forward to seeing him do better in the second half (final result: 21st overall). It's great to see Japanese athletes competing on the world stage, and maybe some of them will be wearing our headlamps.

Yoshi: Both Rui and Ryu use headlamps.

Nishi: Actually, I also went to Ryo Doi's race in 2019 and set up a booth there, and rather than supporting him, I accompanied him as part of the filming crew.

That was the year that Obara (Masatoshi) came in 6th overall, Team Answer4 was also there, and Kaburagi Tsuyoshi was running as part of his 50-year-old "NEVER" challenge.

Yoshi: It was a fantastic year.

Nishi: I hope that one day I'll be able to go again, whether it's to set up a stall, race, or cheer on, so I'll leave it at that for today.

Hagi: Wait a minute! I came here today to hear about new items.

- Strength updated

Yoshi: That's right. Let's get started. This will be released on September 25th, but there are three characters that will be released in October.

Nishi: First, from late September to early October, there's the Fast Trail Glove, which you all already know about.

Yoshi: It was also nominated for the Best Trail Globe Award in 2023 (laughs).

Nishi: According to Milestone (laughs), it was very well received thanks to you. I wonder what it was that made it so popular?

Yoshi: I guess it's 2 in 1 after all.

There are mittens and thin fleece gloves available separately, but I think the convenience of using two in one is great. I designed these gloves to be the best for trail running, and I think they have all the features you want. I think our customers feel the same way when they use them.

Nishi: It wasn't something that had already been made into a series, and it was a new genre, so to be honest, I was a bit nervous about the number of copies we had to produce. I wondered if it was okay to make so many. But it went pretty quickly. Having said that, the response was good, so we couldn't just increase production right away.

Yoshi: There is quite a long production lead time.

Nishi: Last year, many people asked if there were any left, but this time there should be plenty.

Yoshi: For details on the development process, please read the previous issues.

Hagi: The 10th episode is "How to move "fast" in the mountains ."

Yoshi: There was one improvement. Last year, we made many prototypes and released the product with the greatest possible strength. However, after we released it and had people use it, we received complaints that it ripped or the thread broke when it was wet and people pulled it roughly while running.

Hagi: There was also an explanation of the correct way to take off clothes.

Yoshi: So, we worked with the manufacturer to see how we could make them stronger. We tried changing the fabric and the thread. We came to the conclusion that we use a stronger thread called bond thread for sewing. We had them double-stitch the area around the thumb, which is the most prone to tearing. We tried using them roughly on purpose, and the strength has increased considerably. However, they will still tear if you use them roughly, so we would like you to use them normally.

Nishi: We're making minor updates with the desire to make something even better. It's really easy to use, and we've received inquiries from people overseas. We were even asked today when it would be released. We've been saying it would be coming soon, but it's actually been decided that it will go on sale at the end of September!

・New color sparrow

Nishi: The second one is the Cloud Hoody. It's an active insulation that uses Polartec's Alpha Direct, which we talked about in the 12th installment, "Shaping the Clouds." Last time, it came in two colors: Crow Black and Peacock Green.

Yoshi: Crows and peacocks.

Nishi: Thanks to you, this was also well received, so we decided to add a new color. In terms of color, it's brown. The color names are from the bird name series, and Yoshida-san was the one who named them.

Yoshi: It is a common bird that can be found in large numbers in parks; it is smaller than a pigeon and makes a chirping sound.

Nishi: Not a swallow?

Yoshi: It was a sparrow (laughs). It's sparrow brown.

Nishi: Pigeon is Vision, swallow is Swallow, and sparrow is Sparrow. But since it's my child, I wanted to make it easy to relate to.

Hagi: When I hear the word Sparrow, the first image that comes to mind is that of a Johnny Depp pirate movie.

Nishi: We chose a name that is easy to imagine and familiar. There are already Japanese names like Wasabi Green and Yomogi Green, so we didn't stick to the English name and went with Izuzume Brown this time. I think it's a color that will be easily accepted by both men and women.

Yoshi: It's a unisex earth color that is typical of milestone.

Hagi: It looks like it will be useful this winter too.

Yoshi: I actually used the product to the fullest from last winter to early this spring.

Nishi: In what field?

Yoshi: Of course, I was thinking about trail running, so of course I'm using it for winter trail running. I wear the merino wool daybreak T-Shirts underneath. The best experience was walking the long trail called Koza Kaido (a total length of 80 km from Kamitonda Town to Kushimoto Town in Wakayama Prefecture) in two days and one night in January this winter. I was able to wear it the whole time, so I would definitely recommend it to daybreakers.

Nishi: It's Daybreaker (laughs). The Daybreak series is designed for people to wear while hiking or biking, so we offer it in sizes up to XL. It's made to fit a variety of body types.

Yoshi: Similarly, we have added an XL size to the Cloud Hoody.

Hagi: I used it all the time during my winter runs last season, but this summer I was able to wear it perfectly even when it was cold in the mornings and evenings at campsites in the Alps. I didn't even need a down jacket.

Nishi: It's not just for winter activities, but can also be used as cold weather gear for summer mountain hikes. They did some field testing in the Northern Alps. I can even wear it when I'm doing office work at the office during the cold winter months. It can even be worn as everyday clothing.

Yoshi: You really did wear it all winter (laughs).

Hagi: Will last year's colors disappear?

Yoshi: Yes, there are. All three colors and sizes are available. Crows, peacocks, and sparrows all come together.

・New color: Basil

Nishi: Finally, let's talk about the Daybreak Long Sleeve Shirts that we released in June this year. It was a challenge for us, but we released long sleeve shirts as part of the dayBreak series. For more details, please see the 17th episode, "A New Dawn." Thanks to you, these have also been well received, and we only have a small amount of small sizes left in stock. So, we're adding a new color: Basil .

Yoshi: As you can imagine, it's green. It's definitely a color. I think everyone will like it.

Nishi: The loop on the back is orange, an accent color.

Hagi: I thought this loop would be a bit too bold, but when I actually wear it, I don't really notice it. I'm also carrying a backpack.

Nishi: I think it's fine if it's subtle, so that those who know will know. This time, only two colors will be released: Overcast, a light gray, and Basil. They will be available around mid-October, so I hope you will check out Basil as well.

Yoshi: We launched the dayBreak series with the hope that it would appeal to hikers, cyclists, and other outdoor enthusiasts, but I think the Cloud Hoody can be worn in either way. During this cold winter, trail runners can layer the Onion Hoody over the Cloud Hoody. Hikers can wear the Cloud Hoody with the hood open and layer the DayBreak Shirt on top while walking or cycling on the trails.

Hagi: Layering helps regulate temperature. It also increases your options and makes matching colors more fun.

Yoshi: It would also be great if you could wear First Trail gloves.

Nishi: That's a good summary (laughs).

・Presents for listeners

Nishi: I made a sticker for "Oshiete! Milestone" and would like to give it to all the listeners. If you come to milestone TERADACHO and tell us that you are listening to (reading) "Oshiete! Milestone", we will give you one.

Hagi: That's great! It sounds like radio (laughs). It's encouraging to be able to hear your voice directly.

Yoshi: For those who live far away, how about adding a comment like "I always read your messages" in the comments section of the online shop and we'll include it with the product?

Nishi: Let's go with that. Available for three months from September 25th to December 25th. While supplies last.

Yoshi: The campaign period is long (laughs). By the way, it's also on sale for 200 yen (excluding tax).

Yoshi: Also, if you'd like to talk to us when we have a booth at an event, we'll make sure to have it with us at any competitions or races you enter.

Nishi: Let me whisper that in your ear. I heard that Yoshida-san is scheduled to run in the Sengenyama 100 in November.

Yoshi: I'll run another 100 miles.

Hagi: You're doing well~

Yoshi: But I don't have it while I'm running (laughs).

Nishi: Even if I had it, it would be soaked. It would be wet with sweat (laughs).

Yoshi: There's so much more to talk about, but I think that's all for today. Outdoor activities are really great. Well, goodbye.

Nishi, Yoshi, Hagi: Goodbye, goodbye.

This time, we learned about new colors of shirts and dynamic thermal clothing that will be perfect for layering up in the coming months, as well as updated gloves. We're finally starting to feel the autumn breeze. It's the perfect season for outdoor activities, but it's also the season for reading. "Bali Sankyo," written by Matsunaga K. Sanzo, winner of the Akutagawa Prize earlier this year, is set on Mount Rokko. The protagonist, an office worker frustrated with work, meets a senior colleague who is hiking a mountain on a variation of a route, making it a very relatable story. It's the busy season for races and mountain climbing, but on days when the weather turns bad, why not enjoy a good book every once in a while?

So, look forward to next month.

Text and composition: Ken Hagiwara