August 2026 The New Yoshida Times "What We Hope to Achieve Through BAMBI100"

Hello everyone. This is Yoshida from milestone.

Last time, I gave a detailed introduction to BAMBI100, from the formation of the project team to the first event. This time, I'd like to show you what we've incorporated from the second event up to the upcoming fifth event, along with the thoughts behind it.

As I briefly mentioned at the end of the last post, first and foremost, let me introduce Yamanenko, who has become an indispensable member of our team.

Mr. Yamane (Yamanenko), who runs a mountain gear shop called ROCK STEPPERS in Higashiosaka, is a multitasking man who can take photos, create websites, and master Slack and Discord. He is also amazing at activities, completing not only 100-mile races but also ultra-long distances like T.D.T. 200 and Dai-Shigaichi.
However, while he seems to have it all together, he's also a beloved character with zero-point moments, like drooling while talking after drinking alcohol, or becoming unable to run 10 kilometers two months after a 100-mile race due to an unhealthy lifestyle. His加入 really brought energy to the entire BAMBI100 event.

Next, what we realized after the first BAMBI100 was the reality that, when it comes to trail running, especially ultra-distances, there's an extremely small number of young people participating. Indeed, when we were in our 20s, we never even thought about doing something as crazy as running all night (laughs), so we understand completely. On the other hand, now that we're older, we often think about how much we wish we had known about mountaineering and trail running earlier. This led to a growing desire among the project members to appeal to younger generations.

Therefore, from the second event, we created a new "New Generation" category, limited to ages 18 to 25. Teams of four would cover 40km each to complete the 100 miles. The aim was to let them experience the joy of challenging and achieving a difficult goal with friends, and to spark their interest in ultra-distance trail running.

Many of these participants are students, and it's always a pleasure to see such unique individuals run each year. One of the most gratifying aspects of BAMBI100 is that many of them apply for the 100-mile division in subsequent years. (It's a shame that no one has passed the lottery yet!)

Although it's only a few people each year, I believe that by exposing younger generations to the world of ultra-trail running in this way, it will ultimately be a positive factor for the future of trail running as a sport.

Another thing not to forget is mini BAMBI. This is a kids' race, but it's a generous event where no rankings are given, and all finishers receive a commemorative medal. It's divided into three categories: preschoolers, elementary school grades 1-3, and grades 4-6, with each group running one, two, or three laps respectively on a course of approximately 1km per lap.

Since the course is a trail with some ups and downs, we hope that by experiencing running in the mountains at a young age, they will remember it as a fun sport called trail running when they grow up. This has been a regular event since the second time.

Whether it's the New Generation category or mini BAMBI, it's always Doi-chan who comes up with the big conceptual ideas, and it truly impresses me how he constantly lives with the thought of how to convey the appeal of trail running to as many people as possible.

The project member meetings, held once a month, always started with current updates while bringing our own alcohol. Then, heated discussions about BAMBI100 would intertwine with talks about recent races, training, family, and even life itself. Before we knew it, we had become like brothers who could consult each other about anything.

We hope to continue hosting this event with this level of closeness and enjoyment in the future.

If you fall asleep during an important meeting, you'll immediately get this kind of treatment, so meetings are very tense. (Laughs) (Of course, I, Yoshida, took the picture.)

Also, although we haven't publicized it much, this year we made our first donation to the Japan National Trail Running Team.
Over the four years of hosting the event, we decided to contribute a small amount from the operating funds earned through merchandise sales to the trail running community, by sending a donation to the national team.
This decision came after hearing from Doi-chan about the situation of the Japan National Trail Running Team (it seems they often have to pay out of pocket for preparations and travel for competitions). We decided that even as a small event, we wanted to support them in some way.

As with any sport, if national team athletes perform well overseas and can lead good lives, children will aspire to that sport and dream big, and the number of participants will grow. We sincerely hope that trail running does not become a sport where parents tell their children, "You can't make a living out of trail running, so try another sport."

While enjoying ourselves (this is important!), we also want to convey the joy of trail running and how this sport can have a wonderful impact on people's lives to as many people as possible, including children and young generations, by hosting 100-mile events with relatively low barriers to entry.

I've been writing about BAMBI100 for two months now.
Next time, I'll switch gears again and talk about my longest outdoor activity: mountaineering.

Any feedback, opinions, or topics you'd like me to cover would be greatly encouraging.
See you next month, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.