Sasaga Mine to Togakushi: Oyabun Train and the benefits of decaffeinated riding!
When I arrived at Sasaga Mine, I received encouragement from many acquaintances, which helped me to recover a little mentally. In the support area, Kansai members were cheering me on, saying "You can do it, you can do it," which made me happy, but I was so excited about Plan A that I was now pushing for Plan B, and I almost cried. But I told myself, "You can cry after you reach the finish line!" and held it in.
Here, I enjoyed a combination of rice porridge and a tube of plum juice. The only relief was that I was not having any stomach problems. I changed my T-shirt and prepared for the evening part. The last two times I had done it, it had been raining heavily at Sasaga Mine, so it was refreshing to be able to receive support on the grass. I was relieved when I went to the toilet and saw that the color of my urine had returned to normal.
From here, you are not allowed to get off the Oyabun Train (lol).
Pacer: "How are you? Can you run?"
Me: "My knees are hurting, so it's hard to go downhill."
Pacer: "Well, let's run where we can and not push ourselves too hard."
They won't let me walk that easily lol
I followed him desperately, trying not to get too far, and headed to the entrance to the west hiking trail.
At this point, we were able to squeeze in a 5-minute delay for Plan B. As expected!
From here on, I was immune to the brutal trail from the previous two times, so I decided to just go ahead and make my way through the mud. I thought the climb might not be too tough, but on the descent I was overtaken, and in the end we were even paced...
Plan B took 7 minutes to arrive at Ohashi Forest Road.
At the aid station on Ohashi Forest Road, I finally got some caffeine, something I had been avoiding for three weeks! I enjoyed a junk set of cola and Chips Stars, and then left the aid station.
Last year, I found this section very sleepy and difficult, but perhaps it was the effect of not taking caffeine, as the caffeinated gel and cola woke me up, lol, and I continued on steadily until I arrived at Togakushi.
Plan B arrived in Togakushi 12 minutes late...
Togakushi to the finish line: Loxo's spell and a moment of joy
In Togakushi, I had rice porridge, plum tubes, and the Mach Coffee I had been looking forward to. My body was still full from not having caffeine (individuals may differ lol), but it was absolutely delicious.
I asked my supporter to prepare a massage gun and headed towards the final boss, Mount Agate.
Grinding my butt (lol)
We chant the Lokiso spell that had been sealed up until now and depart Togakushi!
The miraculous "Lokiso spell" restores his leg!
The trail up to Mount Agate is ripe to the max...
Normally, such terrible conditions would have had a negative impact on my mental health, but the effects of Loxotherapy were so great that my legs, which had been rested for 12 hours, were revived!!! (Although some say the pain was too much for me to run...)
While the spell's effects were still in effect, I climbed hard! The pace of those around me had slowed down, so I had the illusion that I was going faster, and I climbed so comfortably that I reached the summit.
After descending Mount Agate, the pacers began their secret technique of "counting runs" on a gentle climb (laughs).
The count would suddenly go from 30 to 50 or 70, or the count would decrease and you would have to start again. Of course, you're not allowed to walk while the count is being counted! A friend of mine who often joined me later in the game also fell victim to it (laughs).
Plan B took 28 minutes to arrive at Iizuna Forest Road.
I was sure I could finish in this time, but as a precaution I chanted Loxo and quickly left the aid station. I wanted to get as close as possible to the target time of Plan B, so I kept a jogging pace for the sections I could run.
Even as I cursed at the forest road that seemed like a tedious climb (lol), I tried my best to run wherever I could, and my ranking steadily improved, and my steps became lighter. Just as the road really started to go downhill, I caught a glimpse of a bright spot. It made me think, "I can finally reach the finish line!", but it made me run a little further (lol).
"We haven't reached the goal yet!"
As I shouted this (lol), my view suddenly opened up and I saw the long-awaited finish line!
Finished in 21 hours, 15 minutes and 7 seconds!
When I write it down like this, it may seem like I finished the race with ease, but it was a really difficult race and I only managed to finish on my third attempt.
The goal was far from the initial target of Plan A, and even exceeded the time of Plan B.
Even in the many difficult situations I faced, I never wanted to quit because I knew there were people waiting for me and willing to move forward with me, and I was truly grateful for the support of these two people.
I am so grateful that you adjusted your schedule for a three-day autumn holiday just for an old guy like me. Thanks to you two, I was able to keep going until the end. Thank you so much.
We look forward to your continued support in November!
We would like to thank Hiroki Ishikawa, the organising staff and volunteers for holding the race despite the terrible weather and difficult conditions.
Also, thank you to everyone who reached out to me! It really gave me energy!
I probably won't be involved as a runner next year, but I would like to be involved in the Shinetsu Gogake Trail Running Race in some way!
