Ran 100km in 15 hours... result? DNF!

Have you heard about the 'Last Man Standing Ultra Marathon?' It might not be the world's most famous race, but it has some dedicated fans, and I became one of them last week. So today, I'll share how crazy this race is, what I learned from it, and maybe make you feel like saying, 'Wanna run!'

The Last Man Standing (in Japan, we call it Last 'Samurai' Standing) is, as the name suggests, an endurance race (now you know why I like it). Runners need to cover about 6.7 km in 1 hour and start the next 6.7 km in the following hour. Whether you run fast and rest a few minutes or just make it in time, everyone starts simultaneously for the next hour. The last person standing or running wins. Anyone else, regardless of how long or how much they've run, gets a DNF (Did Not Finish).

My result was 15 hours, covering just about 100 km, and, of course, it's a DNF. (It seems like the last samurai ran for 70 hours... 469 km!!) I'm pretty satisfied with my result, but there are roughly three things I learned that could help improve.

1. Need to practice walking.
2. Need to deal with stomach issues.
3. Past records can motivate you but also limit you.

Let me explain each one of them.

Before the race, I trained a lot for 'comfortable but fast enough' running. I could run 6.7 km in about 45-50 minutes, giving me time to rest, go to the toilet, eat, etc. However, doing the same movement repeatedly, 100 km was the maximum distance for my body (of course, some strong individuals can do more than that). I saw many others mixing fast running and fast walking to avoid using the same muscles repeatedly. I was thinking about doing the same but wasn't confident enough to walk fast and run fast enough to make time for walking...

The second issue is stomach problems. I guess many ultra runners have had the same problem before, but somehow, I didn't expect it. I was expecting leg pain, sleepiness, mental fatigue... but not a stomach ache. Some pain and sleepiness I can deal with using willpower, but stomach issues are a different story. The worst part is that even when you feel like it stopped, the pain comes back.

In such situations, I felt that having more experience in long races and knowing what to eat when you feel a certain way is a strength. I definitely need more experience in handling these issues.

The last thing is about your record. I've done 100 km before, so I knew I could run 100 km and even felt like there was no way I'd stop before reaching 100 km. That's a good thing, but what about after 100 km? Not knowing how I'd feel or how my body would react... it's actually scary and made me feel like 100 km is enough. At that time, with a stomach ache and knee pain, I gave my all to the race, but I cannot say those past records had no influence.

And knowing people were cheering me on and supporting me is so gratifying. Feeling grateful gives you the power to push through tough times.

Thank you again so much to my friends who cheered for me, and to my husband and my dog 'Kojiro' who supported me there.

A good thing is I used to need one week to recover, but now I'm pretty fine in two days. My stretching habits help a lot, so I'll tell you what I do next time ;)

So... my challenge for this year is over, and my next challenge will be a full marathon.

Yes, it's a 42 km road race. It's less than half the distance of this time, but, in fact, I never finished one since I retired 10 years ago. See how I've improved in this decade, and I'll let you know about the result.