Kyoto Marathon | The Race

The start

I don't sleep that well. I'm past the usual marathon nightmare the plagues many a runner but, whether it's jetlag or fear of missing out after travelling so far, I toss and turn until finally the alarm on my phone goes off.

I head out to grab the western breakfast, which opened at 6:30 am, eat a little, I'm mostly there for coffee, which is better than the one I had the day before and start preparing for the run. With everything ready the night before, it's a breeze, but I still manage to be late. No matter, as I planned ample buffer for that. View from the window is pretty nice, as the restaurant is situated on a higher floor. Looks like an overcast day, with not a tonne of sun.

Getting to the start, which is at Nishikyōgoku Stadium, is relatively straightforward. I walk to the Kawaramachi Station, jump on the Hankyu-Kyoto Line, and after four stops, get off with the other runners at the Nishi-Kyogoku Station. There the volunteers show us the way towards the start, which is a couple minutes walking again.

I arrive a little earlier than expected. Probably could have checked in some gear with the provided gear bag, one typically large for a Japanese race, you could easily fit a carry-on in there. In hindsight, probably should have put a change of warm clothes in there. It's cold 3 °C, forecasted 6 °C towards the end of the race. It's too warm to wear the thermal undershirt, but at the same time not really warm enough to run in a short sleeve.

I compromise, put on arm warmers, my packable Outdoor Research Men's Helium II Jacket, I can remove both if it gets too warm. The plastic poncho distributed at pickup on top. This one will come off the moment I start running, but for now, provides a nice wind barrier and traps some more warmth. I also have gloves, the buff headwear that came in the runner's package under my maniacs hat, and some hand-warmers bought at a convenience store the day before. I'd usually have a hoodie, I'd plan to discard at the start, but no Wallgreens/CVS to get one before the race here.

Somewhat unusually the changing area is right in the open. I was expecting a warm area pre-start like at Nagano or Kawaguchiko, but this is more like Tokyo. I find the shortest toilet line. Somewhat a futile activity as I know that with the cold I'll have to hit the bathroom after the start anyway, but it keeps me moving and kills some time before the start. There's not a lot to do before a marathon honestly. You wait and then you start running. Some people stretch and warm up. I just sit on one of the benches and try to expose as little surface area to the cold as possible.

Finally, a couple minutes before the coral closing I hit corral B. There's an opening ceremony. Some clapping. Unknown people talking that look like celebrities. Some more clapping. No Star Spangled Banner or other signs of jingoism, but also no need to remove the hat in the cold. There's a minute of prayer. Somewhat odd. I shrug. Volunteers run back and forth ready to pounce and collect any last piece of forlorn rubbish. A man taps me on my shoulder. I dropped a tiny piece of foil from my handwarmer. I pick it up and hand it to a volunteer. More waiting. More shuffling. More clapping.

What do I think about in those last moments before the race begins? It's too early in the race for the, "why God why am I doing this?" The questioning and despair come around mile 20. There's the cold. I mostly think about the cold and how soon I should remove my jacket. It takes precious minutes to remove the windbreaker, squash and fold it into its own pocket and then thread the loop through my running belt so it can stay on my right hip for the rest of the race. Ideally, I'd like to do it before the race begins, but I feel it's too cold for that and plan to do it later. A decision that saves my elbow from scraping several minutes later.

And off we go. No waves, mini waves or even breaks between the corrals. Just everyone starts moving in unison, a feat only possible in Japan. To be fair I think a bit spread out would help with the congestion at the beginning of the race, but at least you don't have to wait longer to start. I throw away the poncho (in an orderly fashion passing it to a volunteer) before crossing the start mat.

The course

The official map vs.

Strava:

The actual elevation profile is a little more rugged:

Water stations were situated at the regular intervals of about every 2-3 miles, unfortunately without a typical increase in frequency towards the end when you feel more dehydrated. 

As far as the course profile, there's a steady climb up to mile 11-12 when the course is mostly downhill. I think that happens right around when it hits the riverside as it then follows the river downstream.

I did know from the official runner's guidebook that there's another hill towards the end near the Ginkaku-ji temple. What I was not aware of is that it is close to the same height as the highest point earlier on the course, nor that the climb to it would be compressed to 1-2 miles. That part was tough. Not only that but you also don't see the actual temple at the turnaround.

Another unique feature typical to Japan is hairpins. As you can see in the images quite a few of the segments loop back onto themselves. I don't particularly like this feature, but I imagine it simplifies course management.

Sport drink

Let me start by saying that Amino-Value is not a race drink. It doesn't taste like one. Pedialyte tastes like electrolytes. Amino-Value tastes like water. As someone who routinely drinks buckets of Gatorade during a marathon, or Hammer for those races too cheap to get the good stuff, running in Japan presents a unique challenge as it's not like I'm going to get the exotic stuff back home to dip my toes into.

I think most races, at least Tokyo if I recall correctly, bring out Pocari Sweat. Now Pocari Sweat

Aid stations

Suck.

Medical aid services at the Kyoto Marathon will be set up with an emphasis on saving lives. Aid for injuries and illnesses during the race will focus on emergency measures only. The staff will concentrate on ensuring treatment of people suffering from serious conditions. The aid station, therefore, will not be equipped for taping up runners, applying plasters, or spraying cold sprays. If necessary, please make provisions yourself.

What the hell Kyoto Marathon? These were the saddest looking aid stations I've seen in a while.

Finish

Kyoto Marathon | (1 day before the race) | The Expo

Breakfast of champions.

With a view over a zen garden and sunrise to die for.

I ask for coffee. End up having one of the most expensive and lurid tasting drinks I had in a while. The coffee menu clearly there for tourists like me who ask for it, but with pricing set to gently discourage you from ordering any. Unfortunately, I miss the hint. A mistake I don't repeat again.

Off to the expo.

Let's talk about check-in. The runner's guide posted hours for the last day of a pickup was 10:30 am to 7 pm with a warning that last day is gonna be busy. I get there at 11 am. It's super packed. I had to bring my number card voucher. It could be reissued on site but it would cost extra.

The existence of this document makes little sense to me. Most US marathons require you to know your number when you do the pickup, you show your ID to confirm your name, and that's it. It's a one person job. In Japan, if a job can be done by one person it's going to be done by three. One person checks the ID with your number card. One person stamps your number card to confirm the ID was checked. One person collects the number card and gives you the running packet. The ID checking is definitely a bottleneck here. What the point is, I don't know. It's hard to imagine that anyone in Japan would even try to run as someone else, so the ID checking is mostly there for the show. Is this a way to involve more volunteers in the expo who otherwise would be left with nothing to do?

I noticed that the disease of adding unnecessary steps is spreading. At the border, they now pre-scan your passport and fingerprints, only to repeat the whole process at the counter with the immigration officer. It's madness. There must be a method to it but it escapes me.

I realize there is no free t-shirt. I find it odd, but then again none of the other t-shirts I had was really runnable. You get to buy one. I line up. They are all out of large sizes (you need to go up a size) across all styles. Something smells fishy.

There was a special t-shirt available for pre-purchase online:

It was hard to tell how it looked at that resolution. The only good one I have is from the Tokyo marathon, but even that one is a little too loud a weekend stroll in Vegas. Nevertheless, I locate the special one in a different part of the expo. It looks as if somebody went to town on it with a glitter gun. I hesitate and leave without one.

The expo food is great. The next two hours are spent sampling sake, desserts, fried chicken and octopus. I skip the ramen. For now.

 There's even a tasting ceremony somewhere in between, but I get distracted by a mochi.

Kyoto Marathon | (2 days before the race) | The Arrival

Excited about my upcoming marathon in Japan I board the plane for Narita. This is going to be my fifth marathon in Japan after Tokyo, Kawaguchiko, Nagano, and Osaka and 47th marathon overall. Not including the DNF at Mt Fuji race. I muse over the fact that I've now run more marathons in Japan than most people run marathons at all.

Kind of second guessing myself with the NRT-ITM connection though. In hindsight, probably should have done a Shinkansen but then again getting to it would take time and the layover was pretty short. The downside, of course, is that you have to get from Osaka to Kyoto anyway whereas a Shinkansen would get me straight to the Kyoto station. What done is done. 

Arrive at Narita. The ITM flight is of course delayed. Same as last time we flew for the Osaka marathon. Google maps stress me out as there appear to be only 2-3 airport limousine buses left that would get me to Kyoto Hotel Okura. Finally, arrive in Osaka.

Sidebar, how cool is an airport limousine bus? These things operate with an astounding efficiency that far surpasses anything available in the US. Then again, public transport is not exactly a US thing.

I rush to get a bus ticket. I point on my phone to hotel Okura to the ticket lady. That used to work very well in Tokyo as I would usually be able to get airport limousine bus that would drop me off right at the hotel. Here I only get a ticket to Kyoto. A little confused, I shrug and march on to the bus stop. As it turns out, the buses to my hotel run every 40 minutes or so, but the same line leaves for Kyoto every 20 minutes. I probably should have checked that.

https://www.okkbus.co.jp/en/timetable/K/#from

Anyway, getting from Kyoto Station to Hotel Kyoto Okura via subway turns out to be easy peasy, so no time lost. The hotel has an entrance right at the subway station as hotels in Japan often do. Check in goes smoothly. They have my reservation. I collect the breakfast tickets, which is a nice perk of booking the hotel through the marathon website and ride the elevator to the 9th floor. Even the elevator buttons in Japan are different.

I decide which breakfast option to take tomorrow. 7 am for Japanese or 6:30 am for western, I decide on the Japanese, knowing that I won't be able to do the Japanese option on the day of the marathon, as it would be too late.

Speaking of which I get kind of hungry. Decision time, should I go to the nearby 7-Eleven or order room service. I look at the menu. I check out the distance to nearest 7-Eleven. I pick up the phone. Assorted sandwiches, assorted fruits and sake later I get my meal. For some reason, the way I pronounce fruits does not go well over the phone but the room service lady and I reach an agreement after a couple tries. My sake order causes befuddlement. "Sake? Japanese sake?", the lady asks. I think something is being lost in translation here. Am I chastised for ordering alcohol so late into the night? That seems incredulous for a nation of covert alcoholics. Maybe one just not order sake from room service. We'll never know.

I free up some room to put the food and wait. The food arrives. With a freaking table. You know how most of the world delivers room service on a tray? Not so in Japan apparently. I get a whole, let me repeat, freaking table. Given the typical restrained size of hotel rooms in Japan, you'd imagine a small table perhaps. Nah. It is a whole full-size table. I watch in bemusement as the room service guy tries to navigate my belongings to get the table inside. Two small plates and a bottle of sake stare longingly at me from the middle of it. I ask, "What should I do with the table after I'm done?" I end leaving it inside blocking the entryway.

After 24 hours total trip time, I hit the sack as my origin time is approaching 8am. Tomorrow, runner's check in!