LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

APRIL

• On the 8th, Bob Poulson and Steve Briggs traveled up to Hitachi, 90 minutes north of Ueno, for the Hitachi Sakura Roadrace. 5K, 10K and Half, we ran the 10K. Good weather and an interesting course that went out on a road over the ocean for about 3.5km…unique! Bob finished 3rd in his age group with a 40:06, paced by Steve, who finished a bit later due to sore quads. We also saw Yukari there, who ran the 10K in about 47, and then ran the 5K with hubby! One sad note: for this Sakura roadrace, there were no sakura. Should have been one week later….
• Also on the 8th, Jay Johannesen was in Tateyama for an Olympic distance triathlon, although the swim was replaced with a 3K run due to cold water. Despite a relatively slow 10K, he finished in 2:02:25, good for 5th in his age group and 21st overall.
• Despite being undertrained for a variety of reasons, Steve Lacey, Paddy O'Connor, Derek Leong and Anthony Kraft showed their Namban spirit by lining up for the start of the Nagano Marathon on the 15th. At the finish, it was Steve in 3:21:01, Derek in 3:32:00 (PB!) and Anthony in 3:55:21. Paddy was done in by hip/groin pain at the halfway point. They all enjoyed it though, and recommend this as a good April marathon.
• Or, you could opt for the Kasumigaura Marathon in Ibaraki, as Chika Kanai did on the 15th. And she did great, running a PB in 3:17:58! She enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the great support from the local people.
• Moving on to the big time, Martin Verdier and Barry Bergmann ran the world’s best-loved marathon, Boston, on the 16th. Conditions this year were, in a word, hot (up to 31C/88F). Martin was in shape for a 3:00 run, but was happy with his 3:18. Barry also wilted in the heat, finishing in 4:12 (which was better than last year's winner, who didn't even finish). As Barry says, "If you haven't done this one, your marathon career is not complete until you do."
• Several club members participated in the Saiko Eco 10K on the 22nd, held at Lake Saiko in Saitama by race directors Juergen Wittstock and Masako Konishi. Chris Parry ran 40:20, on his way back to full fitness, Thomas Sawada recorded a PB of 46:17, and Adrian Ringin and Elsie DeLorenzo also ran.
• In other news from overseas members, Gerard Robb ran in the Australian Mountain Running Championships up Mt. Wellington in Tasmania and finished 5th, which qualifies him for a place on the national team for the World Champs in Italy in September. And Olivier Magritte participated in a six-event mini-decathlon (200m, high jump, shotput, javelin, long jump, 2000m steeplechase) in Nivelles, Belgium. He was sore for a week.

MAY

• 2 - 1000 x 6
• 5 - TELL Charity Runathon 5 & 10K
• 9 - 1000 1600 800 800 800 800
• 13 - Sendai International Half Marathon
• 16 - 600 800 1000 1200 1000 800 600
• 19 - Ultra Trail Mount Fuji
• 20 - Mari Tanigawa Ekiden
• 23 - 1200 1200 1000 1000 800 800
• 30 - 5000m TT

HAIKU OF THE MONTH