The 18th Gyota City Iron-Sword Marathon Race

Date: Sunday April 7, 2002 Weather : Cloudy

Location: Gyota-City Gymnasium (20 minutes on foot from Gyota-City Station of Chichibu Railway)


Details of Race

Race	Half	Time Limit	2 hours 30 minutes	750 runners
	10 km		*	500 runners
	5 km		*	50 runners
	3 km		*	300 runners
	1 km		*	300 runners
Entry Fee	Yen 3,000
Contact	2-20 Honmaru, Gyota City 361-0052 Saitama Pref. Gyota-City Marathon Secretariat TEL:048-556-8336
Gift	Towel
Free Service	Water & Pork Soup
Remarks	*

IMAGES

 
Start Goal

Reception Towel



Record

• 5 km: 25 minutes
• 10 km: 49 minutes
• 15 km: 1 hour 14 minutes
• 20 km: 1 hour 38 minutes
• Goal: 1 hour 43 minutes 59 seconds

Impression

• The weatherman said it would be rainy until Sunday afternoon from Saturday night.
• I left home for Gyota City at 5:50 AM in the rain.
• I arrived in Kumagaya Station at 7:50 AM. Then I changed to Chichibu Railway.
• Luckily, the rain stopped before I was arriving in Kumagaya.
• It took less than 10 minutes from Kumagaya to Gyota City on the Chichibu Railway and only two stops. However, the fare is Yen 300! Too expensive!
• The Chichibu railway is single-track. I could enjoy rustic scenery. There was no shop in front of Gyota-City Station.
• It was very hard to find out the way to Gyota City Gymnasium. The route was complicated. Detailed map is necessary. Fortunately, a man was delivering the map to the gymnasium in front of the station.
• After 20-minutes walk, I saw a big gymnasium in the rice field.
• The runners could enter into the gymnasium and change the wear there. It is very convenient/helpful in case of bad weather. The reception was also in the gymnasium.
• The half marathon started at 9:30 AM. It was cloudy and a little bit cold.
• The course was mainly set in the wheat field and almost flat. I could hear the skylurks singing in the sky.
• From 11 km to 14 km, the course was on the bank of Tone River.
• A lot of Rape blossoms could be seen on the bank of Tone River.
• On the bank, I felt calmed down while looking the big Tone River flowing quietly.
• The sun started to appear after 15 km point.
• I rushed to run the last 1 km. The goal time was 1 hour 43 minutes 59 seconds, which was satisfactory to me.
• This time, my wife was to join me for cheering. However, unfortunately, she couldn't. I was forced to join by myself. Moreover, no my running mates were there.
• Therefore, as soon as I completed the race, I left the gymnasium without a toast. The race should be accompanied by some running mates!
• I had a plan to drink some cupped Japanese sakes in the train of Takasaki Line since it took more than 1 hour. However, the seat of the train I took was not boxed-type(travelers') seat, but commuters' seat! The train was getting crowded every time it stopped at the station. I could not drink sake in the crowded train. (To tell the truth, I drank one cupped sake immediately after I got on the train at Kumagaya station since the train was not so crowded at that time.)
• Judging from the weather forecast, I thought I had to run in the heavy rain after a long interval. I was very lucky that it was not rainy during the race.

As to marathon race

• The number of runners was not so many and thus every runner could run smoothly and relaxedly. The access to the gymnasium is not good. The car is most convenient.
• The free pork soup was very delicious!

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