Tomisato Water-Melon Road Race (The 20th)

Date : Sunday June 22nd, 2003 Weather : Cloudy occasinally sunny

Location : Tomisato City, Chiba Pref.


Details of Race

Race	10 km	Time Limit	90 minutes	*
	5 km		50 minutes	*
	3 km		30 minutes	*
Entry Fee	Yen 3,000
Contact	652\1 Nanae Tomisato City 286-0292 Secritariat of Tomisato Water-Melon Road Race TEL : 0476-93-1111
Gift	T-shirt
Free Service	Water Melon, Water
Remarks	5 Water Supply Points

IMAGES

T-shirt Goal Reception

Runners can eat their fill. Selling Water Melons

Records & Impression

• The marathon site is far from my house and thus I decided to lodge the hotel with my running mate on the previous day at Narita City.
• Hotel was located in the Narita International Airport. We took on the shuttle bus to the hotel. I felt as if I was going abroad.
• When we arrived in the hotel, there was a group of tour mostly consisting of old-aged ladies at the lobby. We were overwhelmed by them.
• We had dinner at the restaurant in the International Airport Building. However, it was so expensive. We had a drink party at the hotel room with Sake which I brought from my house. But I felt sleepy around 21:00 and went to bed shortly.
• On Sunday morning, we got up at 5:30. We went to the restaurant at 6:30 to have breakfast. We met the group of old-aged ladies again there. There were only two old-aged men in the group. They received much attention from all ladies! (I should join the group tour when I retire!)
• We checked out at 7:00 and walked to the airport station.
• We arrived in Narita Station at 7:30 and hastened to the shuttle bus stop. I was surprised to learn that a lot of runners were already awaiting the bus.
• The bus fee was Yen 400. It's too expensive, I thought. The traffic was jammed even in the early morning. The bus often stopped. The distance from the station to the marathon site was not so far, but it took almost 30 minutes.
• It was announced that the number of runners joined this year finally exceeded 10,000!! It was so popular. The reception was crowded with runners.
• We came across other running mates there. After registration, we went to the gymnasium to change wears.
• Since the number of entry for 10 km race is too much, there are two 10 km races. One is race for younger group, and the other is for older group (More than 40 years old).
• Race for older group was 10:50. I had to wait almost two hours. I did not know how to kill the time.
• We went to the starting point around 10:30. It was cloudy and hot. A lot of runners were gathering. I could not know how many runners were there.
• The temperature before the start was 28 degrees Centgrade. However, when starting, the sun appeared and temperature rose. I guesss the temperature was almost 30 degrees during the race.
• Anyway, the race started at 10:50. It took one minutes for me to pass the starting point.
• Every runner rushed to start since the distance was only 10 km. Since I did not train for speed-running, I was passed by lots of runners at the initial stage.
• The course was almost flat although there were two upward slopes. I could see water-melon fields.
• There were five water supply points. Only water was available. I tried to drink water at every point since it was so hot.
• The road was so crowded by the runners in the front half that I could not pass other runners. But I could pass in the last half.
• An ambulance passed when I was running around 5 km point. Some runner had heatstroke.
• Shotly after, I passed near the farm. The smell of cattles stank. It was terrible!!
• It is called as 10 km-race, however, the actual distance is 10.6 km. The time was also measured at 10 km point just before the goal. Some runners may stop at this point since they think it is the goal, but they must run 0.6 km further.
• It is said that runners can eat water melon at the final water supply point. However, unfortunately, I could not have it there. The TV news at night broadcasted the scene that the runners were having water melons at the water supply point. Actually, there were so many slice of water melons on the TV.
• Anyway, I rushed to the goal after 9 km point.
• Goal time was 56 minutes. It was hard race owing to high temperature.
• After the goal, I rushed to the booth where free water melon were served. A lot of runners were already having water melons. I could get 3 slices of water melons! However, soon the water melon was out of stock. Runners who arrived later could not have water melons. Do you know how many free water melons were consumed by the runners during the race? The answer was 1,800 pcs!!
• After the race, we had a drink party at the gymnasium.
• Usually there are garbage cans at the water supply points. However, this time, there was no garbage can at every water supply point. Thus every runner threw away paper cup or sponge after they used on the road. They were scattered around the road. It is not good for running and also it must be hard to clean up after the race. Grabage cans should be prepared.

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