The world that emerged after eight years

RRC member interview

Text: Shun Sato

12th Round B+ Team (Goal: Full Marathon under 3 hours 20 minutes) MVP: Masumoto Kozue

PB at the White Fortress

Last year, I achieved a sub-3.5 time at the Himeji Castle Marathon, and one year later, I was really happy to be able to break 20 minutes and set a personal best (3 hours 18 minutes 5 seconds) at the same Himeji Castle Marathon.

Selfless running

On the day of the race, I had a cold, my head was fuzzy, and my nose was stuffy. I didn't think I needed to aim for a personal best. I thought, "Let's just have fun running!" and started running without any tension. Before I knew it, I had passed 10km, and it felt like I was jogging the whole time. I was running at a reasonably fast pace, but I wondered what was going on. In no time, I had passed 30km, and I thought that there would be a 30km wall, but that didn't happen, and before I knew it, it was over (laughs).

Compatibility with Himeji

People often ask me, "Why Himeji?" but my parents live in Kobe, so it's close by. I'd heard that the Kobe Marathon has a tough course, making it difficult to aim for a personal best, so I asked a local runner and he told me that Himeji is a good place to set a personal best. But when I first ran there, I thought, "Isn't this course just too tough?" Maybe it just suits me. I've set a personal best for two years in a row.

Stimulation at RETO

I was able to achieve this result thanks in part to the RETO training sessions. I would have been too lenient on myself and run at a pace that I would never be able to run on my own, and I would always think, "I can't do this anymore! I feel like I'm going to throw up!" but I think the biggest factor was that I was able to push myself to the limit despite the fact that I always thought, "I can't do this anymore! I feel like I'm going to throw up!" My children are still young, so I can't go to training camps or RETO training sessions very often, so even though I only get to do them twice a month, it's really great to be able to get some stimulation. I can't normally run during the day, so I get up at 4:30am on weekdays and 5:30am on weekends to run. It's tough in the mornings, but I think that if I run in that physical condition, it will feel easier during the race, so I push myself to run.

Influenced by his triathlete father

I started running about 15 years ago. The reason was to lose weight. I had been swimming up until then, but I couldn't lose weight like I could in a marathon. I also didn't like having to fit my schedule into the pool's free time (lol). The more I ran, the better I got at it, and I started competing in races. My father was a triathlete, so I often went to his competitions to cheer him on, so I had no qualms about competing in races. I casually entered an amateur race and got hooked.

Dedication to achieving goals

For eight years, I was raising children, then returning to work, and then COVID-19 hit, and every day passed without me being able to break a sub-3:00 time. But the only thing that kept me going was the simple desire to break a sub-3:00 time someday. At first, I blamed it on my age and thought it was impossible. But when I joined RETO, I saw people my age working hard and they were so fast, so I was inspired and decided to give it a try, and once I faced myself and worked hard, I was able to get to this point. Having people at a similar level and age to me was what motivated me.

Don't put pressure on yourself

Anyway, everyone has an incredible drive to try harder. I always think that if I go faster than now, it'll be too hard, so I can't bring myself to challenge myself. I'm the type of person who commits to a team that suits my target time and running ability, so I don't usually move teams. Also, I can't publicly announce that I'm going to beat this time in this race. If I did, it would just put pressure on me... I'm thinking about secretly entering local races and running in the future (laughs).

-Why do you run?

It may sound cliché, but it enriches my life. Races are tough, but running helps me forget about the unpleasant things at work and refreshes me. It's the only time I have to myself, so it's incredibly valuable. Of course, I also need it so I can drink (laughs). Alcohol tastes better after a run.