Race: Mt. Fuji Climbing Race (Fujisan Tozando Kyoso), Fujiyoshida, Japan, July 25, 2001 | |
Length: 21 km, 3006 m (9770 ft.) altitude gain to top at 12,383 | |
Course: Well, the level parts where we ran across the patios of the mountain huts were really, really welcome. The steep 8 km hike down from the summit to the bus kind of sucked. | |
Check-in: Not to be missed is having 15 smiling teenage girls simultaneously shout "ohio gozaimas" (good morning) as you approach the registration tables. I could have run for free, except I was too far into trying to force my 5,000 yen (about US $40) upon the 15 puzzled teenage girls before I figured this out (the Japanese runners had to prepay). | |
Water stops: Every 5 km until the last road, then you're on your own. Some runners bought something at one of the huts. | |
Organization: Geared for elite runners, with a cutoff time that only allows 1/3 of the runners to finish officially. No age group awards. Champion chip for results and splits. Nicer buses for the ride down than Pikes Peak Ascent's vans. | |
Shirt: Your choice of many designs, but you pay for it separately. They gave us a nice "Lucky Bell", plus a key-chain and certificate for finishers. | |
Expo: Parking lot in the rain. | |
Post race feed: Outstanding! They gave us a bento (box) lunch after we hiked down to the bus. Then udon (noodles in miso soup, sort of like ramen only much more robust) back at headquarters. Plus fruit and this really awful vitamin B drink. |
A few sites relevant to the race:
Fujiyoshida City official website (English version), and the famous Fujicam. This site currently includes race contact info. | |
Mark Werner's (2004 winner) account of the 2004 race. | |
Brief newsletter account of the aborted 2000 race (due to weather). | |
Basic info on the Yoshidaguchi trail by Sean DeBlieck. | |
Hiking account by Earl Redbeard. | |
Account of mountain biking Fuji by Randy Biddle, what the heck, it's well written (English). |
Direct contact to the race...try these (English, current as of 2003):
Fujiyoshida City Hall
International Affairs Desk 1842 Shimoyoshida Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi 403-8601 Japan | |
Phone: +81 555 24 1236 (from outside Japan) 0555 24 1236 (inside Japan) | |
FAX your application to: +81 555 22 6299 (from outside Japan) 0555 22 6299 (inside Japan) | |
Email: teian@city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp |
My summary in a word: "relentless". This mountain never lets up. A friend who did it 20 years ago described it as "21 km of the 16 Golden Stairs" (an infamously steep section near the top of Pikes Peak). It wasn't really that bad. I think only the last half was that steep.
(Note: I make references to the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, the most comparable race in my experience. As I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, Pikes Peak is the local "big race". The best Pikes Peak racing page is here. I also want to thank the members of the Incline Club and Matt Carpenter for their inspiration, enthusiasm, and friendly competition on all those long workouts. And my deep gratitude to Sean DeBlieck.) |
I didn't reach equilibrium with the pack until the gradient steepened to the point where most began walking. |
Lindsey Family
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