My last race to Tohoku!!

I am going to switch gears today to running because I raced yesterday! Sadly,it will most likely be my last race in Japan. That is,at least for a while.So I want to keep it in this blog.

I was nervous for this race as I haven't been getting my mileage in.I also hadn't raced since the Tokyo marathon. Ever since March 11th,races have been cancelled one by one.

I also feel runners all over Japan have been affected to some degree,losing their spirit and energy.

I myself can't seem to enjoy running 100% when I am aware there are people out there who are in no situation to run.

But today the organizers of the race called out to us runners,

"Let's send energy and spirit to the devastated areas!!"

It was a 10km cross country race so I imagined it would be nice and short.Instead,the first 5km was hardcore uphill. I enjoyed the downhill though and the view was quite epic :)

Whenever I felt like I couldn't continue,I thought about the people in Tohoku. This was nothing compared to what they were going through-that kept me strong throughout the race.

I dedicate this race to Tohoku. The race energized me-so I hope to bring that energy with me as I head to Fukushima today.