PROFILE
［ Clockwise from top left ］ Ryotaro Otani (TRYING RUNNING CLUB Representative), Robert K. Yamamoto (University Student), Yuichi Warita (Company Employee), Kazuru Shimura (University Student), Masami Yamamoto (Yoga Instructor / Apparel), Akane Kitamura (Company Employee)
Akane (company employee)
Formed in September 2023, the group is led by Ryotaro Otani, a triathlete who has competed in the Hakone Ekiden (relay race) and in businessmen's teams, and also has a career as a triathlete. It has bases in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, with a total of about 150 members. They each train to achieve their goals at weekly training sessions, and sometimes team up with manufacturers at events held about twice a month. A weekly morning run open to all is also popular.
Instagram:@trying___club
Each to achieve their goals.
What was the impetus for establishing -Training?
Otani: The forerunner of Traing was when I started coaching middle and high school students who could no longer participate in club activities due to the Corona disaster by creating a club team for them. Until then, I had been aiming for the Olympics in triathlons, and although I was good at running, I could not achieve the results I wanted in swimming and biking. To be honest, I thought running was just about running, so I didn't understand why people didn't get the results they wanted. But after understanding the feelings of people who couldn't do well in swimming and biking, I thought I could teach running from their perspective, and that's how I started my current training program.
-I heard that you created the team to support people who have a goal, such as wanting to run as fast as possible.
Otani: Trailing is a team for people who want to take running seriously. We are a group of people who respect each other's hard work, regardless of age or speed. Basically, we welcome anyone who is passionate about running and loves fashion.
-What kind of practice do you have?
Otani: We also do interval runs divided into three patterns (short, middle, and long), pace runs, change runs, and threshold runs. We have different training programs for each season to maximize the effects of the training.
Masami: I am a pacer in a class where the times are relatively slow, but everyone keeps getting faster and faster. Whenever I ask them to do something that I think is difficult, they all try their best to follow me, and when we finish, we smile and high-five each other, and it is great to be able to experience the sense of accomplishment among friends who have the same goals. When I get a call after a competition saying that I have achieved my goal, I feel as happy as if it were me.
Public: I think the members of Trailing have guts and a strong mentality to bite the bullet. I am sure this is due to the influence of Mr. Otani.
Shimura: Mr. Otani has a strength and masculinity that I cannot imitate, and I think the coolness of the team lies in the fact that everyone respects and follows him. I also call out to him as a pacer, but when he calls out more than I do, the morale of the entire team rises.
Lazarus: I come from a track and field background, so I had a strong image of practice being hard. I used to think of training as hard because I came from a track and field background, but at Trailing, practice is tough, but there is a sense of fun in the air. Now that I am a member of Trailing, I have a new appreciation for the joy of running.
Kitamura: It is fun when I am able to keep up with practices that I could not do before, or when we are able to complete a tough menu of settings together. As a result of the training, my running ability improves and I have more opportunities to enjoy races and trails with my friends, which makes me glad that I am running.
