(Left) Mr. Tsuneo Uchisaka (Editor) After working for Magazine House's POPEYE and Olive magazines, he joined Tarzan from its first issue, and in 2004, Hiroki Ishikawa invited him to try trail running, and the following year he began a series of articles on trail running in Tarzan magazine. He also formed "Team Tarzan" and challenged (made challenge?) UTMB. He has also challenged (or had challenged?) the UTMB. He also completed the UTMB CCC in 2012 and 2013. He is a board member of the Japan Trail Runners Association. Founding member of Takao Manners. (Right) Tomokazu Ihara (President of TOMO'S PIT) With the goal of running 100 MILES 100 TIMES (100 miles 100 times), he ran the T.D.T. 100 (160 km on the banks of the Tama River) in November 2010 and has completed 58 100-mile races as of October 2020. In addition to providing online coaching in-house, he is also a coach for LDA-RC and is the Backyard Ultra Last SAMURAI Standing Race Director.
Mont Blanc!" and got his big break.
A: First of all, Mr. Uchisaka, could you give us a very brief (laugh) look back at the history of trail running in Japan, from the time when the term "trail running" was first used to the present?
Uchisaka:As far as I know, Hiroki Ishikawa was the first person to use the term "trail running" in Japan, winning the HACCETUNE CUP in 2002 and 2003. The official name of the HACETSUNE CUP is the Japan Mountain Endurance Race. It was organized by a mountain climbing organization called the Tokyo Alpine Federation, and it was meant to be a 24-hour practice to keep moving in order to climb the Himalayas. . So it is a mountain endurance race. The name HACETSUNE was created to honor the achievements of Tsuneo Hasegawa, a world-class climber, and the Hasegawa Tsuneo CUP was established as the symbol of the event. And no one said, "I am a trail runner," and there was no name for trail running in the first place (laughs). Then, a man named Hiroki Ishikawa entered the race, claiming to be a trail runner. . and he won two years in a row.
Ibara:Masato Tanaka won the first HACETSUNE CUP, but you weren't aware that he was a trail runner?
Uchisaka:I wonder if Mr. Tanaka was training for an adventure race. . Of course, the division in which adventure races are run is trail running. . Actually, Mr. Ishikawa is also a member of Mr. Tanaka's Team East Wind. While touring around the world, Mr. Ishikawa wanted to focus on trail running alone, didn't he?
Ibara:So your entrance was at East Wind. At the time, there was a book called "Adventure Sports Magazine" (Yama-kei Publishers), and in the DVD that came with the book, there was a scene where Mr. Tanaka was in charge of Mr. Ishikawa, who to me was above the clouds, and he said, "Hey, Ishikawa, this way! and Mr. Ishikawa said, "Yes, I understand.
Uchisaka:Well, that's why, as I understand it, trail running first spread in Japan.
Ibara:Is it the first boom?
Uchisaka:Yes, in fact, Ishikawa-san had an extraordinary achievement in 2007, winning the Grand Slam of Ultra-running (the combined time of four 100-mile races in North America), but there were no magazines dedicated to trail running yet, and it was only published in "Adventure Sports Magazine, It was a modest crown. Then came the second boom . In 2007, Takeshi Kaburaki, who had won the Fuji Ascent Race in 2002, 2003, and 2005, and the Hacettune Cup in 2005, challenged the UTMB, the world's largest 100-mile race held in Mont Blanc, and came in 12th. . He was 12th, but he was beaten to a pulp.
Ibara:You are returning home in a wheelchair.
Uchisaka:. and then 4th in 2008, and 3rd in 2009. In 2008, Tarzan did a special UTMB feature article on Kaburaki. . I talked to Kaburaki-san and was allowed to use his photos. I had never even been to Mont Blanc (laughs). NHK saw the page and said, "This is something we should do! In 2009, they spent a lot of money to cover the UTMB, and Kaburaki-san came in third. The program was called "Gekiso Mont Blanc: 166km Mountain Race," and was broadcast on NHK! 166km Mountain Race," which was broadcast on NHK General and BS HDTV. . This was the start of the second trail run boom.
RUN BOYS! RUN GIRLS! column, which details the early days of trail running in Japan.The fast man and the too-fast man. is also a must-read.
