The 100-kilometer long road trip begins!
Then came race day. Yamamoto and Shibayama woke up at 4:00 a.m. and arrived at the venue before 5:00 a.m.
Even though it was still before dawn, the venue was filled with a large number of runners and the air was hot and humid! At times like this, the runners around you all seem to be the most experienced and hardened runners in the race. However, everyone is the same in that they are nervous before the start.
Shibayama, who was taking on a race over 100 km for the first time, looked a bit nervous. On the other hand, Yamamoto, who has experience in completing long trail races, looked as ready to enjoy the race as ever, though not quite as calm and composed as usual.
Yamamoto lights up his feet with a headlamp, tightens his shoe laces, and gets back into the swing of things. The race is about to start.
Then, at 6 a.m., the race started!
As the sky turned white, more than 700 runners rushed out.
Ahead of you is Mt. Mukou, the symbol of Chichibu. Now, the long journey begins.
