I boarded my flight to Tokyo with nervous anticipation. This was my 4th year in a row competing in a

large global marathon but I knew this event was going to be very different. I was lucky enough to fly to

Japan on the new Air New Zealand Dreamliner. This, and the fact that I was flying during the day,

meant I was able to sit back, relax, and watch a movie marathon while continuing my “carb-loading”.

Later that evening, Osaka greeted me with cold, icy winds. I had expected this, but having spent the

summer training in Wellington, the sudden drop in temperature was a real shock. I was escorted to

my hotel by my always helpful guide Minoru from Sakai City. I spent the 40 minute taxi ride gazing out

at the bright lights of Osaka trying to picture the city that would reveal itself the following day. A quick

bite to eat at my hotel and I was grateful at being able to get a full 8 hours sleep.

Pre-race Day (Saturday)

I woke early and quickly dressed in all my warm running attire before heading out for a 30min jog.

Although the streets were incredibly quiet early on a Saturday, I was amused at how I was

immediately a focus of attention for anyone I came across. I suspect the sight of a 2 metre tall Kiwi

striding along the river bank is

not what a Sakai City resident

expects to see on their early

morning walk. Nevertheless, I

made a point of waving and

speaking to everyone I came

across.

After breakfast I enjoyed meeting

my sister city “buddy”, Tim

MacIssac and his wife Misty. Tim

is a fire chief in Berkeley,

California and we immediately hit

it off. The morning was spent

touring the entire marathon

route, which presented a wonderful opportunity to engage with our guides from Sakai City and try to

understand what lay in store for us over the coming week.

The tour was followed by the first of many beautiful lunches, then on to meet and exchange gifts with

the always enthusiastic, Mayor Takayama.

Later that evening, we attended the “Welcome Banquet”, where as guests of honour, we were

introduced to a room full of dignitaries. This was an event scheduled to begin at 5.30pm and end at

7pm, and like every event we attended, it started and finished on time, to the minute. I had been

warned by previous Wellington representatives that this event can be a challenge as there is no

seating. Huge amounts of food, beer and sake are placed on tables and we were moved from group

to group, introducing ourselves, exchanging business cards and having photos. When planning a

build-up to a marathon, this is not what a runner would typically schedule, however it was amusing to

see all the international runners having the same issue. In the end, it was best just to immerse oneself

in the event and enjoy it. I managed to avoid the beer but got sucked in by the sushi and a drop of

sake.

Marathon Day

I woke feeling average at best. I had started to feel unwell the previous afternoon, but put it down to

hotel air conditioning. Alas, I was wrong. However I was determined to put it out of my mind and focus

on the race. I knew my fitness was great and I was full of confidence having spent the summer

training at levels I had never got to before. It was incredibly exciting to be treated like an elite runner

with priority transport, a warm room out of the wind and a place at the front of the field on the start

line. Our guides from Sakai City were ever present and extremely excited for us. They had pre-made

signs, live tracking on their phones and were genuinely pleased to be doing everything they could to

help and support us. It was made quite clear to us that not only were we running for ourselves, but we

were representing both Wellington and Sakai Cities. As the gun went off, I was determined to run hard

and do my best for everyone I was representing.

The Senshu Marathon course is interesting in that, other than 4-5kms at either end, it is essentially

32kms in one direction. You can be lucky and strike a tail wind, or desperately unlucky and run most

of the race into the wind. Sadly for me it was the latter. After a comfortable first 5km, I turned and

immediately felt the strong wind on my face. The start line had been in a secluded park surrounded by

tall trees that had obviously provided a lot of shelter disguising the conditions on course. The

headwind was a lot stronger than anticipated and I knew I was in for a long, hard run. By 15km I knew

that I was not going to hit my target time and although I tried to draft behind as many other runners as

possible, it should come as no surprise that my large frame (by comparison) was the centre of

attention for any runner in my vicinity.

I battled through to the finish and in the end was reasonably happy with a personal best of 2.53.12.

This was well off what I had hoped for but given how I was feeling, and the conditions, in hindsight it

was a pretty good performance. My Sakai companions provided a much needed reality check as they

celebrated and cheered when I crossed the line. The fact that they were so excited and pleased with

my performance reminded me how lucky I am to be able to perform at this level and why I was really

there. I made a concerted effort to not show any disappointment and join in the celebrations as much

as I possibly could.

The afternoon was spent in the hotel spa. A long soak in some hot pools, with a fantastic view of the

city, complemented by a well-earned beer; there is not a better way to celebrate completing another

marathon. That evening our Sakai City friends took us out for a fantastic dinner. I was told my friend

Grant McLean had astounded everyone last year with how much he ate following the race. I was

determined that, although Grant had run a much faster time than me, I would certainly take the post-

race eating title from him. I understand that I was successful in this endeavour.

Monday – Day One Cultural Exchange

As is often the case, the day after the race saw ideal running conditions, calm and fine. I was excited

that the real cultural exchange part of the trip was about to start. Unfortunately, my cold was

persisting and coupled with my tired legs,

I needed a hearty Japanese style

breakfast to get me going. The day

started off with one of the highlights of

my trip, a visit to Mikunigaoka

Kindergarten where we meet a large

group of very enthusiastic children. It was

incredible to see how similar the kids

were to my own boys. Although

Japanese and Western adults can be so

different in their personalities, traits and

mannerisms, it really showed that all children behave in the same way no matter which country you

are in. A short play was followed by a hilarious question and answer session and following this I was

pleased to be able to distribute numerous small gifts to the delighted kids.

Later that day we attended the Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum. We were lucky to have a one-

on-one tutorial session with a “master sweet maker” where I was astounded at the craftsmanship and

attention to detail that went into the creation of these fantastic sweets. This was followed with a tour of

the knife museum where I made a number of purchases.

The day concluded with the Welcome party hosted by the Sakai and Berkeley Sister City

Associations. As guests of honour, it was fantastic to be able to engage and talk to so many people

and share stories and photos of Wellington and my family. I was also able to meet my host family

(Nagashige family) for the first time and shared a loud and boisterous rendition of Pokarekareana with

Mr Shiro Nagashige. This was the first of a few times that I would sing this song with Shiro over the

next few days.

I travelled back with Shiro to his home and was astounded to find that I had been provided with my

own self-contained unit at the rear of Shiro’s home. His house was beautiful, large by Japanese

standards, and very warm. I was immediately offered some beautiful and very salty, cherry blossom

tea by Shiro’s diminutive wife (who spoke no English whatsoever). We conversed for a while about

the differences and similarities in family life before the tiredness took over and I headed off to bed.

Tuesday – Day Two Cultural Exchange

Our second and final day of cultural exchange began with a

guided tour of the amazing Nanshuji temple. An absolutely serene

environment, we dodged passing rain showers and heard tales of

the life of Sen-no-Rikyu, the key figure in the Japanese ‘Way of

Tea’. Another sensational lunch was followed by a visit to the

Sakai Museum and a walk alongside the gigantic Nintoku

Tumulus. By this stage the rain cleared and it was great to spend

the last few hours of the day walking alongside this beautiful and

historic location.

At 4.30pm Shiro met me at the Council building and we began a

train journey into central Osaka. I was very excited as it was my

first time venturing into the heart of a large Japanese city.

I was amazed at the scale and size of every piece of

infrastructure. Miles of covered atrium shopping malls intersected

by raised 6 lane motorway was a sight to behold. I have been to a number of major cities around the

world but had never seen anything quite like this.

We headed off for the first of what I soon found out was two meals for the night. The first a cramped

and slightly eccentric tempura bar where food was ordered on a tablet and delivered by motorised

train. A truly hilarious sight. We then spent an hour or so walking through a vast shopping area and I

was able to pick up a number of souvenirs for my boys back home. I was also able to play the

ultimate tourist and capture my first “selfie”. At 9pm it was time to venture home and although the

masses of people were incredible, the efficiency of Osaka’s public transport system, made the trip

seem effortless. The change between two trains and a bus was seamless and certainly far exceeded

any similar experience in New Zealand or anywhere else for that matter.

Host Family Time

My final full day in Osaka dawned cold and grey. A fluttering of snow was forecast so any plans for

outside adventures seemed to be curtailed. Our plans for a trip to Osaka Castle were changed to a

visit to the large Osaka Aquarium combined with a number of stops to sample more local cuisine. This

was an inspired decision as it was magnificent and one of the highlights of my trip. As predicted a

fluttering of sleety snow did start falling as

we exited the aquarium, although rather

than being a discomfort, it seemed to add

to the whole experience. We were back at

Shiro’s home by 4pm where I was able to

venture 100m down the road to the local

vending machine to purchase a couple of

cans of Japanese beer. I then settled in for

a sumptuous feast where every type of

Japanese food that I had previously

indicated I liked, was offered up. It was

beautiful and I was extremely grateful for the time and effort put into preparing me a meal that I will

never forget. Shiro and I spent the rest of the evening chatting and sipping sake. It was great to sit

back and reflect on my time in Sakai. The tiredness in my legs was still there, as was my cold, but the

Marathon itself seemed like a distant memory with all the activities and visits since. Our evening

concluded appropriately with some impromptu singing. Shiro took the lead on the ukelele and

although I am not much of a singer, I continued with my plan to immerse myself in every occasion and

just went with it.

Looking back…

My final morning in Osaka came around too quickly. I was very sad to leave. Fortunately I had made

plans to visit my brother in law and his family in Tokyo so my time in Japan was not quite at an end. I

said my goodbyes to Shrio, and my ever present guides, Felix and Minoru, took Tim, Misty and I to

Osaka train station where we were extremely excited to board the Shinkansen. I was bound for Tokyo

and Tim and Misty to Nagano. We enjoyed our last morning together reflecting on our incredible

experience in Sakai, and the friendships we had made.

Many times before I left I was told “it’s not about the Marathon”. At the time I smiled and agreed but

the competitor in me said otherwise, as far as I was concerned, it was “all about the Marathon”. In

hindsight I was completely wrong. The Marathon is one of a multitude of different experiences and

interactions within a culture that is so different to our own. For someone who is so routine and

process driven it was at first difficult to hand myself over to the plans of my hosts. However I quickly

learned that the Japanese way of life can be very comparable to my own in many ways. The high

value the Japanese place on respect and humility resonates with me particularly now I have become

a father to three young boys. Similarly the timeliness and politeness demonstrated by everone I met

fits well with my own personal values. I made the decision before I left to never say no to any

opportunity, to immerse myself in every situation and to eat everything put in front of me without

question. This was a wise move as I left without one regret. I made many friends and look forward to

returning.

Cheers Japan…