It didn't get any cooler

I gave up waiting to feel better, for the weather to break and for the cool of autumn to make running in the hills bearable so I went out anyway.
It was very hot.


It took over an hour to reach the trailhead, where I had to sit in the shade and eat and drink and drink
and drink.
















It took over 2 hours to reach the vending machine between the golf course and Rokko Garden Terrace, where I had to sit in the shade and eat and drink and drink and drink.

I opted not to take the tarmac variation and ran down the side of the main road for a short distance before hitting the trail to Mt Maya. It was a good idea, it felt shorter, faster and was certainly more off road than on it, the views weren't bad either.

I found the trail down the mountain easy enough but ended up taking a small detour to a very big tree, and then having to retrace my steps.

Ah yes steps, there were plenty of those on the way down from Maya, in fact there was precious little else. It was pretty, wooded, ran by a stream and had lots and lots of steps.

I found myself back in town by Oji zoo and should have looked at my phone to get a better idea of where the nearest station was but instead I wandered for a while until I found a train to take me home.

That would be about the slowest times I've posted, anywhere, ever.

In the 5 hours I was out I drank 5.5 litres of fluid, and when I weighed myself I'd lost another 3kg so 8.5kg of fluid loss for the day, no wonder it was hard.
Rokko Island to Oji

Home again

And back into the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer. It was another shock to the system, along with the realisation that I was no longer fit for anything. It might have been heat or jet lag or humidity or exhaustion or...but I could not really run for any more than 3 miles. One flat lap of the island we call home and I was done. I also began to suffer stomach problems similar to the problems I faced in Winter Park prior to Leadville.

I cannot explain how unusual this is. I normally have the ability to eat or drink what I like, when I like, as long as it is not just prior to a run.

Then I got sick - flu like sick, achy hot cold sweats, tickley cough.

So it is that 7 weeks after Leadville and 9 weeks before I race in the mountains again I still struggle to force my way round a 5 mile flat circuit.

I did battle round an 11 mile jog/hike, most of which was on tarmac but some was lost on the mountain in the aftermath of Typhoon Talas. In retrospect not one of my cleverer moves, but it did take 3 hours and had me walking sections of the flat path home.

Lost in the Mountains after typhoon Talas

The Ultra Trail Mount Rokko

Saturday 14th May 6:40 we all assembled outside Suma station on the Sanyo line to begin the first of the many climbs. Jacquelyn and Karin joined us to begin their hike and at 6:45 we set off on a journey that was going to bring highs and lows both mentally, physically and topographically and last for the next 11 hours.

Linda and Ken climbing the Suma Alps

The first few k went by in a bit of a blur as the pace ebbed and flowed, steps were cursed and climbed. Scenery gasped at, vending machines visited and Paul lost and found again.

Grumpy Boar

Arriving at the first 'bailout' option

The first drop out point arrived at 13k with our group a mere 15 minutes behind the estimated optimistic time. Bottles were refilled, camelbacks topped up and we set off towards the big hard staircase to the top of the next ridge. It was every bit as hard as I remember but this time, better fuelled, better rested and cooler I got to the top feeling much better than last week. We met up with Megumi K. and David at the top. We stopped, chatted, regrouped and moved on towards Futatabi. Shortly after that we lost Ken. We got to the picnic spot and headed off towards Mt. Maya, Ken on the other hand got there and headed towards Kobe. He would find his own way home from there, have a nap and a shower and get to the BBQ well ahead of us.

Mt Maya was another tough climb and when we got to the top we probably lingered a little too long. I phoned Sarah to let her know we were pretty much on schedule and would be at Rokko Garden Terrace for 2:00-2:30pm.
The tarmac sections then began to take their toll, pain was evident in the gait of several of the runners who were by now beginning to shuffle rather than run, and doubts were creeping in over the chances of us all finishing, especially as we were evidently in alligator country.

Me and Joe entering the Rokko Garden Terrace

We were met by Megumi T, and Peter Born who had ridden up all or part of the way. Peter Wilson, Katy and Sarah were also there having been driven up by Bob to join us for the run down, and Hiroki was there. It was the first time anyone had seen him since about kilometre 3 when he disappeared off the front.

The run down was fast and furious for some and utter torment for others. Joe was beginning to suffer quite dramatically but was not at any point going to give up, others were not having their best days or were just plain knackered having been on the go for around 8 and a half hours.

It was beautiful but technical. A trip, a fall, a suspected broken arm, a call for help, the walking wounded, all in the last few km of a brilliant day out. The tarmac for the remaining miles back to the island was hard and sore on the feet, the bridges became monster climbs and the green belt no longer looked or felt flat. I finished tired, happy, a little sore in the hips but other than that in remarkably good shape. We headed straight for the drink bucket and the food.

Joe refuels those beaten quads

 My day was done - the 'event(s)' seemed to go off well, at least I enjoyed my bit and all of a sudden I was incapable of any further action or meaningful thought. Bob kept me supplied with beer, friends came, stayed, then went, all of a sudden it was time to go and all the tidying up was done.

My thanks must go out to those that helped make the day a success (at least from my perspective) whether running, hiking, biking, fetching, carrying, cooking or hosting - THANK YOU.

The Garmin map and figures can be found at UTMR I still maintain the distances are under reading by 10-15%. Despite the Garmin distance being 48.25km or 30 miles there is no doubt we went a bit further than the 'Official Mount Rokko Longitudinal Route' which is 56km.

Well done to all.

Thanks also to Peter Stevenson and Bob Williams for the photos.

Suma to Shin Kobe

I'd planned to go to from Suma to Mt Maya but...

Turns out the trail doesn't start at Suma or at Sumakoen, it starts a bit west of Suma on the Sanyo line. Something we worked out thanks to the enthusiasm of two bin men and Linda's Japanese. So the 45 minutes to the start of the trail turned into nearly 2 hours.
The trail, when you find it starts as it means to go on with a step climb up some steps. It is lovely and there are some stunning views, great scenery and excellent trail but it is stop start.

The trail mixes very steep hiking with a little bit of running some 'yomping' through suburbia and probably the most sustained steep 4-5 km climb I've done in a long while, and we hit it at the hottest part of the day - not clever as there is no refuel point before Futatabi which left us both out of fluids.

Just after Futatabi we took a wrong turn and ended up retracing our steps, adding a few more feet to the elevation profile and probably another kilometre or 2 to the distance.
With all the delays the heat and my general fatigue we headed down to Shin Kobe from there and caught the bus back to the Island.

The signs in the suburban areas are there but sometimes take a bit of looking for they are usually white and usually (but not always) like this:

I guess the trail is no more than 30% runnable and probably about 30-40% paved in one way or another.

Having covered all of the Rokko Traverse now (exept the last few km to Takarazuka and I'm not planning on going that far) I would say the whole route is probably about 50% runnable (but probably not by me) and about 50% paved. There is a significant amount of hard hiking to be done.

Details Suma - Shin Kobe

new trail

I finally went down one of those trails I've been promising myself for months, and it was brilliant. The running was good the scenery excellent and I was in my element. It was pouring with rain, I was soaked to the skin and happy.
The only down side of the new trail is that it finishes on a very steep bit of tarmac that takes some running down in order to get you to the east side of the top of the Sumiyoshi river. Details are here but no pictures it was far too wet to take a camera.

It went white!

I was ill most of the last week, only actually getting out either running or biking on Monday and Tuesday. On all other days I was asleep before 9:00 pm. I did get out for a jog on Saturday and feeling much better took to the hills again on Sunday.
Winter had returned (arrived) on Rokko Island this week with one day of almost continuous snow, that failed to settle.
I was aware that it would be a different story further up the mountain, but was not quite prepared for what I found.

The lower slopes reminded me of winter running back home, a little mud, a little snow to the side of the trail, but other than that near perfect conditions.

But as I climbed higher things began to change and the trail became whiter and whiter. At one point I was sheltered by the trees on the edge of the valley watching the black clouds drift down bringing near blizzard conditions.

It occured to me that I should probably cut my planned run to Arima short and head back to the bike, but I resolved to make it at least to the top of the climb and then make my decision. I was very glad that I did.

The trail just got prettier and prettier, and what's more the running became easier and easier.
The trail was for the most part well trodden without being icy so the trail shoes gripped well, though I appeared to be the only person out there without a set of crampons on. The snow had also been deep enough to cover many of the small rocks and roots making what would otherwise be a rocky rooty trail into a smooth trail with near perfect grip.

I continued down to the Arima trailhead and thoroughly enjoyed myself before turning around to climb back up to Rokko-san.
I then ran the road to the Rokko cable car. The traffic to get into the view point and garden at the top of Rokko was astonishing. The traffic backed up for probably 1.5km maybe more as people cued for the car park. From there I took the alternate trail back to the bike, A trail I remembered as more runnable, than it turned out to be.
It was a great day out - just short of 4 hours, 13.5 miles 1200 metres ascent 16 minute miles and I fet great at the end of it.

Trail Run

It was a beautiful Saturday, and for once I got up early (ish) and set off up the mountain. My plan had been to go up to the temple on the Rokko traverse turn right and head for Takarazuka. I had thought I would make it as far as the temple that marks the real trail head above Takarazuka.
The ride up was good, steady and comfortable. The start of the run was brilliant. The weather was good, the scenery stunning and the trail was littered with multicolored maple leaves making for a richly colored carpet underfoot.
I continued to make reasonable progress until I was well above the golf course and then things began to get hard. By the time I had reached the temple I was tired but smiling.
I then ventured down the Rokko traverse. I was expecting it to be like the trail to Arima, which is for the most part very runnable. The trail to Takarazuka is mixed. There are some beautiful runnable sections but they are linked by some extensive, very steep, loose sections with 'fixed' ropes and chains in place to make the descent easier, as well as some road sections and some pretty steep steps.
Just short of 7 miles after leaving the Sumiyoshi trailhead I came across a long set of steep steps down to another road section. I came to the conclusion that if I was to venture down those steps I would almost certainly not be able to bring myself to turn round and scramble back to the top of Rokko Mountain. The thought of carrying on and getting the train home would undoubtedly overcome me. So I stopped turned and headed back up the hill from there.
I filled my bottle at the vending machine and drank some much needed hot chocolate at the cafe just below the summit of Rokko and then headed down towards Sumiyoshi. The run down was fun, I took the west side route and opted for the singletrack path without a bridge back towards the pond. 13.5 miles and about 4500' of ascent later I got back to my bike. It was cold in the shade and the bike computer was reading 5C.
A great day out but if I am going to stand an chance in this summers exploits, let alone the January run, I need to be quicker, lighter, and capable of going much much further.

For those that like maps and numbers have a look here