I challenged the Kyoto round Trail Grand Traverse 60km on 5th Sep 2020.The course must complete the distance of 60km from Arashiyama to Yamashina with a time limit of 12 hours.Cumulative altitude is more than 3000m.I had previously tried the Higashiyama and Kitayama courses on the Kyoto Trail, so I knew almost the whole course.I knew it was a tough race because of the long distances, the ease of getting lost, and the low rate of completion each year.
The qualification to enter this race is to complete a trail race of 30km or more.On that day, the temperature was high from the morning, and it was over 30 degrees from the start.The start was divided into 4 groups by the wave method and started every 15 minutes.At first, the girls and the late-time group started first.I started with a third group.Many runners suffered from the characteristic heat of Kyoto area.More than half of the runners retired on the way and were DNF.And the runners who reached the goal had a completion rate of only just 42%…The overall course flow is 60km from Arashiyama to Yamashina, running through the mountains surrounding Kyoto.Time limits are set at some checkpoints during the race.The first half seems to be relatively not hard, but in the second half it is hard to climb Mt.Hiei and Mt.Daimonji.It is necessary to proceed with the race considering that the latter half is the main stage.
In the early stages, there were many roads, but I kept my pace and tried not to walk as much as possible even when climbing.I ran at a slow pace without breaking the pace.Especially in this area, there are many leeches in the mountains during the rainy season.Be careful as many of them come with your feet.It was September after the rainy season, so I didn’t have to worry about it,but it rained the day before, so there were places where the road surface was mad.
In the middle of the race, descend from the mountain and enter the road section of the Shizuhara area.This area is easy to get lost like a maze, so it is better to test run in advance to understand the course.There is a road section here, and you have to run under the scorching sun, so your body temperature rises at once.If you do not prepare for the heat, you will be forced to slow down.Under this scorching sun, SUUNTO showed a temperature of 36 degrees or higher.Many runners suffered from the heat and the up and down trails leading up to Kurama’s aid point and they were walking around like zombies.
At the end of the race, I ran from the final aid point through Mt.Daimonji to the goal.this last aid point, there is only water.From the final aid point, I ran with my headlights on to get the night stage in the evening.This Mt.Daimonji was the last climb, and although it was relatively easy after that, but up and downs continued.When I came to this area, there were few runners and I had to run alone in the dark mountains.This race had time limits set at four checkpoints gate along the course.Many runners retired in the middle of this race, so the time limit for the second half was extended by 30 min.The final goal has been extended from 12hours to 12hours30min.This mean that the goal time limit has changed from 20:00 to 20:30.
There were 6 aid points in all.There was only one sports drink at the first aid point, but only water at the other 5 aid points.Don’t expect food, there were bananas twice on the way, but the others were candy and nothing to fill my stomach.I packed a lot of energy bars and power gels in my backpack.I had a hydration pack and two 500ml flasks and was refilling with water every time at Aid Point.Also, there were several vending machines in the middle of the course.The qualification to enter this race is that you have completed a trail race of 30KM or more in the past.However, I felt it was a very tough race in that experience.Of course, I think it will be tough even if I have completed the 42KM full marathon race.Anyway, it is necessary to take measures against the heat. Heat acclimation is essential.I had a tough training under the scorching sun in August,My main goal was to finish this tough race with the Warachi.As a race result, I was able to finish in 41st place in 10h 36m 21s.And through this race, I got some new improvement points.I will feed them back to the next race.
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