My last marathon, the Saipan Marathon

The Inaugural Saipan Marathon was my 20th full marathon (not including ultra marathons). Currently, cancer has taken over my body and infected my colon, liver, lymph, and bladder so I usually find difficulty even in just walking.

The ravages cancer has brought to my body has especially been telling in the past year and a half, when I participated in a marathon event, I ended up finishing very late and made everyone wait a long time.

Seventeen years ago, I handled an NYC Marathon project for Kinki Nippon Tourist. About 400 runners were ferried by my company’s big buses, and I took care of one of the buses.

A 19-year-old girl got on to my bus. Because the age requirement of NYC Marathon was 19 years old and up, I believed that she was the youngest participant. She told me that she had been training for three months running 10 kilometers in the morning and 10km in the evening. She had an experience of participating in the Honolulu Marathon when she was nine years old.

At that time, many thought that the Japanese could only watch marathons, and it was not for us to participate in.

Because of this, this girl became a minor celebrity and was even offered coverage by a TV program before departing from Japan; however, eventually it was not aired because a boy ran faster than her.

Anyway, it was an unforgettable day for her since she experienced the first full marathon at the age of nine. Since I heard her story, I planed to have my children experience a full marathon before they turn nine years old as well.

My son experienced his first full marathon four years ago and gained a lot of his confidence from the experience. Then, last December, the Honolulu Marathon was the last chance for my daughter who turned nine on Dec. 9.

Since most of the marathons require age and time limitations, children cannot participate in them. I checked many places and finally found out about the Saipan Marathon where my daughter could participate. It was scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 21, which meant my daughter had to be absent from the school to participate in the race.

I knew if I told my wife right away she would not agree. She would say that besides having to do schoolwork, it would be impossible to make her absent from school.

Therefore, I waited for my wife to be in a good mood and took her to a restaurant to discuss it so that she would not be angry. My plan was a big success. Afterward, she regretted accepting the plan and started telling my daughter and son stories about how scary Saipan is.

The main purpose of this race is the participation of my daughter. I was planning to check my condition and stop running around 5km. Compared to his first marathon, my son practiced a lot. He aimed to finish the race somewhere between four- and four-and-a-half hour range. In order to participate in the Saipan race, I could not watch both of my children alone, so I requested that my friends also take part in the race.

Nakayama-san from Tokyo decided to run with my daughter, and Inagaki-san from Hamamatsu decided to run with me.

The race started at 3:30am. First of all, it was very difficult waking up at this time. I went to sleep at 6pm, woke up at 1:30am, and had final registration at the starting point around 3am. Out of 47 people registered for the full marathon, only two were children—mine—and most of the participants were over 30 years old. So, the local newspaper interviewed us when we picked up our numbers at the registration booth.

The article was going to be published on the newspaper, and it was a good experience. On the day of the race, we had our numbers on our shirts, but numbers were also written by permanent ink marker on our arms and legs. The race started with the whistle at 3:30am. I started to run with a slower-than-walking speed near the end of the crowd of runners, just as I planned. A policeman on a motorcycle eventually moved in front of Inagaki-san and me and our race started.

The course began from the west side, through the central part of the island, and on to the north for 6.55 miles and returned to the starting point.

The last half of the course started from the starting point to the south, shoreline course for 6.55 miles, and returned to the starting point. It was easy to remember. We ran to the north and ran down to the south so that I could meet with my son and daughter twice. After running for a couple of miles, the police motorcycle leading us was replaced by a police car. It was like running in first place on a marathon on TV, and I felt a little ashamed.

After running 5-6km, I saw my son already turning around. He seemed to be going a little fast, so I told him to take it easy. My son planed to run 10km per hour that would have him finish on target. When I met with my daughter at the 8-km point, she did not look tired, and she was already 12km into the race. I was about to stop the race at 5km, but I saw my children and could not stop.

Nakayama-san pulled me along so it took me two hours and 40 minutes to run the first quarter of the race. I was really tired. Three hours later, it was 6:30am, the sun crested the ridge and it started to brighten up. When I reached the halfway point, more than four and a half hours had passed. I could not meet with my son. (I thought he already finished the race.) When I ran the last half, it was already close to five hours. I often met with runners close to finishing the race. To my big surprise, I met my son dragging his feet at the 26-km point. My son was seeing “hell from 30 km” at that time. He ran first half within two hours, but it was very hot for the last half. Although I gave him some advice before the race, he followed his fast pace with others and could not even walk after 30km.

That’s the difficulty of participating in a marathon. It took two hours for the first half and five hours for the last half. It was a slower time than what he ran in the Honolulu Marathon four years earlier.

He did not say much, but I knew his regret. He was 13 years old, practiced well, and was participating in the race; however, he lost against himself and didn’t beat the time he ran when he was nine.

Now, he says he is not going to participate in a marathon again (Several weeks later, he changed his mind).

I met with my daughter at 28-km point. She ran 4km ahead of us with a police car and an ambulance in tow. She was running or walking very hard with her face red. I also passed the 30-km point. More and more, I hardly moved my feet ahead. I put my hands on my knees and held my body, then, I started to walk again. I repeated walking and running, the remaining distance…three miles, two miles, then a mile.

The police followed me all the way from beginning to end. The ambulance also followed me during the last half of the race so that I could retire at anytime. When I saw the finish line, organizers pulled a finishing tape for us again. Like I was a winner, many people gave us a big hand. After the goal, I went to thank the policeman who led me and the ambulance staff who followed me. My last race ended.

I finished the race in nine hours. It was my 20th full marathon. It was my slowest time, but I savored the race for the longest time. Two years ago, I had an NYC marathon entry number but could not participate due to my illness. I almost gave up my dream of having my children participate a full marathon at the age of nine. Both of my dreams came true when I crossed the finish line and touched the tape. I am really satisfied.

This is the end of my marathon life. I will never participate in another full marathon. The Inaugural Saipan Marathon is my last marathon, and it gave me a good memory.

My daughter told me “This trip was fun!” It relieved my pain away from my body. The awards banquet started at 11:30am, but we arrived late and could not participate in the raffle. At last, the Saipan Marathon chairman called my family, Nakayama-san, and Inagaki-san to the stage and put finisher’s medals on us. They announced that Julie was nine years old and that Kohei was 13 years old, and that they had completed the full marathon. My children were greeted by a standing ovation. Committee staff and local newspapers took pictures of us. Our fun and difficult day was over.

Right after the party until the next day before we departed from the hotel, I slept deeply and could not remember anything. I had a high fever and Nakayama-san and Inagaki-san took care of me. By the way, I heard that Nakayama-san played tennis with my son after the marathon.

I requested though Marianas Visitors Authority Japan office to send my article on the local newspaper. I have not met with the MVA staff, but he willingly helped me send this letter.

The NYC marathon started in 1970 with 127 participants. Nowadays, over 30,000 runners participate in this race. The Saipan Marathon started in 2006 with 41 participants. I hope the Saipan Marathon becomes a bigger event like NYC marathon 36 years later. Saipan is located close to Japan, and we can easily participate in the race.

At last, I would like to express my great appreciation to the Saipan Marathon’s support staff, including policeman, ambulance staff, and aid station volunteers. Thank you for your support that made for an unforgettable day for me. (Koji Yumoto)

(Editor’s note: The article was translated from Japanese by Hiroko Tenorio with coraboration by Brad E. Ruszala)