Kobe Marathon 2011 神戸マラソン2011

Tonight I downloaded some thumbnail pictures that were taken of me while I ran the Kobe Marathon On November 20th, 2011. It was one of 3 major running events for me in 2011. Kobe Marathon meant a lot to me because it was the first time the race had been held and the course was made up of many areas where I normally train. Simply put, it was on my turf!

Enjoy the pictures!

Tonight I was also doing a lot of research to find out which races I will take on this year. I came across a 70km race in Osaka in May that looks very promising! We'll have to see. My Japanese isn't very strong and since the website is only in Japanese, I will have to get my wife to take a look at it.

Remember, the Running to Help Japan fundraiser page is LIVE and you can donate at any time. Every dollar helps!

Running to Help Japan: Where I'll run

Here it is folks. My “Running to Help Japan” 60k route this Saturday. I’ll be running this 20km loop three times. I know this area very well since these are regular training areas for me. I think it’s best to stick close to home and run in familiar territory.
Aside from the bridge between Port Island and Kobe Airport Island, it is a pretty flat course.

I’ll start at about 5-5:30am to try to beat some of the heat. Unfortunately, it has been very humid here this week. I’ll have to be very aware of my hydration and make sure I’m getting enough liquid.


Here are some maps of my route:





Remember to follow me on twitter that day. That is how I will be making my live updates. Also, since I am using the Runmeter iPhone app to track my run, when you tweet me a message, a voice reads it to me. That’s great motivation.


Donate to Running to Help Japan here:

New shoes, Sore knees, Sponsors and Bacon

With less than two weeks to go before the Running to Help Japan 60km run, I'm getting excited. I'm also getting a little nervous. I have of course never run this distance before, but I know that it will happen! I plan to add some walking in whenever necessary (I'm sure it will be necessary).

As the time for the run approaches, I have had a resurgence in interest and activity with Running to Help Japan. Several online friends and supporters have sent me wonderful gifts to aid me with my run. I have also had so many kind messages of support on You Tube, my blogs and Twitter. I more than appreicate everything you guys are doing for me and more importantly, I appreciate everything you are doing for Save the Children Japan and their work with the kids in the Tohuko region!

Last Sunday was my last longish run before June 25th. I decided to go out for a run last night, but was disappointed with how tired my legs were. I also came to the realization that it is time for a new pair of shoes.


I wear the ASICS Gel 2160s. they are a wonderful stability shoe that have served me well. As someone with low arches, I need a stable shoe that is light and durable. This one definitely fits the bill. Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, I sometimes have to wear pairs of shoes longer than I would like. To be honest, I should have retired this pair more than 100 km ago! I plan to pick up a new pair on Thursday after work. Thursday night's run will be a glorious one I'm sure.

I'm hoping that as the Running to Help Japan project continues and more running events go on, I can approach some various shops or companies to sponsor me with some gear. That would help a lot! The wonderful folks at Runmeter (an iPhone running app) have supported Running to help Japan by gifting me their amazing app (which I use for all my runs) and hopefully, some other fine folks might do the same!


Speaking of running and running fuel. What do you think of this bad boy? Only in Japan!


That is a bacon wrapped onigiri (rice ball) for sale at my local 7-11! Now remember, I do live in japan. I doubt this would sit well in my stomach before or during a run.

You can follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev


You can donate to Running to Help Japan by clicking the icon below!

June 25th the Run happens

The date for the 60km run is June 25th. It will start at 5:00am Japan Standard Time.



Follow me and the run on Twitter: @jlandkev

A great week done

Last week was a great one training wise. I logged almost 80km of running and had a great time doing it!



Today was my "day off" from running and I spent it punishing my legs by hiking and "geocaching." it was my first time geocaching and I can already see the appeal. it is a fun way to get outside and explore the environment around you!


In this picture you can see some home made waling sticks that were for sale behind Shin Kobe Station. That 8s the beginning on the Nonubiki Falls hiking trail.

A lot more running planed for the rest of this week!


Click on the button below to help Running to Help Japan! Every dollar helps:

35km day and a great video

It's Friday and in Japan it is a holiday. Showa Day is the beginning of the week long holiday for me. I kicked it off with a 31km long run in the morning. I then walked about 4 km with my wife and sone. For a portion of that walk I had my 9kg whipper-snapper strapped to the front of me in his baby carrier. That was the final "wipe out" for my quads after the run.

Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day for my legs. No running at all. I want to run, but I realize I need to rest.

Today, an awesome You Tube video blogger, Victor, aka. Gimmeabreakman/Gimmeaflakeman made a shout out video for the Running to Help Japan project. THANK YOU Victor! I appreciate the publicity.

My friend Danielle also made a spiffy banner for the top of this blog! Thanks to you as well Danielle!




You can sponsor my run here. Every penny goes to Save the Children Japan!

Back to Back Long Run Week

As far as running goes, this was a great week. I had a minor hiccup with a bit of a cold forcing me to take Friday off from running, but aside from that, it was solid. I logged 74k this week and ran back to back long runs. You can see my week's running data below. This information is posted on my Daily Mile page.



Here is a blog I shot this morning while on my long run:



The physical aspect of preparing for my charity "homemade" ultra marathon is going along well. I need to work more now on getting folks to take notice of what I am doing. I am going to try to flog my story to more news outlets (smaller ones in areas I lived and worked in Canada) and hopefully some others will write something!



Here is the sunrise in Kobe. I took this shot early Thursday morning while running along the waterfront.

Running for Japan: Kilometers Building

Another week is done and my training is coming along better than I expected. My knee injury seems to be behind me (I hope....fingers crossed) and my blister issues seem to be working themselves out.

I actually just finished an interview with a newspaper in Canada before I wrote this blog post. When the story is out, i will of course share it with all of you awesome folks.

I am now officially at 34% of my fundraising goal. I am of course really excited about that. Now of course, my Running to Help Japan project isn't just a one time shot. I plan to run many races to raise money. I probably will raise my total fundraising goal.


In other running news, the 1st Kobe Marathon just opened for registration yesterday. I'll be running it for sure!!! (if I get a spot)


here I am last Sunday, post long-run with my future little adventure racer!

Running for Japan: Things coming together

It was a busy week last week. Between it being the first week of the new school year at work and trying to get in my km's, I was tired to say the least. While preparing for my Run to Help Japan, I have had to wake up at 4:30 am in order to get the running in. I simply have very little time at the end of the day. I come home from work and spend time with my wife and nine-month old son. Once he goes to sleep I have a little time for a run, but I prefer doing it at the beginning of the day.

Last week I logged 51km and had to contend with a lot of blisters. Basically, my feet are soft and need to be toughened up! My knee is no longer causing me any concern.

I have realized this week that I really need to start planning more for the big day. Last Friday I ran a 10k early in the morning and was surprised by how warm it was. I finished my run at 6:00 am and it was already 15C. I can imagine it will be MUCH hotter in mid-June. I will have to seriously think about my hydration and maybe even buy one of those running hats with the desert flaps in the back!



This week I read an incredible tale of a Canadian English teacher named Michael Luzia, who was living on a small island in northern Japan. He survived the earthquake and tsunami, but half of the population of the town he lived in was wiped out! You can read his story here.


This is an incredible video taken by two journalists who drove their care into the Fukushima exclusion zone around the Fukushima-Daichi Nuclear Plant. They have a geiger counter on the dashboard. It often goes haywire during their trip. It is very eerie seeing what they see. They actually go as close as 1.5 kilometers away from the plant!




I also want to give an incredible THANK YOU for everyone who has sponsored me so far! To this point, I've raised more than $600.00 for Save the Children's Japan Relief Fund.

Remember, you can sponsor me on my 60k run for Japan anytime. Any amount helps!

Plans for the Weekend and training thoughts

It is Hanami (cherry blossom party) time here in Japan and I realize that there are so many that have very little to celebrate. That may be the case, but as many have argued, for those who are not affected by the recent disaster and far away from it, there is no point hiding inside. We need to live life and in a time when the Japanese economy is in trouble, we need to get outside and spend money! That's one way to help the economy.

That being said, of course, people in many parts of Japan will be getting outside this weekend for many of the nation's first hanami parties (basically picnics and bbq's outside....anywhere people can find cheery trees!).

I plan to head to my first hanami party of the season tomorrow afternoon with my family and several other families. It should be an interesting time. I will be the only non-Japanese person there and my Japanese language skills are not very strong. Tomorrow will be a good linguistic workout for me!

As for running workouts, I plan to get up early and run 8km in the morning. My knee is still being difficult! I am feeling some anxiety about that , but I am also confident that I can deal with it (running slowly, using my new shoes and ice afterwards). I'm then planning a 10k run on Sunday morning. Hopefully by next week I can begin to train harder.

I worry that I may have to move the date of my 60k run further ahead in June which means dealing with the intense heat of Japanese summer. If that is the case, I will just have to start my run earlier in the morning. That may mean a 4:00am start as opposed to the 5-5:30am start I was originally anticipating!

My overall goal for the next week, kilometer-wise, if my knee permits, will be about 50km. Ideally, by the end of May, I'd like to be pushing 90km a week or more (knee permitting)!

Day of rest and recovery

Last night I announced to the world, my little running project to raise money for Save the Children. I have been touched by so many nice comments left on my two You Tube channels. I have also been so pleased at already receiving a couple of donations! THANK YOU!

I'm giving my legs a rest today. I don't want to over train so early into my preparations for June's run. Tomorrow morning I will hit the road in new shoes (ASICS GT-2120 New Yorks). I'm pretty sure that the last pair I had were the direct reason for a knee injury I suffered from and still cope with a little. Since they are new shoes I'll just do a short 5k "test run" in them tomorrow morning to see how they feel.

Remember to check out my fundraising page here!


I came across this very cool video about people in Washington D.C. supporting Japan: