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

I'm training again!

I have indeed begun running again! You may have noticed the numbers on my Daily Mile widget have started changing.

Game on!

More to come soon ...

Great Week and Runmeter iPhone Running app contest to come

This week was great for so many reasons. I was off work for most of it due to the Golden Week holiday here in Japan. I did have to work on Friday and Saturday, but pretty much had an entire week off. I took the opportunity to run and walk almost 100km!


I went hiking on Tuesday. It was the first time I had in about a month and only the second time in 2011. I forgot how absolutely brutal hiking can be on you legs in so many different ways than running. I took it as a great cross-training exercise! i also had the chance to try geocaching for the first time with You Tube viewer "EsperRanger." It was fun for sure.

I logged another 30+km long run today and plan a longer one next weekend.


In way cool news, the fine people at Runmeter (the most advanced iPhone app for runners) have offered to throw a few free apps my way to use as giveaways. I am still thinking about how I will do this. I am probably going to make a video about it later this week on my BusanKevin You Tube channel. If you can do something to promote Running to Help Japan (on Twitter, facebook, You Tube, a blog, newsaper, etc.) and are interested in getting the Runmeter app for free (retails for $4.99 U.S.), you can contact me and I may have a raffle! Just so you all know, Runmeter is the app I will be using throughout my Running to Help Japan project to collect all the data and create the maps of my running. I've ben using it for for about 2 weeks now and am loving it!


Here are a few picture from my hike earlier this week on Mt. Rokko right here in Kobe, Japan.






You can donate to Running to Help Japan here:

Cloudy Wednesday and a 12k

Golden Week is almost upon us. I work tomorrow and then have more than a week off from school. There are many wonderful things about living in Japan and one of the greatest is the abundance of holidays.

This morning I ran a quick 12k (quasi-tempo?) and shot a little video blog. Tomorrow (Thursday in Japan) I plan to run 10-12k and then n Friday morning a long run. I'm thinking 35-40k. I just have to make sure I get enough nutrition before I leave for the run. I'm shooting for another 70+km week.




Everyday I can go for a run in Japan is a blessing. there are always so many amazing things to see. Check out this amazing pond.



Please take the time to donate to Running to Help Japan. All proceeds go to Save the Children Japan. This project will not end at my ultra marathon. I'm running the Osaka Marathon later this year and there are some other projects planned! every $5 or $10 helps!

Amazing results and Boston Marathon

Words cannot express how amazed I am by the kindness of so many people all around the world who have been contributing to my Running to Help Japan project. I am humbled and I have to say "Thank You" to everyone!

I'm sure the article that was published in my "hometown" newspaper in Canada, the Cape Breton Post sure helped a lot. I plan to approach some other newspapers as well to see if they would be interested in sharing my story and hopefully attract more sponsors.

I have been thinking about it and with so many amazing running activities planned for the rest of the year for my Running to Help japan project, why stop at my current sponsorship goal. I think it would great to raise the goal to $5000.00! that would go even further in helping so many children in Northern Japan.

Tonight I ran a 7k temp run (faster than normal running speed). I would have run longer, but my schedule didn't allow it. Tomorrow will be my one off day for the week. My overall goal for this week will be 75-80km.

The 115th Boston Marathon will begin in a few minutes and I am more than a little disappointed. I was really looking forward to watching it online here in Japan, but cannot. It won't be shown outside of New England. The Boston Marathon is the "Holy Grail" of marathons. It is a goal that amateur runners seek to achieve. To qualify to run in Boston (often known among runners as getting a BQ) is a tough goal. Myself, at 35 years of age, would have to enter a qualifying race and finish at 3 hours and 15 minutes or less! Someday....maybe! I can dare to dream!


You can sponsor my Running to Help Japan project and Save the Children's relief efforts for the children of Japan by clicking the button below:

Running to Help Japan in Cape Breton Post

I was happy to see when I got up this morning that my Running to Japan project had been written about in the Cape Breton Post. The CB Post is a local newspaper in Nova Scotia, Canada. It's the paper that I grew up reading and it is nice that people back home can see what I am doing here in Japan to try to help those less fortunate than me.

I hope that this story might drum up some more donations and support for my project. I plan to extend this project to more than just my 60k run in June. Hopefully throughout the year and beyond I can raise a lot more. If things go well, I will raise my fundraising goal.

My story in the Cape Breton Post.



This week was good as far as training went. I finished the week at 62km and I'm aiming for about 70km next week. my first long run went well today. next week I am aiming for 25-30km for my Sunday morning run. I'll try to get out the door earlier than today though.

Tomorrow will be the running of the Boston Marathon. It starts at 9:00am Boston time which is 10:00pm Japan Standard Time. I'm planning to watch it streaming over the internet. I will go for a short run tomorrow evening and then settle in to watch it in my computer room! Running the Boston Marathon is a goal I hope to achieve some day.

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!

My Running Week in Review

Of course, if you are reading this blog post you probably know that I am currently training to run a 60km ultra marathon in order to raise funds for Save the Children's Disaster Relief Fund.

Here is my week in running in review. Over the following weeks my mileage will increase:


This image is from my training log over on Daily Mile.