Looking Back at 60km for the Kids

Last Saturday I ran 60 km (37.5 miles) to raise money for Save the Children Japan and their efforts to help the kids affected by the March 11th, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

It was a rough run. It was 18 km longer than any run I had done before. it was also in much hotter conditions than I had ever run before. Did I almost quit? No I didn't, but there were many moments along the route that I wish I didn't have to run. There were many times that I wish I had been somewhere else. the distance was long, but the heat is what made things so miserable. It was about 30C by 8:00am and he humidity was very high.

Luckily, my recovery was very fast and within a few days, I was back out on the road and running again.

Here are some maps of my 3 lap route around Port Island and the Harborland area in Kobe, Japan:






Here is a video blog I made while running. The original plan was to take a lot more footage, but it became such a painful and difficult run that shooting with my camera became the last thing on my mind. i had to focus completely on just getting the run done!


For anyone interested, I'm adding all of the running data collected by my Runmeter iPhone ap. That's how I tracked this homemade ultra marathon!


"Running to Help Japan 60km" Splits


Kilometer 01 - Average 6:41 /km
Kilometer 02 - Average 6:14 /km
Kilometer 03 - Average 6:01 /km
Kilometer 04 - Average 6:20 /km
Kilometer 05 - Average 6:22 /km
Kilometer 06 - Average 6:12 /km
Kilometer 07 - Average 7:15 /km
Kilometer 08 - Average 6:23 /km
Kilometer 09 - Average 5:45 /km
Kilometer 10 - Average 6:37 /km
Kilometer 11 - Average 6:15 /km
Kilometer 12 - Average 6:27 /km
Kilometer 13 - Average 6:25 /km
Kilometer 14 - Average 5:23 /km
Kilometer 15 - Average 5:51 /km
Kilometer 16 - Average 6:17 /km
Kilometer 17 - Average 6:25 /km
Kilometer 18 - Average 6:02 /km
Kilometer 19 - Average 5:58 /km
Kilometer 20 - Average 7:31 /km
Kilometer 21 - Average 6:36 /km
Kilometer 22 - Average 6:07 /km
Kilometer 23 - Average 8:19 /km
Kilometer 24 - Average 6:56 /km
Kilometer 25 - Average 7:10 /km
Kilometer 26 - Average 6:48 /km
Kilometer 27 - Average 7:39 /km
Kilometer 28 - Average 5:46 /km
Kilometer 29 - Average 6:05 /km
Kilometer 30 - Average 6:19 /km
Kilometer 31 - Average 5:48 /km
Kilometer 32 - Average 6:37 /km
Kilometer 33 - Average 5:15 /km
Kilometer 34 - Average 8:24 /km
Kilometer 35 - Average 6:06 /km
Kilometer 36 - Average 6:46 /km
Kilometer 37 - Average 5:34 /km
Kilometer 38 - Average 6:15 /km
Kilometer 39 - Average 6:10 /km
Kilometer 40 - Average 6:21 /km
Kilometer 41 - Average 7:19 /km
Kilometer 42 - Average 6:13 /km
Kilometer 43 - Average 10:46 /km
Kilometer 44 - Average 6:45 /km
Kilometer 45 - Average 6:19 /km
Kilometer 46 - Average 7:54 /km
Kilometer 47 - Average 7:04 /km
Kilometer 48 - Average 5:53 /km
Kilometer 49 - Average 10:25 /km
Kilometer 50 - Average 6:20 /km
Kilometer 51 - Average 7:49 /km
Kilometer 52 - Average 6:18 /km
Kilometer 53 - Average 6:49 /km
Kilometer 54 - Average 5:29 /km
Kilometer 55 - Average 6:13 /km
Kilometer 56 - Average 7:09 /km
Kilometer 57 - Average 5:43 /km
Kilometer 58 - Average 7:45 /km
Kilometer 59 - Average 6:49 /km
Kilometer 60 - Average 6:04 /km

Next stop, Osaka Marathon....then Kobe Marathon!

Running to Help Japan Update

Running to Help Japan is a project I decided I wanted to do almost immediately upon the disaster in Japan striking. I knew that, while I was somewhat physically unfit at the time, I could bring myself to my former marathon running level of fitness within a few months. I certainly did. As of to weeks ago, I was definitely ready to run a full marathon. Would it have been my fastest time? Probably not, but I was ready to do it.

When I run my almost marathon and a half to raise money for Save the Children Japan, it won’t be a race to set a personal record or break a certain time. I will be running to accomplish my goal, will be running to finish and say thank you to the wonderful people who donates so generously to Running to Help Japan.

Unfortunately, my training ha hit a few bumps and snags within the last week and a half. I realized last week that I was suffering from some of the symptoms of overtraining. I was simply pushing myself a little too hard and needed a rest. My last 8km run (a distance that is relatively short for me) actually felt as if I had run a full marathon when I woke up the following morning. I sent this out on Twitter and several runners, all with far more experience than me, suggested I take more than a day or two of. Five days to a week would let my legs rest and I would be a stronger runner for it. I thought it sounded like a great plan.

This past Monday I was psyched. I was going to run Tuesday morning. Problem was, when I got home from work something didn’t feel right. I was beginning to get sick.

I wasn’t the only one, several coworkers were as well and I suppose it was my turn. By Wednesday thing were really rough for me. I could barely drink water since my throat hurt so much. On Thursday I had to leave work and go home and to the doctor. It ends up I had strep throat.

I am now on medicine and have been resting. It’s now Saturday morning and I am not ready to run today either. I am feeling much better, but not healthy. Was hoping I could hit the road tomorrow, but Typhoon Songda is suppose to say “Hello” to us sometime early Sunday morning!

This break in training hasn’t helped me get ready for my June 12th Running to Help Japan ultra date.
For the sake of being able to finish this project, it looks as if I will probably postpone it until the following weekend (maybe later). I just won’t be fit enough by the 12th and I want to get at least one more 30+km long run in. Hopefully I can run that one next weekend and then have some time to taper. Mind you I suppose this time off has been a taper, but a taper to just resuming training!

I am thinking either June 18-19th now for the date of the run. A new challenge then arises, the heat of Japan in the summer. I will be really hot and humid and I’m sure that by mid-morning temperatures will be close to 30C. Ah well, as long as I’m well hydrated and run a lot in the shade I will be fine.



On a more positive and awesome note, my good friend in Chicago, John Pham sent me a little supply pack to help me with my ultra run. These are just some of the awesome things I will be carrying with me on the big day to fuel me through my run!

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!

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.