Being Grateful to the Mountain
In a little over an hour I’ll be toeing the line at my first international ultra trail race, the Okushinano 100K in Nagano, Japan. I discovered this race by scrolling through the various qualifying races for the Western States 100, another race I hope to run one day. After reading a translated version of the Okushinano 100 website, I knew this would be a perfect race to take part in. The race description is as follows:
A round trip around the solitary peak, Kosha Mountain
A round trip through the beech forests that are over 300 years old
A countryside round trip, running through orchards and pastoral landscapes
The Okushinano 100 encompasses these three rounds. Along the way, there are historic trails that connect villages, beech forests that have withstood the weight of snow, trails along streams fed by melting snow, and landscapes of mountain hamlets filled with nostalgia and tranquility. It's a 100km journey packed with the natural beauty and charm of Okushinano, so please enjoy it to the fullest.
The race director was born and raised in Okushinano. They wanted to do something to help the tourism industry in the area, which had been hit hard during the pandemic. It is also predicted that the population here will decline by 10% over the next five years. Many of the local trails and old roads were overgrown and impassable, and only known about from old maps and word of mouth from teachers. So they created this race as an opportunity to revitalize and reconnect the trails to create a long path in the region, and benefit the local community. Pretty cool!
The race organization provided a list of ten rules and etiquette to follow, which I think are good to follow and pretty universal for the most part:
Never drop trash → Prepare a special pocket for trash
Pick up one piece of trash → Every time you go into the mountains the mountains become a little cleaner!
Greet twice → Once 10m before and once more when you pass each other. Express your gratitude.
Hikers have priority - don't forget to say "please go first."
When overtaking hikers, walking when passing them can be frightening if you run.
Stay on the trail → Avoid stepping on the plants.
No headphones allowed → It's dangerous because you won't be able to hear warnings or greetings. Enjoy the sounds of nature!
Bring equipment to protect your life → essential equipment, water, salt, energy (food supplies), etc.
Have respect for temples and shrines → Express gratitude in your heart
Don't forget to be grateful to the mountain. → Before entering the mountain, say "Onegaishimasu" (please), and when descending, say "Arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you).
The last one I believe is especially important. It makes me especially think of my time on the Appalachian Trail during my thru-hike. There were countless times I would ask in moments of suffering, “Please.” I’m not even sure I knew what I was asking for in the moment, but it was almost as if I were begging, “Have mercy.” And anytime I was offered something, like a cool breeze, or a rain shower, or smooth passage, I would whisper, “Thank you.” Any moment of respite is a gift. Today will certainly be no different, with 62 miles and nearly 16,000ft of elevation gain to cover in unfamiliar terrain on a very warm day (high in the low 80s). Because today offers so many unknowns, I am keeping my expectations pretty open and will be very happy to finish (the maximum time to finish is 21 hours). Anything beyond that will be a happy bonus. I am approaching this day with humility, gratitude, and an open mind.
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P.S. You may have noticed at the top I have a new logo for the revamped newsletter! This was designed by Heidi Nisbett aka Sketching Summits. I love it so much and hope you do too!