GO ASIA TRAIL 
It's been a week since I ran the Eiger Ultra Trail E101, and although I gave a brief report on Facebook, I wanted to report again on this blog: ・・・・
On July 16-17, 2016, I ran the E101 (101km) of the Eiger Ultra Trail in Grindelwald, Switzerland. Unfortunately, I got caught in a barrier at the 86km marker (Alpigen) and DNF'd... 14km to go...
At that time, I had mixed feelings of regret, and also relieved to be free from fear and anxiety because I had run almost all the way through the night in a solitary state. However, a week later, I feel once again that I am very glad to have participated in the event, regardless of the outcome.
It was the toughest challenge of my life, with a total length of 101 km, a cumulative altitude of 6,700 m, and a maximum altitude of 2,700 m. In a sense, it was the toughest challenge I have ever undertaken. In a sense, it was a day in which I put all of my physical, technical, and spiritual skills to the test. To be honest, it was a very tough race. But I gained a lot from it, and it was a race that will contribute greatly to my life in the future.
What I gained from the race
Above 2,000 meters elevation, even a gentle gradient climb is hard, and my body is heavy.
The sounds of thunder and avalanches are very similar.
On the Eiger, a 200 lumen headlamp is too dark (you need more than 300 lumens).
I was amazed at the walking speed of the European athletes.
You need to have the language skills (English) to chat easily with foreign athletes.
Apply sunscreen to the back of your hands as well.
Finetrack and Magma Athlete Barley are treasures of Japan.
The above three factors contributed greatly to my DNF at the 86km mark in this race.
The lack of 2,000-meter mountains in the Kansai region makes training difficult. Intense running! I need to practice treadmilling under hypoxic conditions like Kaburaki-san in "Mont Blanc.
The second part, "the sound of avalanche and thunder". This one honestly scared me a lot. I heard a sound like thunder many times when I was running on the night trail. After all, unlike the trails in Japan, there are no trees at all, so when lightning strikes, it definitely strikes us runners. And when I was running, there were hardly any runners around me... This made me lose my will to run, and I lost a lot of speed...
But after the race, I found out that it was not the sound of thunder, but an avalanche. I checked the sound on Youtube and it sounds just like thunder. I checked Youtube and found that it sounds just like thunder. This was a very good lesson for me.
Then there is the headlight. In Japan, a 200 lumen headlamp would be bright enough, but in the Eiger, there are no trees or forests like on Japanese trails, so the beam distance is longer and the light does not shine as bright. This also affects the time it takes to find the course marks. The sound of thunder also made me even more frightened, and my legs began to cower.
However, the Finetrack Spearwrap Jacket, Merino Spinlite, and mesh skins were great weapons. It was cold at night and early in the morning, but I was able to run without hypothermia thanks to Finetrack's technical capabilities.
Also, the MAGMA ATHLETE BARLEY is still amazing. At altitudes above 2,000 meters, fatigue inevitably sets in more than usual. However, thanks to this, I was able to keep running without any leg cramps or other problems.
A convention with spectacular scenery and full of hospitality
The race was held amidst spectacular scenery that is rarely seen in Japan. I was able to experience the grandeur and beauty of nature.
This is truly an experience you should have at least once in your life. It is difficult to adequately convey this through pictures and words alone. But I will put an album on Google Photos at the end of this blog, so you can take your time and look at it later.
And it was a well-run, well-organized, well-stocked with aids, and full of hospitality. The direction for the athletes was especially great: the 100km people were welcomed and welcomed by a microphone that read out their nationality and name when they arrived at the aid station from the middle of the race.
And at the Wengen aid (65km or so), as they departed, "Wow, he's still going to challenge, keep going! and they read out our nationality (in my case, for some reason, even the name of the city (lol)) and our name. This was very motivating.
Also, hikers and people in the town would applaud and cheer me on as I ran. It felt like not only the event, but also the community was getting excited.
SUMMARY
https://www.instagram.com/p/BH5zto3Djhn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
Actually, this was my first visit to Europe. A few years ago, I probably could not have imagined that I would be participating in such a tough race. But I guess that's the fate of trail runners.
Before arriving in Grindelwald, I was also sightseeing in Basel, where the airport is located, and everyone in Switzerland was kind and friendly. In Basel, I met airport staff, Uber drivers, staff of an electronics shop in front of the Basel station, staff of the Tinguely Museum, and so on. In Grindelwald, the people at the hotel I stayed at, the people at the restaurants I visited, and so on. It was different from the friendliness of the U.S.A.
This year's Eiger Ultra Trail had been in bad weather until a few days ago, and there were rumors that the course might be changed due to snow around Faulhorn, the highest point of the trail.
However, perhaps it was due to the fact that I am a sunny guy (lol), the weather cleared up and we were able to run the Eiger Trail as it was supposed to be run without any course changes. I was lucky to be able to run the Eiger Trail in 100% of its original beauty. I guess that's why my skin got so sunburned... (laughs).
Will you run next year?
Well, what about next year? 。。。。 At the moment, I still haven't sorted things out in my mind, but I know that I want to retry and run the Eiger Trail again.
Well, I don't know if it will be next year or the year after...but I have the start date of next year's Eiger Ultra Trail entry firmly written in my schedule book, so I wonder what will happen.... （笑）でも、自分のなかで、Eiger Ultra Trailは人生に大きく寄与したレースであった。 So I would like to visit and run it again in some form or another!
So, I will train hard in Japan and Asia for a second attempt, which I am sure will come. I plan to run 100km in Hong Kong around January to March next year (TransLantau, Vibram 100, etc.).
Only forward movement! Thanks, Eiger! I'll be back to run again!
