■What was your motive for participating?

It may sound strange but dieting. If I didn’t push myself to try hard, I wouldn’t exercise then I probably would live a life hating myself more. After training for 2 months I lost 5 kilos! But, after walking 100km I hadn’t lost more than 500 grams!

■Did you worry about your physical ability before the event?

Yes, I worried so much! The only time I had done much exercise or been near a mountain before was on a snowboard. My office is on the seventh floor, but until 2 months before the event I had always taken the elevator. My first attempt to walk up left me a wreck by the 2nd floor! Moreover, I was the only girl and as the other members had more experience I wondered if I would be cut from my team.

■What kind of training did you do?

In the beginning of February I ran and walked around an athletic track for about 15 minutes. After doing this it was hard to get my breath. Mid-February I walked for 12 km along some flat town roads but I was worn out for the following 2 days.
By the end of March I could walk along a similar route for 30km and had to rest for 2 days again.
At the start of April I tried to climbed 640m up Yahiko mountain, but I rested too long to continue the climb. In mid-April I climbed to the top by night. It was my first practice using a headlight. By the end of the month I had climbed another mountain by night.
As May approached, I climbed the 1300m Awagadake for the first time coming last of 4 members. Climbing this mountain gave me a lot of confidence. On top of that, I tried to climb the 7 floors up to my office every day.

■What kind of things did you take with you? (food, drink, clothing, equipment etc)

I didn’t have the strength to carry my full pack so one of the guys carried my raingear for me. My bag was fitted with a hydration pack. Our group was pretty slow through each of the checkpoints so by the time we had got through there wasn’t much left of my rations. However, the 7 person support group from Niigata each gave us some rice balls, bananas and miso soup. They made them on the spot. While walking I sweated a lot so I carried things like Mongolian rock salt and Weider In Jelly with me. I drank thawed out Amino Vital too. I bought my rain clothes from an outdoor store so they were light and warm. My jacket was one I used for snowboarding as it was light but good as a wind stopper, and I wore support stockings to help prevent against muscle strain under some nylon pants.

■How did you go about fundraising for the event?

Under Toba san.’s leadership, we raised money by giving PowerPoint presentations and firsthand briefings at film showings and other events. I also appealed to the staff at my work to help raise money. (You can read an account of Toba san’s personal experience here )

■Was it difficult to raise 120,000 JPY?

Toba san planned a lot of events, inviting others to help with fundraising, which I think was very good. My role was to assist with the running of the events.

■Did you face any hardships fundraising?

We had a lot of trouble getting people to understand what we were doing. We were often asked why we were walking and why we trying to raise money. I think a lot of people thought we were doing the walk solely for our own personal satisfaction. However, the people that understood that we were passionate about completing the 100km walk donated money.

■At night, what did you do about sleeping?

On the first night around 11 o'clock we arrived and after that slept for about 1 hour. On the second night about 8 o'clock we slept another hour. For those 2 days, we got a sum total of 2 hours sleep.

■When were you confident that you would be able to complete the entire 100 kilometres?

Probably about when we passed the final checkpoint and could see Mount Fuji.

■Where was the most trying moment of the walk? How did you overcome it?

There were too many places that were really difficult. Kintoki Mountain was the one obstacle we had been told about, and it was terrible. When we were at the summit, it became stormy with thunder and lightning. In that, we hiked down the mountain. Also,-- where it was I forget,--there was this asphalt road that just went on and on: I was on the verge of tears. It was just constant pounding on our feet without any cushioning at all. I don't know how many times we had to stop for a break

During the 100km walk, I was the slowest in our team, so they let me take the lead, but I was surprisingly fast going downhill and was told by the others to wait a bit. However, the four of us pretty much stuck together the whole way, which is what we had all agreed upon before the event. Also, we decided that whoever took the lead was responsible for warning the others following behind about any obstacles underfoot or overhead. For example, to watch out for branches overhead, big stones underfoot and uneven surfaces.

■In what ways does the Support Crew help?

If it weren't for the Support Crew, my group and I probably would have retired after the first day. They not only lifted our spirits, but also our bodies. When we practiced on the local beach, they would bring us onigiri. Members of the Support Crew who had homes along the road of the event itself invited us in, fed, and supported us. They made sure our meals along the way were nutritious and also learned professional massage techniques to help us. In every way possible they were there for us.

■To give you a feel for what it is like, here is an excerpt from Ms. Watanabe's blog, written after an event. (Excerpt below)？

"Hello everyone! As I'm sure most of you know, a week ago today, the four of us on my team completed the 100 mile mountain path course within 48 hours! (^o^)v
Since we reached the goal on Sunday, I've wanted to share my feelings with all of you but, a lot of things came up and I was kept thinking, "Where should I begin?" and then suddenly it was already today! (^_^;)

Man... it was hard...

Equivalent to 30km on the ground, the best part of the trip was climbing up to Awagatake, a trip of about 10 km that took us up about 1300 meters. We were all wondering what would become of us when we passed that point. I think it was unfamiliar territory for all of us. Just the first day was far more strenuous than we had imagined. Over the course of two days we had little over 2 hours sleep, yet still we walked on. The climb only got truly difficult when we were only able to move forward 20 cm at a time. At the summit, the climb became a fierce battle against heavy rains, strong winds, fatigue and the pain in our legs. At night we had to walk through heavy fog using our headlamps for illumination.

We were all at our absolute limits.

But in the end, it was thanks to the volunteers here, those who came and supported me all the way from Niigata to here, and those from Niigata who lent their support via email, as well as the other three members of my team who walked with me all the way and encouraged me that we managed to reach the goal.

Even when it was mentally taxing, it was thanks to everyone's support that I managed to push forward step by step. I think I more or less managed to cover up my physical pain by sheer force of will (or perhaps not).

It was an amazing experience!

Like seeing Heaven after walking through Hell! [TL note: could also substitute the expression, "like sunshine after the rain," the current translation is more literal, though slightly more awkward]

Such an emotionally-charged 3 days!

My limits were decided only by my body. I really felt like I was in control of my own body. To anyone who says it can't be done, I say it can, just try it and see. If you can imagine it, you can become one with nature and the road will open before you!

My body is still tired, so many muscles still hurt but because I managed to surmount those obstacles, hardly anything seems impossible anymore. Even though it was so grueling... I'm actually kind of thinking about going again next year.

How about it, everyone?

To everyone who came out and showed their support: You left work and drove to Niigata, you experienced new things along with me, even though we often couldn't tell when we'd arrive at a given check point, you were all so flexible in your support and that was amazing. You have no idea how great of a help that all was. (T-T)

If you all had not been there, we would not have been nearly as motivated, and might not have ever completed the course.

Thank you all, so very much.

I'll never forget that excitement for as long as I live.

I know this was a really long entry, but for those of you who took the time to read it, thank you very much."