■Weren’t you worried about being fit enough before participating?

I had already experienced walking 40 - 50km. Even so, 100km was uncharted and unimaginable territory for me, and participating in Trailwalker and entering that 100km territory was a challenge.
The first and only time I really had any doubts was as I walked from the starting point to the checkpoint in Hakone. How far was it? About 25km? After that, I think I was fine.
Although I felt it everyday when I was younger, the fun of overcoming new challenges, making discoveries, and testing my own limits disappeared when I became an adult. But that’s what I thought participating in this event and ticking off a 100km walk offered me the chance to re-experience. I did have doubts before participating, but they weren’t really about whether or not I could do it, but rather for how long and how far I could keep going.

■What kind of training did you do and for how long?
Once I decided to participate in March, I started training just about every weekend. I recorded my times and kept other detailed information in a training log. My team and I also started a community on the website Mixi and practiced after dividing up the checkpoints and nights and things. The people on the support team also got involved and we talked about fundraising and tossed around ideas as we walked along the course. By walking with the support team we were able to get our first experience of the course’s difficultness and were able to understand just what kind of support we would need. I think that going over everything and putting together a walking schedule was a really good idea. If you go over everything, beforehand, then when you are walking and you suddenly come to a downhill slope or something, if you know that past a certain point the trail levels out, then it’s easier because you know what to expect. If you train by yourself, you may be tempted to cut corners and skip practice, but in a group you don’t want to slow anybody down. That’s why I think I worked so hard. It’s tough with four people, but I think that it’s because we were four people that we were able to do it. For people who have never walked at night, I would highly recommend training on a trail at night

■What kinds of gear did you take with you?どのような持ち物を用意しましたか？

Shoes are important. On the recommendation of a friend with trail-running experience, I got some light shoes. I also put some insoles in them. We had the support team take most of our gear. Each big bag had clothes and food in it. We decided beforehand, at a meeting with the support team, what we would carry. Changes of clothes, our own food, drinks and other things were ready for us at the checkpoints. At the CP4 campsite, we had fun making curry and barbecuing some food. I remembered some things I had written down during training and told the support team about them. They not only carried our raincoats and cold-weather gear, but were also ready with changes of clothes and socks to keep our spirits up.

■How did you go about fundraising?

Actually, more than the 100km course, making my legs take those first steps was the first hurdle of fundraising. That, plus actually walking the 100km, and paying the 60,000 yen participation fee, were the three big hurdles of this fundraiser. On top of that, I was worried about whether or not I could draw those around me into this event. For each member of the three-man team to pay 30,000 yen is not an unreasonable amount, however for the sake of challenge, I decided against that. Instead, I decided to get those around me involved, hope they understand, and donate to the cause.

At the time, I had my own blog, on which I wrote about this event several times and through that I found so many people were willing to help. My readers, people whom I had never even met face-to-face offered their assistance to my fundraising. I was so happy that I had managed to reach out to them. When it came time for the event, it was not just for we four, we stood for our support team and the feelings of our sponsors and walked that 100km.

A friend of mine in London once asked me, "Here in England, Oxfam and "Trailwalker" are both well known so fundraising is easy but, in Japan where this sort of fundraising culture hasn't really taken root, isn't it hard to find sponsors?"

One of our team members was very interested in the HIV/AIDS problem. He seemed so happy that challenging himself with this 100km walk would benefit those afflicted. Our support team also lent itself to our fundraising. By talking face-to-face with co-workers and customers at our respective jobs, we managed to receive a great deal of support. In April, my team and I went to the Chichibu 40km Walk for practice. The night before, my team members organized a barbecue party. There we explained the nature of our participation, and collected 1000 yen from each person who came to the party. Little by little, much like dust collects to form a mountain, we collected funds, even saving the change from when we went out for drinks. In the end, we managed to collect 200,000 yen this way. The fact that we had managed to get our message across and that so many strangers supported our mission, made me very happy. For me personally, the biggest difficulty was getting those who should have been closest to me (i.e. my parents) to understand and support me.

Through fundraising, I really felt the difficulty involved in speaking to people and getting them to believe you. You don't want to make each other feel uncomfortable, so you don't want to try and force them to understand. So we just spoke as clearly and carefully as we could and tried our best to get them to listen. I understand that many of those who participated would just state their positions as best they could and have discussions about it.

■How were you doing at night?
Right up to just before the start, I was really worried about how well I was sleeping. I asked myself, is it better to take a nap or to keep walking? In the end I loaded my sleeping bag into the support staff car and started out. I also stayed the night at an inn located at the goal point. Reaching the goal at 6:00, I made it a point to have a party at that inn. On the day of the event, I took maybe a two hour nap along the way at CP6 because I was really beginning to feel the pain. From that point, though, I was able to effectively bring my body back to life. Right before taking the nap, I was so exhausted that the grass growing on the road looked to me like one dollar bills. I felt completely at ease while taking that nap, knowing that there were support staff present where I was.

■When did you begin to feel confident that you could complete the 100km walk？

I was already feeling confident during training, and I was sure I could walk the 100km even as I stood at the starting line. I had been training with the other members from the very beginning and didn't feel anxious at all, knowing that we were all familiar with each other. I had this image in my head of collapsing right after the finish line like I was at a track meet; but there was ample time to reach the goal and I was sure that I could make it.

■What was the most challenging part?

It was my psyche more than the physical endurance. During the event one of my team member's legs started to hurt and we were forced to slow down as a result. The conflict stemming from my own desire to hasten the pace and overlook the needs of my teammate for the sake of time was the most difficult thing for me. It was then that I noticed the difficultness of keeping at the pace of a team. Am I a member whose goal it is to cover the distance and have fun regardless of how long it takes? Or am I a member whose highest priority is achieving a quick time? I think it's important to make such a distinction clear to oneself before one starts.

Throughout the course, the stretch between CP3 and CP4 was the toughest. We hadn't even completed half the distance yet, much less were able to see ahead. We had also run out of things to talk about and ended up just walking in silence. It was during that time that we came across another group singing something as they spiritedly walked along. We all started singing together, and it was a big help because it boosted my own group's morale. On a Trail Run, there is no support between competing teams; time is of the essence, so you have to struggle with yourself, and there is no communication with the people around you. Conversely, I believe that a big distinction between Trail Runs and the Trailwalk is that friends can help each other while walking together. As teams passed by each other time and time again throughout the race, since we were walking at similar paces, we were all able to exchange different things with each other.

■In what ways were you helped by the Support crew?

They helped us in everything from the actual fundraising, to just cheering us on. Since there were no barriers, sometimes they would even come walk with us for part of the course. The Support Team was split into two groups, they brought along two cars for us to use for naps, and made time schedules for us along the way. They splashed water on our faces to cool us off, prepared buckets of hot water for us, they even took pictures for us later on when we didn't have time to do it ourselves. When we reached the finish line, they had a champagne toast ready for us. That was the best part. They even called some of my friends in secret and surprised us at the CP. Seeing that surprise cheerleading squad made me so happy. They carried my things for me and gave me a chance to change my clothes too. Thanks to them, my experience was made even more enjoyable than I thought it could be.

■What was
I had a good time participating in this event and it was one of my Top 3 challenges of 2007. I met a lot of people from different countries and, it being my first time in Japan, I felt that walking through Hakone, along cedar-lined paths, and on Mt. Fuji on my own feet was a good opportunity to get to know this country. Now, when I see a sign in town that says “X km to such and such a place” I always feel that it’s within walking distance. My idea of what’s possible changed that much.

Volunteers met us at the checkpoints and encouraged us, which made me really happy. Being met by everybody with pork soup at CP7 in Oyama-Cho was especially nice. I really appreciate all the cheers and hand-waving we got on the course, too. I thought, “With the help of the staff, volunteers, and other people we’re pulling this thing off.”

■I heard you might participate as a volunteer this year.
I wanted to get involved with the event again this year and hoped to be a volunteer. I thought it would be fun to participate from the other side. Last year, the people on the support team made things lively so this year I’m going to participate as one of them. People who thought they couldn’t do it wanted to try harder and everyone around quickly became more involved. I think that’s what makes it such an appealing event. It’s no wonder that we’re able to raise money. Getting everybody to get involved can be tough, but it can also be fun. Anyone who really thinks that they want to do it can.

I felt like the participants and volunteers in this event really encouraged each other. Your physical and mental strength are tested in this event so you gain self-confidence. It’s like tackling a long-term project at work. When I took part in the event, I was changing jobs at the same time so being successful made the challenge of my new job less intimidating. I thought, “If I can convey my enthusiasm, everything will be all right. If I meet this challenge, everything will be all right.” It was as if I had graduated and become a new person.

■Any advice to newcomer?

The support team preparation, fundraising, training, etc. don’t start the day of the event - they start now. From now until the day of the event there are a million things to do. If you have fun doing these, not only the three days of the event but everyday will be more fun, I think. This event took up a lot of space in my head until the day of the event itself (ha!).
I don’t think this event is for people who say, “I just want to walk 100km and get a good time.” I became friends with my teammates and felt the kindness of the volunteers and other people during the event. A lot of different people helped me. And it wasn’t just us that were helped; the money we raised can help other people, like a cycle of giving.