I HAVE run two marathons in the Kansai area, the Kobe Marathon in 2014 and Senshu City Marathon (off Kansai Airport) the following year. Last year, I decided to add the Osaka Marathon scheduled on Oct 30. The balloting process started in April and the result was announced four months later.
It was peak hour when I arrived at Osaka City Airport in Itami, after a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, carrying with me two luggage totalling 23kg.
Osaka is the second largest city in Japan and it is close to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe, which are all within an hour’s reach by train.
From the airport, one can travel by monorail to Senri-Chou station and board the Midosuji (Red) line to the city.
But I decided to take the airport coach (it’s called the airport limousine in Japan) and paid ¥640 (RM24) for the ride. I chose to be dropped off at Tennoji, located at the south of Osaka City, under the Abeno Harukas, the tallest building in Japan.
I stayed at Tsutenkaku Tower, which is the old Osaka Tower, fashioned after Eiffel Tower, which has been on site since 1912. However, this present tower was built in 1956 and was renovated in the last two years to withstand earthquakes and strong wind.
It was early autumn and the weather was mild. In fact, we didn’t need warm clothing or plastic sheets to wrap ourselves before the run like we did in Tokyo Marathon.
By the way, I ran as Pikachu, Japanese most loved Pokemon species, much to the delight of the spectators who supported me with roars of “Ganbatte Pikachu” and “Fighto Pikachu”. And those smiling faces of the children were priceless.
The Osaka Marathon is relatively new in Japan, making its debut in 2011. This 42km route (but my Garmin watch showed 43.68km) starts from Osaka Castle and goes towards the west along the monorail line before terminating at Intex Convention Centre (Intex) at Osaka Bay. The marathon runs through central Osaka, passing through Osaka City Hall, Namba and Tsutenkaku Tower.
Intex was also the location of the race expo and marathon bib collection centre. The expo was held on Friday and Saturday before the Sunday marathon.
It’s best to purchase a two-day subway ticket worth ¥1100 which can be used for any two days from Friday to Sunday of the marathon weekend. It’s cheaper than the weekday and weekend rates. Plus you get to keep a souvenir marathon ticket. A subway ride to Intex will cost at least ¥310 but the ticket cannot be purchased from the ticket machine.
At the expo’s huge welcome gate, there were carpets of the seven colours of the rainbow which represented the Osaka Marathon charity programmes. The programmes, each with its own goal, also had their own booths installed for each team colour. There was a welcome board that had all runners’ names.
At the welcome gate, the boards bore the word “Welcome” in all the languages of the participants. “Selamat Datang” was mentioned twice, once for Malaysia and once for Indonesia.
One can spend at least half a day at the expo. There were many sponsor booths and giveaways too.
One of the not-to-be-missed booths was the Seiko Booth. Here, runners had the chance to snap a target time photo before the run, and take another after completing it. Since I have set a target to do a sub four-hour marathon, I asked for a 3:59:59 timing on the photo. But the people manning the booth went further by putting a sign in Japanese that read phonetically in English, “Aim for sub 4”.
To my elation, I clocked 3:55:57. After the 10km mark, I knew that I can’t rely on my Garmin for the distance but on the actual distance markers. It did turn out that the marathon was over-distanced compared to my Garmin.
The bib collection was well-planned with dedicated lanes for foreigners. All staff at these counters speak many foreign languages as shown on their name tags. It was the same at the water station.
Volunteers who speak foreign languages had the flag of the country pasted on their cheeks. How thoughtful. You can greet them in your own language at the KM34 water station. This, I’m sure, lifted the runners’ spirit.
I also like to thank a friend for warning me of a bridge that is as steep as Penang Bridge at the KM36 mark. Thank God I’d saved a sachet of powergel for that stretch.
Tears swelled in my eyes after I knew that I have done my second-best marathon time since my personal best in 2010.
If you have a friend who’s also running and you are finishing earlier, take note of his/her baggage truck number so that you can wait for your friend at the right baggage collection booth. This was the best way to meet in the midst of 32,000 runners.
We ended the day by heading for the Food Hall. Some of us had beer to celebrate but I chose to have my first taste of Kobe beef. Well-spent and well-deserved, if you ask me.
Adventurous, quirky and enthusiastic global marathoner, KK travels around the world to run with joy, fun and love.