Tokyo Drift: Jon and Phil Go To Japan

Every year, the Ivy League sends a team of recent alumni to Japan to compete in the Izumo Ekiden, a six-stage, 44.5km road relay race that kicks off the Japanese collegiate season. Recently, the team had become less and less Ivy-based – in the past two years, just one Ivy alum (Tom Robbins ’11) actually participated in the Ekiden. Those teams both finished 8th, the highest in the history of the trip, so in a possibly-related note, the higher-ups in the Inter-Universty Athletic Union (the Japanese organization that sponsors the trip) wanted to return to a completely Ivy team this year.

That’s a somewhat long way of saying that Phil Royer ’13 and I were two of the nine men selected to represent the Ivy League on this year’s trip. On paper, we had a very strong team, boasting multiple HEPS champs and some very fast PRs. In addition to Phil and I, the squad consisted of: Dan Lowry (Brown), Mark Amirault, Tommy Dialynas, Joe Stilin, Trevor Van Ackeren (Princeton), Brendan Martin and Kyle Merber (Columbia). Injury issues had limited Phil’s training and a full summer courseload at grad school prevented me from training full-time until late August, so neither of us were in tip-top shape coming in. Still, the trip represented a great opportunity to experience another culture, both running-wise and in general.

The trip began on October 9, and after a long day of travel, Phil and I arrived at our hotel at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport early in the evening of October 10 (since we crossed the International Date Line flying over). We needed to run to get our bodies going after two flights (one of which lasted 12 hours) and a bus ride, so we threw on our running shorts and headed out the door.

Not so fast. Because of the warm, muggy conditions, Phil and I had opted to go shirtless, as we often do on our runs. Apparently in Japan, this is a big no-no. Several hotel staffers rushed after us as we attempted to exit the hotel, shaking their heads vigorously and forming crosses with their arms. We understood and headed back to our rooms to change. But they obviously didn’t think we understood, as one of the men hopped in the elevator with us to walk us back to our rooms and ensure we actually put our shirts on. Convinced that we were no longer a threat to public decency, we were allowed to exit and completed our seven-mile run by looping around the perimeter of the airport several times.

We flew from Haneda to Izumo, the site of the race, the next morning. Free from the TSA, check-in and security went much faster, even with the language barrier. They don’t check ID since your name isn’t on your ticket and there were no lines in security, in part because you can keep your shoes on and there’s no limit on liquids. We went for a run as a group when we arrived and I can accurately say it was one of the best I’ve ever been on. We found a paved bike path parallel to a canal that took us through rice fields and several grassy areas. We ended up at the Sea of Japan as the sun was setting and made a brief pit stop to gaze out at the water. If you ignored all the trash from China that had washed up on the shore, it made for a beautiful sight.

Our hotel was supposedly renowned for its spa, which used hot springs to fill two large hot tubs. We decided to check it out that night. A group of us threw on the kimonos and sandals provided in our rooms and headed down. Since Japanese are generally smaller than Americans – I don’t think I saw anyone taller than me the entire week – the sandals were also way too small for my size-12 feet, so I decided to walk down barefoot.

As we entered the spa, the women at the desk immediately began to laugh at us. I’m a bit cloudy on the reason, but I know that several of the laughs were directed toward me. You have to be barefoot in the spa and they seemed both confused and amused that I had seized the initiative by being the only one among us not to wear sandals to the entrance. I didn’t know what to do – I wasn’t going to go back to my room, put on sandals and walk back just to take them off again. I eventually decided to just walk in, and once their laughter subsided, I was granted access to the men’s locker room.

As we prepared to enter the hot tub, we weren’t exactly clear on the dress code. We settled on running shorts/boxers, but were interrupted by a female staffer who had come into the men’s locker room and pantomimed pulling our pants down. Naked it was, then.

We finally entered the men’s hot tub – apart from its size, there wasn’t much special about it – and began to relax. Yet we were quickly interrupted by some of the women from the front desk, who would periodically peek their heads in and eventually came inside to offer us towels. Again, this was an all-male area, and we were all naked. After accepting the towels, we assumed they would leave. We were wrong. They instead stayed and began modeling how to dry ourselves off. I understand that some behaviors are not universal, but among first-world countries, I think toweling off qualifies. We began to nod our heads, and, convinced that we now understood how to dry ourselves, the women returned for good to the desk. We shared some laughs over how stupid they thought we must be and retired to bed shortly thereafter.

The next day, October 12, we walked into Izumo for the kids’ version of the ekiden – a shorter race with 1k legs. Tommy, Trevor, Phil and I all ran legs with some of the younger runners and we walked around the market, sampling some local food. Everyone there was super excited to see us and treated us very well – the organizer of the kids’ ekiden bought us candy and we were treated to figs (a delicious local favorite) and fried octopus (very tasty). That afternoon, we went to the Izumo Grand Shrine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izumo-taisha) a centuries-old religious site that also served as the start line of the race. The shrine was incredibly impressive, and because of our connection to the Ekiden, we were granted special access to the inner part of the shrine. The priests made a special presentation on our behalf to the god that occupied the shrine. That god establishes relationships, and we were told that we would find love very soon. We couldn’t take pictures in the inner portion of the shrine, but it really was a special sight: cobblestone courtyards, thatched roofs and magisterial walls.

We took a bus tour of the course on October 13 and stopped by the track for a run. We did a few loops around a baseball field, and the Japanese Little Leaguers took great pleasure in chasing us around and high-fiving us as we ran. October 14 was race day, so Phil, Tommy and I (the alternates who would be running a track 5k after the ekiden) took the bus to the Izumo Dome, which served as race headquarters. They had TVs set up to follow the race – ekidens are very popular in Japan, and since this is one of the “Big Three” collegiate ekidens, it was shown on national TV. Joe led off for us and acquitted himself well until the leader made a big move to break things up about halfway through the 8k leg. He ended up running 23:24, with Joe crossing in 10th place in 24:29. The handoffs are interesting to watch, since each runner exchanges a sash (like the ones worn in beauty pageants) instead of a baton. Generally, a runner will remove the sash before beginning his final kick so that he can hand it to his teammate more easily in the exchange zone. The new runner will then put on the sash and wear it for the length of his stage. Mark kept us in the middle of the pack for the second stage, but some very fast times up front (three leg records and a course record for the champions, Komazawa University) meant that we only finished 14th overall. There were several reasons for this – a lot of guys on our team were miler/5k types and many were not close to peak fitness since they’re focused on the summer track season – but credit must go to the Japanese schools, which are very, very strong over longer distances. Komazawa is one of several loaded Japanese teams, with four runners at 28:14 or faster for 10k. Meiji University has 11 sub-14:00 guys for 5k (consider that Dartmouth has just seven in its entire history) and Toyo University has two guys sub-28:00 for 10k. These guys are good.

Check out this link for full results: http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.jp/2013/10/komazawa-university-smashes-izumo.html

And this one for the PRs of the runners in the race: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeJS8yU-Y1XGJVJrUdwxrP_CUXM_ZcSm5-AgnLLrvyCzUy4lhlg9cDFRwyIBMTaLSbMf5oWVt9EusKAHGE4n5GUxK77C4RzTJqE0KMWoeIi0RndZHCHp7acG8HSt5HSh7fSuJP4-yXbs/s1600/%E3%83%92%E3%82%9A%E3%82%AF%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3+2.png

And this one for some photos I took: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.gault.5/media_set?set=a.10200483332585833.1073741825.1232820559&type=1

Neither Phil nor I had our best showing in the track 5k, but Tommy managed to put it together and PR in the process (14:26 for Tommy, 15:03 for me, 15:12 for Phil). However, we took solace in the fact that, after four years of training at Dartmouth, we had both managed to improve on our 5k times from high school. There was a big banquet that night at a winery and we enjoyed some fantastic Japanese barbecue in addition to the local sake. (Sidenote: could you imagine the NCAA sponsoring a post-race banquet at a winery where alcohol is served to athletes?) We were also given canned whale to sample; I liked it, while Phil gave it a mixed review. After the meal, we got up on stage to lead the attendees in a rendition of “YMCA” before taking tons of pictures with the other runners. As Americans, we were something of a novelty item and were in high demand. I managed to convince several runners that Dartmouth was No. 1, though their accents made it sound more like “Dart-mut.” We finished by heading out to a local bar, where we bonded with some businessmen over drinks.

October 15 was our final night in Japan, and we stayed in a hotel in downtown Tokyo to make the most of it. Because of Typhoon Wipha, it was pouring the entire night, but Brendan, Dan, Kyle and I bought umbrellas so that we could find a local noodle joint for dinner. We ended up finding the perfect place, and couldn’t stop smiling as we wolfed down massive portions of noodles and broth. Phil and the Princeton guys joined us afterwards (they stayed at the hotel and ate at an Indian restaurant. Why?) and we made our way through the storm to explore a little bit of the city. We couldn’t see much, but we did manage to fit in a round of darts and check out an arcade. You’d be surprised how many Japanese businessmen spend their nights playing arcade games in Tokyo.

We made the journey home on October 16. I knew that October 16 would be the longest day of my life (since we crossed the International Date Line on the way back, I was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:25 a.m. on 10/16, two and a half hours before I departed), but even though the trip out had taken a long time, I thought the return would be manageable as long as I could stay awake. I had no idea what was in store for me.

First, our bus to the airport was cancelled due to the typhoon, leaving us to call a cab for the 40-mile ride to the airport. That would have been fine, except everyone else was on the roads due to the trains being shut down. Our 40-mile cab ride turned into a five-hour slog, including one impromptu bathroom break. There are few things more terrifying than rushing to find a place to relieve yourself on a busy road. I then struggled to reunite with the cab – when you add in the fact that I was in a foreign country, had no cell phone and had to catch a flight in a couple hours, it was as if I was living a nightmare. Somehow, we reunited and eventually made it to the airport.

Luckily for us, our flight was delayed, so we didn’t miss it. Unluckily for us, that delay lasted seven hours, six of which we spent sitting at the gate at Narita Airport. Two flights and 16 hours later, I arrived safely back in Syracuse for the final hours of a very, very long day.

I think I speak for Phil and everyone on the trip by thanking everyone who made it possible – the IUAU, Jack Fultz, Yoshi (didn’t get his last name), our guides/translators in Izumo, our gracious hosts in Japan, and everyone showed us kindness while we were there. It truly was an unforgettable experience, and to any current or future DXC runners reading this, I’d highly recommend you pursue the opportunity if possible. You won’t regret it.

-Jon Gault '13