On Sunday I ran my first race in Japan! It was the Katsuta Marathon, but I just did the 10k race. I ran it with some friends from church and it was so much fun! I've ran races in Chicago and it was interesting to experience the race atmosphere in Japan. The Japanese really take their running seriously. Many wore full track suits and at the race site there were tents galore, you would have thought it was a campsite!


We picked up our goodie bags with our race numbers, time chips and dried sweet potato. Missed granola bars and bananas, but the sweet potato wasn't bad. It was my friend Hannah's first race ever and she was pretty nervous. We ran together for the first 6km and then separated. I crossed the finish in an hour and one minute. Not my best time, but it was a solid race.




I love the race atmosphere with all the fans cheering and the finish was right in the middle of the field at the race site. The course was not the most scenic, but streets and flat. The weather wasn't too bad and it started to get sunny right before our race started. It was neat because right after I finished I got in line and received an official certificate with my name and time! I also got a nice wick long sleeve shirt! Next race will be the Hitachi Sakura 1/2 Marathon Race in April. I'm looking forward to this one because its right next to the ocean and during the cherry blossom season!