Ohme-Hochi 30km Road Race

A 30k run in the “small” town of Ome (pop 131K) in western Tokyo–about 1:40 to 2 hours from central Tokyo. This run is a big event there and is like a festival for the residents. The atmosphere was special. Unlike what you often find in more urban Tokyo, there are a lot of enthusiastic supporters lining the course cheering for everyone “ganbate!” There was a group of young taiko drummers, as there is every year a little before mid-course and again on return giving a bit of a boost to anyone starting to feel the hills. This year there was even an informal group performing what I believe was music from a Ghibli anime. There was even a vocal group of older men singing for the runners. On the other hand, this event is popular with runners with more than 10,000-15,000 attending. That makes reaching the actual start line after the gun a slow process if you aren’t in block A or B. There were plenty of drink stations—I did not count—but they were always crowded and most people would come to a stop to get drinks (H2O or Pokkari Sweat served in small paper cups) making them hazardous to navigate through. In addition, bystanders would give out snacks and treats to runners in various spots along the course. (There may have been toilets along the course, but I never saw any signs directing us to them.) The most difficult part was before the race began. Getting the bibs, timing chips for shoes, t-shirt etc was pretty simple, but finding place to change was not. The most difficult and time-consuming part was storing any bags. Run by a private company, it cost ¥700 and took nearly 30 minutes of standing in line. Expect to wait in line for toilets, especially for females. Note that almost everything is in Japanese and I would guess few of the volunteers could speak much English, although I am sure they would be more than willing to help you sort things out. The course began in the town of Ome and went gradually uphill–about a 1-2% grade through forested hills and along the Tamagawa river to a ways beyond JR Kawai station. The look and scent of those pine forests made the trip more than worth it after the concrete and asphalt of central Tokyo. The first half uphill was not bad at all, but that was, in fact, deceptive. The return is where the real hills were—hidden by what had been easy downhills on the way up. According to Garmin, a couple of them had grades of 7% and 11% which was enough to make you wonder why you ever got involved in this race so early in the season. Lots of runners, perhaps the smart ones, resorted to walking. The swag, a t-shirt commemorating this year’s race and a decent, though nothing spectacular medal was at least as good as we get in most Tokyo area races. The real reward was the folks of Ome and their support and the chance to run in the hills and forests and a natural area without leaving Tokyo. Would I recommend it? Yes, and I plan on running again next year when I will know where the challenging uphills really are.