As spring and better weather approach, running will be on many people’s minds. And I can tell you that Japan is a great place to run a marathon — not that I have any way to compare it with anywhere else, mind you.
Prior to arriving in Japan, I had run precisely one competitive race — a 10K held in northeast England that I finished in 1:04:11. And I’ll be honest: It nearly killed me.
I’m not a natural athlete, having been firmly last to be picked for most things when I was a youngster. I started jogging as a way to keep fit and kill time when I worked in local radio in a small town in the Channel Islands. From getting out of breath running down the street, I worked my way up to a comfortable 5K and kept doing that distance for a number of years wherever I lived, usually running toward a supermarket or some edible goal.