Fruits Marathon

I manage 8th place in the 23-kilometer Fruits Marathon on October
17th. This was intended as a social outing to the wine country west
of Tokyo, with a bit of running and cycling in order to admire the
scenery. But I don't really like wine. And as usual, once the race
starts my competitive instincts kicked in. I found myself passing
other runners and realized I had a chance to finish in the top 10. So
I maintained a 4-minute pace on the flatter first part of half of the
race, then somehow maintained my position to the top of Mount
Daibusatsu as we gain 1250 meter over the 23k. The course is a paved
road all the way to the top which helps me.