Running Park in Shonan Hiratsuka (3 Hour Relay Marathon)
Running Park in Shonan Hiratsuka (3 Hour Relay Marathon)
Race Report 13: First Relay Marathon
Running Park in Shonan Hiratsuka (Running Park in湘南ひらつか３時間リレー) : 15 September 2024
Earlier this year I joined a running group called Enoshima Dash. The group meets early on Sunday mornings to do barefoot sprinting on the beach (the event starts at 6:50). The event is organized and attended by some very high level runners and is a fantastic workout. (20 x 200 m sprints followed by a 1k run).
After one of the events I was approached by one of the main organizers (Sakamoto San) and asked if I’d like to be part of a relay marathon team. I’ve run marathons before but never a RELAY marathon. Having a chance to do this kind of event seemed like a great opportunity so, of course, I signed up right away AND THEN did a bit of research into the event.
Running Park (Events and Rules)
The Running Park events are organized in association with the Shonan International Marathon. I have run this marathon twice (once in 2022, and once in 2023) and I constantly see people in this area wearing event T-shirts, so it’s safe to say that the event is well known in the area.
The Running Parks have various running events including solo marathons, parent/child runs, endurance runs (up to 8 hours), and both 6 hour and 3 hour relay marathon events. All of the events take part on a (roughly) 1.7 km course.
The 3 hour relay marathon allowed teams of 3 to 8 people. It was a たすきリレー (tasuki relay), which meant you needed to pass a sash called a “tasuki” to the next person rather than a baton. This is similar to 駅伝 (ekiden) running. In the first 10 minutes of the race no passing of the tasuki was allowed, so the first person needed to run at least two laps. The last 10 minutes where the same (no tasuki passing), so if you were in the loop when the 10 minute countdown started you needed to keep running until the time ran out.
The objective was to run as FAR as possible as a team within 3 hours. This meant that the strategy was to run as FAST as possible around the course, pass the tasuki to the next person, rest and recover as much as possible while the other runners did their part, and then run again.
The Race
There were 8 people in total that took part from the Enoshima Dash group. These 8 people were split into two teams: Team Sakamocchan (136), and Team Kantoku (137).
Note: Sakamocchan is a reference to Sakamoto. 監督 (Kantoku) means director/coach. One of the directors of Enoshima Dash gave up his place in the race so another runner could be included. He focused on being an excellent cameraman and supporter on the day.
The first team had elite runner, Sakamoto San as the leader along with three other runners. Team Kantoku was made up of four pretty fast (but not elite) runners. (I was on team Kantoku).
We met at Hiratsuka Station and took the bus over to the park (strategizing as we went). We collected our numbers, chips, and tasuki at the reception then took some pictures/videos before the race got started.
Team 136 had it’s own strategy where Sakamoto San would run every other lap but Team 137 had the plan to just run one after the other with F-San first, me second, M-San third, and N-San fourth.
The 38 teams that entered gathered in front of the start line at 13:50 to listen to the race explanation and then the race started at 14:00. The video below shows everyone charging out of the starting area with Sakamoto San leading the pack.
It was VERY hot at the time (the average temperature during the race was about 32 degrees) and there was very little wind. I thought about that a lot for the first 10 minutes of the race (since I don’t do very well in heat), but once I received the tasuki I didn’t have much time to worry about anything else.
After just a couple of hundred meters into the course I knew that this was going to be a rough day. I was running pretty hard for the entirety of the loop but I was also paying attention to the marker cones on the way. Cones were set up every 100 to 200 meters so you could roughly see how far you needed to go.
Although I thought I was running as fast as I was capable of running, when I saw the 1400 m cone, I did my best to increase my speed as much as possible so I could deliver the tasuki to the next runner. I knew I’d be able to have a rest for a while once I’d done that.
When I checked my watch after I finished the first lap, I had been running at about 3:45/km. I later learned from looking at the data that I got a new PB in the mile (5:57 according to Garmin).
I was feeling pretty burned out after the first lap and although I was drinking and sitting down my heart rate didn’t drop below 110 bpm during the break period. Even when completely still it was the same as doing a zone 2 run for me…which isn’t normal.
I ran just as hard in the second lap but I was already burned out. I ended up just holding the tasuki from that point onward (since I was only going to be running for about 7 minutes per lap). Just like the first lap, I tried to ramp up my speed towards the end.
My second lap was at a slightly slower pace than the first one but I was more physically destroyed after it and needed to lie down for a while. This is the closest I’ve ever been to passing out due to exhaustion, but a fan, a sports drink, and a cold towel really helped.
This patten continued for the entire race. After the first hour my team was in 7th place and we held onto that until the 2 hour point, where we dropped to 8th place.
I had run 6 complete laps by the time I finished my part. About 16 or 17 minutes before the end N-San started his 6th loop with the intention to pass the tasuki to F-San to do the last 10 minutes. At this point we were all pretty exhausted and those of us not running at the time went down the course to cheer N-San on. Unfortunately N-San narrowly missed the cut-off to pass the tasuki to F-San and ended up stuck in the loop to run for another 10 minutes.
N-San was an absolute machine to keep running for that last 10 minutes in that heat so massive respect to him for finishing strong.
Results
The final results of the race were as follows. Out of 38 teams:
Team Kantoku (137): 9th place, 25 loops in 2:52:18, 43.1 km
Team Sakamocchan (136): 12th place, 25 loops in 2:58:55, 43.1 km
Both of our teams ended up clearing the same number of full laps and both teams covered just over a full marathon distance. (Note that only complete loops counted)
I had an absolute blast during this race. I’m really happy to have been given the opportunity to run with such cool people.
My pace averaged out at 4:04/km. I started my watch just before receiving the tasuki and passed it to the next person just after passing it over. I am happy to see when looking at the charts that even though my pace started dropping off the further I ran, I managed to ramp up my pace at the end to pass the tasuki to the next runner.
Below is the race certificate for my team. I will update this when the full version is released (the one below is a temporary version showing only basic data).
Final Thoughts
Whenever I am given an opportunity like this, if I’m able to take it I will. Events like this are a fantastic experience for everyone involved.
Most of the time I run, I run by myself. If I’m in a race and I slow down, my time will be impacted. If I’m in a relay and I slow down, the time of my whole team will be impacted. Thinking of the team and how important it was to deliver the tasuki to the next person really helped me to push my limits further than I may have been able to if I was running by/for myself.
I’d love to give this another try. I think if I was running in cooler weather I’d be less likely to feel like I was going to pass out. (I was at the level of wanting to pass out on the first, second laps, then (for some reason) after N-San finished his final lap). The absolute worst time was after the second lap.
I’ve been training with the Enoshima Dash guys for a few months now. I feel like I’m getting a lot faster and stronger training with them but I’m still at the early stage of my training. Once I am more shaped by my beach running training I hope I can have another crack at a relay marathon and get some really good results for my team.
Thank you very much to Sakamoto San and Fujita San (Kantoku) for including me in this event. I’m looking forward to running with everyone at Enoshima Dash again soon.
For my readers who have Instagram, you can follow Enoshima Dash here.
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