Skip to main content

"Hell Running" - Chinese Site Calls Japanese Women's Distance Running Too Cruel

http://www.yukawanet.com/archives/5166613.html

translated by Brett Larner

High schooler Yumika Nagahama leading the Jan. 15 National Women's Ekiden for the Kanagawa team.

Since the start of the month it's been cold in Japan.  A record-breaking kind of cold that has seen snow piling up even on the Pacific side of the country, and for better or worse that word "snow" has been generating buzz around the world.  Yes, it has been a cold winter, and now that fact has become a hot topic in China.  Particularly in relation to women's distance running.

The picture above is from the "National Women's Ekiden" that took place in Kyoto on Jan. 15.  Kyoto experienced a blizzard, even "whiteout" conditions.  Far too harsh to go ahead with staging a running race in conditions like that.  It's natural to wonder why the race wasn't cancelled, but it seems likely that they weren't expecting the snow to escalate to the point that it would be enough to stop the race.

Japanese women's distance running is being called, "hell running," "crazy" and "too cruel."  The athletes are probably so focused on their race that they can't worry about such things, but is anyone worried about whether it's OK for the people watching?  There's no telling what will happen next year, but if people are expressing concern all around the world then they have to take some sort of measures.

The original article, translated below: http://tt.mop.com/16274540.html

Unbelievable!  "Appalling" Images of Japanese Women Running Relay in Snowstorm

Recently Japan has experienced a winter of bitter cold, but although Kyoto's National Women's Ekiden was held as scheduled, anyone who watched it onscreen would feel that the snowy conditions were too cruel.  Snow fell from the Jan. 14 and through the noontime start on the 15th, but despite 10 cm accumulation and temperatures close to zero it wasn't enough to stop the race.  Never having been cancelled since its first running, the National Women's Ekiden went ahead as planned with a full live television broadcast.

During the broadcast announcers struggled to accurately cover the race, saying, "There is really too much snow," as the snow obscured runners' bib numbers.  After a total of 42.195 km the women representing Kyoto won the final victory.  Some netizens expressed admiration of the first-class resistance to the cold exhibited by the Japanese, but many viewers were distressed by seeing the "appalling" scenes on the broadcast.  It became difficult to make out the human forms on the screen.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's not too cold. The real travesty was the announcing.
Unknown said…
Zero Celsius? As in 32 Fahrenheit? I live and run year-round in Minnesota, USA, where our winters usually resemble Siberia. These conditions are nowhere near "cruel", evidenced by pictures of these strong women in singlets voluntarily choosing to compete.
Brett Larner said…
I take the criticism as an indication of differing cultural ideals of gender identity or women's roles in society. Many people watching the race including me saw hundreds of strong, tough badasses. Others apparently saw delicate flowers they think belong in a hothouse.
Metts said…
Civilians, non runners, will never understand.

Most-Read This Week

10000 m NR Attempt In the Works Saturday at Hachioji Long Distance - Streaming and Preview

There are a bunch of other time trial meets this weekend and next, but Saturday's Hachioji Long Distance is the last big meet for Japanese men, 8 heats of Wavelight-paced 10000 m finely graded from target times of 28:50 down to 26:59 for the fastest heat. Heat 6 at 17:55 local time is effectively the B-race, with 35 Japan-based Kenyans targeting 27:10 at the front end, and in a lot of cases a spot on their teams at the New Year Ekiden national championship on Jan. 1. Corporate teams are only allowed to field one non-Japanese athlete in the New Year Ekiden, and only on its shortest stage, and getting to that has a big impact on African athletes' contracts and renewal prospects. Toyota Boshoku , Yasukawa Denki , Chugoku Denryoku , Aisan Kogyo , JR Higashi Nihon , Subaru and 2024 national champion Toyota are all fielding two Kenyans, and Aichi Seiko three. For people like Toyota's Felix Korir and Samuel Kibathi , getting as close to the 27:10 target time as they can and

Queens Ekiden Streaming and Preview

Sunday is the first big race of championship ekiden season, the Queens Ekiden in Sendai, the season-ending national championship for corporate women. 24 teams race 42.195 km in 6 legs, with the top 8 scoring places for 2025. TBS' live nationwide broadcast starts at 11:50, with multi-camera streaming on Youtube above. Last year Sekisui Kagaku won by almost a minute and a half, and with Paris Olympian Yuma Yamamoto , 2023 World Championships marathoner Sayaka Sato on its entry list and collegiate 1500 m record holder Mizuki Michishita having come on board this season it looks like a contender for another win. But last year's runner-up Japan Post got a big boost this season with the addition of its first non-Japanese member, two-time double 1500 m and 3000 m high school champion Caroline Kariba . The Queens Ekiden limits non-Japanese athletes to a 3.8 km leg, so it'd be tough for Kariba to bridge a 1:25 gap by herself with that little ground to work with. But what she can

Singh Breaks Indian NR to Win Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m, with 39 Going Sub-28

For the second time in two months Gulveer Singh was in Japan to race, and for the second time he outkicked Toyota corporate team rookie and 2023-2024 Komazawa University captain Mebuki Suzuki to win with a new Indian national record. Last time around it was September's Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup 5000 m in Niigata, where Singh ran a 13:11.82 NR, outpowering Suzuki over the last 200 m but Suzuki still coming in with an all-time Japanese #8 13:13.80. This time it was the Hachioji Long Distance 10000 m time trial meet in suburban Tokyo. Running the fastest heat targeting the 27:00.00 Tokyo World Championships standard, Singh started at the back of the pack and worked his way forward as the race progressed. The front end of the pack wore down to just Singh, Suzuki and Japan-based Kenyans Samwel Masai (Kao), Gilbert Kiprotich (Sunbelx) and Emmanuel Kiplagat (Mitsubishi Juko), splitting en route: 2:42 5:25 (2:43) 8:08 (2:43) 10:51 (2:43) 13:36 (2:45) 16:19 (2:43) 19:04 (2:45)