Skip to main content

Ultra Runner Osada Does 50 Ascents of Mount Takao in Three Days (updated)



Best-known for taking on a solo 100-miler around a single tree along a riverbank near his home in the early weeks of the pandemic, ultra runner Goshi Osada was back at it this week with another solo challenge. This time Osada tackled western Tokyo's Mount Takao, a popular recreational trail hike peaking out at 599 m. 

Starting on Monday, Osada attempted 50 consecutive round trips of a 4 km loop up and down the mountain, starting at around 240 m, going to the summit, and back down. Running through the night and covering each lap of the partially snow-covered course in about 50 minutes, he completed the 50th lap late Wednesday night for a total distance of 200 km with 18,000 m total climb and double that for total elevation change. 

Osada estimated that he slept for a total of 5 hours over the three days and burned over 21,000 kcal. "I was constantly refueling," he said. Post-run he told JRN, "Over the last two years all the races I'd been targeting were canceled, and that hurt my motivation. Doing 50 laps of Mount Takao was something I'd thought about for years, and when I decided to do it all the forgotten passion came back right before I started. This was a tough goal and there wasn't any guarantee that I'd be able to finish it, but saying publicly that I was going to do it put pressure on myself to perform."

"I was very nervous that if I fell even once on one of the technical sections it could radically change the situation, and I felt a lot pressure about being extra careful on the last two laps so that something didn't happen. But thanks to the process and methodology I've refined in my running up to this point I was able to get through both those situations and my own limitations. It might have been a bit of a reckless challenge to set myself, but I believed I could do it and a lot of people helped me make it a reality. Thanks to them it's something I'll never forget."


photo c/o Goshi Osada, all rights reserved
text © 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

World Championships Medalist Racewalking Coach Mizuho Sakai Recognized With Highest Coaching Honor

The 2023 Mizuno Sports Mentor Awards recognizing excellence in coaching were held Apr. 23 in Tokyo. Toyo University assistant coach and race walking coach Mizuho Sakai was given a gold award, the program's highest honor, and expressed her thanks and joy in a speech at the award ceremony. The coach of 2023 Budapest World Championships men's 35 km race walk bronze medalist Masatora Kawano , Sakai said, "This is an incredible honor and I'm truly grateful. As a child I wanted to be in the sporting world and I've spent my life in that world. My end goal was always to play a supporting role for other athletes, so I'm honored to be recognized in this way." Sakai's husband Toshiyuki Sakai , head coach of Toyo's three-time Hakone Ekiden champion team, attended the awards gala with her and was also introduced to the audience. After bowing he took a seat in front of her and watched with warmth as she received recognition for her outstanding work. The Mizun

Okumoto and Kondo Score Silver and Bronze - U20 Asian Championships Day One

The U20 Asian Athletics Championships started Wednesday in Dubai, U.A.E. Narumi Okumoto (Hitachi) and Nozomi Kondo (Meijo Univ.) scored Japan's first two medals in the women's 3000 m, running behind leader Yaxuan Li of China over the first 1000 m. Kondo lost touch after the first 1000 m, while Okumoto lasted another 1000 m with Li. Li took gold in 9:12.79, Okumoto silver in 9:25.19 and Kondo bronze in 9:38.91. In qualifying rounds: Both Yuri Nishida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) and Sari Kameda (Kyoto Kyoiku Univ.) won their women's 800 m heats and advanced to the next round, Nishida in a PB 2:07.36 and Kamei in 2:10.87, also a PB. Shota Fuchigami (Waseda Univ.) won his 400 mH heat in a PB 50.19 to make the final. Hiroto Shogomori (Chuo Univ.) was 2nd in his 400 m heat in 47.37, yet another athlete to run a PB, moving on to the semifinals. The lone female sprinter on the Japanese team, Misaki Morimoto (Sonoda Joshi Gakuen Univ.) won her 100 m heat in 12.20 (-1.4) and advance

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half