by Brett Larner
Gifu's Hida Takayama Ultramarathon celebrated its fifth running with new records in both its men's and women's 100 km despite higher than predicted heat. The Takayama area is the kind of environment you probably imagine when you think of old Japan: World Heritage Site villages along narrow, winding roads between steep-sided green mountains, a stellar location for a race without too much focus on time. The 100 km and 71 km divisions both include their fair share of mountains, the largest an 800 m-high climb that peaks between 35 and 40 km before dropping back down.
Last year saw course records in all four divisions. Temperatures at the pre-dawn start this year were cool but predicted to hit 29 degrees mid-afternoon. Despite cloud cover that rolled in early in the morning they actually reached 32 degrees, combining with the hills to produce very challenging conditions mid-morning. This was clear in the 71 km where defending women's winner Yuko Kanemo…
Gifu's Hida Takayama Ultramarathon celebrated its fifth running with new records in both its men's and women's 100 km despite higher than predicted heat. The Takayama area is the kind of environment you probably imagine when you think of old Japan: World Heritage Site villages along narrow, winding roads between steep-sided green mountains, a stellar location for a race without too much focus on time. The 100 km and 71 km divisions both include their fair share of mountains, the largest an 800 m-high climb that peaks between 35 and 40 km before dropping back down.
Last year saw course records in all four divisions. Temperatures at the pre-dawn start this year were cool but predicted to hit 29 degrees mid-afternoon. Despite cloud cover that rolled in early in the morning they actually reached 32 degrees, combining with the hills to produce very challenging conditions mid-morning. This was clear in the 71 km where defending women's winner Yuko Kanemo…