UTMF Trip 2015 Day 6

Photo from Hitomi Mikami

How ironic. The day we were supposed to return to Tokyo, the great mountain showed itself.

Lunch was at the TCAT with Masako and Hitomi.

Haneda Airport. I did not feel like going back.














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This race is indeed a very good lesson. A lesson I guess will stick with me for many races to come. Perhaps, I was too conservative and held back more than I should? There may even be a hint of complacency in thinking that I will be able to chase it back in the second half of the race. Or is there not?

Another thing that had me thinking is the local culture of being orderly in line whenever there is a bottleneck ahead. Should runners go along the side of the trail to overtake to the front? Of course, that is provided you do not put yourself or others in danger as you do so. Or, should runners stay in queue and slowly approach the bottleneck? I realise that this boils down to the local culture of the people. There are races I have seen where runners will bash through the sides of the trail so as to get ahead and pass the bottleneck. This includes the country where I come from. Staying in line certainly deserves a praise for keeping in order in such situations. But something a friend told me after I returned to Singapore is still etched in my mind.

"But Jacky .. you were in a race!"

UTMF closed the 2015 season for me. The next main event will be the ballot for UTMB coming up in Dec 2015. The new point system has been introduced and will fully kick in for 2017. I hope I will be able to get in for 2016, which I still qualified for based on the old point system.

Races are slowly lined up for 2016. I am not in a rush though. There is no urge to take part in every race which I am free to do. No FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

May there be more mountains and more trails waiting in the future.

凡事

抱最高的期望
有最充分的准备
进最大的努力
做最坏的打算




Perhaps .. I'll be back again one day. :)