Day 16 — Let’s Try Endurance Sports!

Mt.Yatsugatake that I arrived at after 48 hours of walking(2018–12–31). I hadn’t slept much and was very tired, but I remembered that the view brought me immense joy.

Do you want to enjoy your life a bit more?
Do you want it to be more exciting?
Are you getting a bit bored with your daily routine?

Endurance sports is the answer to all those problems!

One of my hobbies is Endurance sports! Endurance sports is a type of sport where you compete with others, mainly in terms of physical endurance. A typical example would be Marathon, but there are other tougher sports all over the world.

This might include, sometimes running in -40 degrees celsius temperature or running without any time to sleep, or biking through gravel, swamps, and mountains for consecutive days.

The type of Endurance sport you choose is entirely up to you! Endurance sports will often help you realize the following:

・What you perceive to be the limit is just the starting line to surpassing yourself!

・Feelings you get in your daily life such as annoyances or worries are really not big of a deal.

・And, last but not least, hallucinations and auditory hallucinations actually soothe your mind!

These are wonderful things to realize, isn’t it? Can you find the reasons why you wouldn't try Endurance sports?

For you, HENNGErs!
In this article, I will be introducing 5 exciting world-class races. Of course, I also selected one of the races in Japan, considering Covid-19. So let’s take a look!

5 recommended races for HENNGErs.

Silk Road Mountain Race(Kyrgyzstan)

[Highly recommended for]

・A person who loves cycling and doesn't mind being on your bike 24 hours a day.→Yes, this race is a non-stop cycling race for 1,700km!

・A person who want to become independent and self-reliant.→Yes, even if your bike gets a flat tire, there will be no one to help you.

・A person whose relationship with your bicycle is currently stuck in a rut.→Yes, sometimes you will have to get off your bike and may have to push or carry your bike endlessly. This experience will reaffirm your love for your bike and bicycles altogether.

TOR DES GEANTS(Italy)

[Highly recommended for]
・A person who want to save money on transportation during your trip.→Yes, this race is a non-stop running race for 330km and no travel expenses will be incurred.

・A person who want to enjoy Italian food even if you’re in the competition.→Yes, you can eat Italian food and even drink bas much beer as you want at each aid station.

・A person who wants to befriend local people.→Yes, over 50 percent of the participants are Italian and almost all local people who live in the competition area know the race and will come to cheer for you.

Trans Japan Alps Race(Japan)

[Highly recommended for]
・A person who want to change your title to “warrior.”→Yes, if you complete the non-stop running race for 415km, you will be called “TJAR warrior” with great respect.

・A person who has climbed Mt.Fuji and found it fun.→Yes, you can climb about 24,000m(78,740 feet) in the race. This is equivalent to climbing Mt.Fuji seven times.

・A person who likes both the sea and mountains.→Yes, you will start from the Japan Sea, climb the Japan Alps and finish at the Pacific Ocean.

Yukon Arctic Ultra(Canada)

[Highly recommended for]
・A person who loves snow.→Yes, you can enjoy playing in the snow during this 700km long journey.

・A person who doesn't like carrying a heavy load on your back.→Yes, you can use a sled to carry your load and don’t need to have it on your back.

・A person who is not good at running.→Yes, you can select to go by foot, ski, or bike as your means of transportation.

Gobi Desert Ultra marathon race(Mongolia)

[Highly recommended for]
・A person who loved to play in the sand as a child.→Yes, you can reminisce about your childhood and enjoy playing in the sand even as an adult again.

・A person who is not a fan of cold weather, but is good with hot weather.→Yes, you can enjoy running in temperatures above 40 degrees celsius, and, at night, the temperature drops to around 10 degrees celsius which will cool you down.

・A person who thinks you’ll get bored of all the sand.→Yes, when you complete the Gobi, the Atacama, and the Namib desert races, you’ll get the right to participate in the last desert race, Antarctica.

Did you find your favorite race?
If your answer is “No,” then you might just be content and enjoying the journey in your daily life.

This article is part of the HENNGE Advent Calendar 2020. An Advent calendar is a special calendar used for counting down the days till Christmas. HENNGE Advent Calendar 2020 presents one article by one HENNGE member per day for 25 days until Christmas, 2020.