Dokkodo: Lonesome Road of Running

Took a day-off after running more than 300 km so far to reset myself. Final day of July. Funny how time flies. Washed clothes. Edited a movie of my run from DAY1 to 7 but it’s kind of hard to upload under such a slow speed of network here. Quiet Sunday, most of shops and stores are closed. Some people go to church. I enjoy a cup of coffee watching BBC news on TV. Hope people in the rest of the world live in peace… Two days to Liverpool, my pace is a bit slower than I have expected. But my travel is always flexible enough to fit for the situation where I am. *Today’s Distance: 0km *Total Distance from Big Ben, London:326.4km

As soon as I started, I had to go down the stairs when entering NCR(National Cycle Route)#5. That’s because I couldn’t find the slope. Just after then, gusty wind blew away my PEACE RUN flag!! It was blown away on the canal. I ran after it but the stream was much faster than I had thought. Soon a narrow boat came up and I asked a gentleman on the boat to pick it up. Unfortunately the flag was gone into the stream as the boat passing by. Lesson: Everything that happens before you has its own meaning. I learned that the flag had gone because it played its role. I hope someone picks it up and he/she will access PEACE RUN website and send it to me. Most of the time I ran along the canal, where I saw many many narrow boats. They are the ones who live on the water. Narrow boats are what is called a moving house, something like caravan or RV. They move as fast as we walk fast. Actually they are slower than I who pushes a buggy. Sometimes they enjoy fishing, en...

Running on a footpath along the canal again. The footpath is sometimes so narrow, but wide enough for just one person to walk. Sometimes I have to go on in the weed jungle where there are plants with thorn here and there. Also gates are something that annoy me. There are some kinds. In a gate I took a front wheel off and entered from the backside. That’s a discovery! Had two flat tires today. It might have been because of a thorn of a plant. Used two spare tubes, no spare one at all. It rained on and off. Once I had to stay under the bridge to avoid pouring rain. After running 50 km I arrived at Holiday Park but the owner said no vacancy. Soon I turned around to go forward 2 miles more to get to next one. I usually don’t book accommodation because my plan is always changing. It means that I just enjoy what happens unexpectedly. Exhausted after arriving at hotel. Ate dinner, took a quick shower and went to bed.   *Today’s Distance:54.8km *To...

Google Map sometimes gives me a tough test. When it tells me to make a turn right, there’s no route…what can I do? Or when I have done as I was told to, I may get into trouble. It’s just like Alice In Wonderland falling into a hole chasing a weird rabbit. In a round-about today, there were 3 lanes and also it’s under construction. There was a sign board which showed the direction. But the direction which I wanted to go was shut for the construction. The sigh board suggested the de tour. As I checked on Google Map, the route was 7 km longer than I had planned! NCR(National Cycle Route) runs mostly along the canal. There are some gates to keep motor cycles from coming in. But for me who pushes a buggy, it is nothing but a stupid hurdle. Today three gentlemen (all are 60yrs or older) helped me lift up to go beyond the gate. In a gate, I unloaded all the gear from a buggy and lifted an empty one beyond the gate and load the gear again. When I run on the...

Woke up in the morning listening to the sound of the rain. Even if I’m tired, it’s getting faster to recover. It means the cells of my body have got more active. Also hair and nails grow faster than usual while running 50km everyday. Washed clothes with soap and water without using washing machine. Did some work on PC afternoon and walked around the town for a while when the rain stopped. Found a fish bar near the Rugby Station (Photo). Got and ate fish and chips for the first time here in England. The taste reminded me of the one I ate with Tenkyu Ping Pongs (Music Unit which my wife PIAPI belongs to) in Madura, South Australia. It was when I ran across the Nullarbor where desert plain stretches as far as 1200km. They came and see me without any notice one day before my 53rd birthday. Eating fish and chips, I spent a while remembering those good old days… *Today’s Distance: 0km *Total Distance from Big Ben, London: 172.4km * See More Photos

11 degrees in my tent. So chilly I had to wear a sleeping bag cover during my sleep. Some young men were chatting near my tent but fortunately they never bothered me. Still it’s not easy to go on. Today too I had to run on a busy highway just 1km. No sidewalk with very narrow shoulders where big trucks come and go. I don’t want police officers to take care of me any more! Another hard time… While I entered public foot path, there was a special gate which kept cows and sheep from getting out. Entrance was narrow for just one person. I had to stop and take all the luggage off from my buggy and lift them up beyond the gate and loaded it again to go on. That happened three times in total. It’s kind of a hurdle race, isn’t it> Sometimes I ran in the middle of the field. Or on a bumpy road maybe for 4WD cars. I often feel happy when running on a paved road. At 3:30 I checked in at a hotel in Rugby. Glad when I come back to civilization. Hot shower...

Slept 9 hours last night as I was so tired or might have suffered from jet lag. It not easy to get used to traveling days especially in the beginning as usual. 13 degrees in Leighton Buzzard. As I was running on the highway A4146, a police car followed me and there were two police officers in it. One of them got off and told me to stop, saying the traffic is heavy and I’d better not run in such dangerous situation. I was told to get on their car and they gave me a ride to safer place. After that, I followed a quiet route National Cycle Route along the canal. The route sometimes got a single track of the trail. Too narrow and bumpy, in some part it’s like a weed jungle. Plants with thorn annoyed me, they gave scratches on my legs and T-shirt. As I arrived at a guest house in Northampton, the owner said no vacancy tonight! I was at a loss what to do, then moved to McDonald in town. Finally after running 61km I pitched my tent at an empty space in the old stadi...

16 degrees in the morning in Watford. A bit cooler than yesterday. Feeling muscle ache her and there as I was kind of nervous yesterday(DAY1). All I got to do is have fun. Started at 7:30. Sunday morning. Very quiet in towns, on the road as well. Once I got out of the town, I enjoyed running on a country road where there were herd of cows, horses and sheep. Some small hills gave me a tough run as usual. Pushing up a buggy is not that easy because it takes the power of upper body. Muscle aches occur on a shoulder, a neck, both arms and a back. Experienced the first runner’s high after running about an hour. Everything I saw looked so vivid, and colorful. Amazing! Felt as if all the colors had got into myself and I felt like climbing the stairway to heaven. Once I feel I belong to the earth, everything will be okay. It takes a while to get used to traveling. Hope my legs and the body will easily get used to it. Anyway my trek has only just begun....

At 8:45 Kevin picked me up at a hotel and we head off to Big Ben. Set up my buggy VIENTO2 for the departure. Still heavy, not so light as I carried in New Zealand! Atsuko, Kevin's friend joined us and we started to run but too many people on the bridge. We just had to walk. Sunny and warm Saturday, there were so many people here and there it's hard to push buggy and walk. After I said goodbye to Atsuko and Kevin, I ran alone. Because of heat and jet lag, my pace was too slow. Every time I found a super market or food store I took a rest. It was after 5pm when I finished running at a guest house in Watford. Got to take my time to get used to the trek. *Today's Distance 36.4km * See more photos  

Woke up to find myself on a bed of a hotel near the Heathrow Airport. Slept for 7 hours. Perfect and good sleep. As I kept awake almost 48 hours, I was extremely exhausted. Feeling good owing to high quality sleep. Before noon, I walked out in town for shopping. Found a grocery store, got some food. Cost of living is high here in UK. In order to keep traveling, I got to save money. Accommodation and food is what travelers got to think about. Basically, what I try to do is running with less food and water. Less eat and more run is the best. I enjoyed brunch at the park eating sandwich and banana. Green grass looks fine. Not so hot not so cold. I guess it’s much harder to live in the heated summer in Japan. Came back to hotel and took a nap about 4 hours. Kevin, a friend of mine invited me to dinner. It’s good to share peaceful moment with someone I meet along the way when I travel alone where I have nobody to talk to. Supporters are always welco...

Finally I left Osaka for London. I said goodbye to Piapi my wife at KIX(Kansai Int’l Airport) on 20, July. Spent 34.5 hours till I got to hotel near the Heathrow Airport, London, UK. Had the first stopover in Shanghai. As soon as I checked my flight schedule, I noticed I had to stay overnight at Shanghai Airport. Every time I take security check, I get nervous. Not once this time. Next morning I flew to Paris taking 11 hours, watching 4 movies and having 2 meals. 4 hours in Paris, spending my time watching people go by or airplanes come and go. After 2-hour flight, in entering the custom, there was a long line of people waiting their turns. Just waiting for 2 hours only to have 30-second simple interview. Took me 20 minutes to catch a taxi outside the airport. As I got to hotel near the airport, it was 12:30am. I rushed to bed with no power and energy to do anything. Anyway I am so glad to be here in London where my PEACE RUN 2016 starts. * PEACE RUN Of...

I was supposed to leave Japan in spring but I had to delay the departure for some reasons. Finally today I purchased the airplane tickets on line . I leave KIX at 7:30pm on Wednesday 20 for London, UK. I'll be back home in mid-November after running for 4 months in Europe. 4 days before the departure...I'm getting kind of nervous. * PEACE RUN Official Site

I'm getting ready for the departure of PEACE RUN 2016 Running Around Europe. I got a new travel partner VIENTO2: Thule Chariot CX1 presented by pleasant. I've been traveling and pushing a buggy for 6 years, running almost 20,000km on this planet. This is my own way to travel and it the way how we're connected to each other. That's why I got to keep running. And I'd like the world to go on in the ideal direction. I want to run with my heart and soul as well as with my own 2 legs. I'll keep running with him=VIENTO2 running slow and mellow, never getting haste, never becoming panic, and never giving up.