Runner's High
On October 30, 2011 the day before Halloween, unconventional runners took to the roads of the city of Osaka. Nearly all of them ran with faces wreathed in smiles that belied the taxing distance of 42.195 kilometers they would run.
A woman in her 20s on the roadside observing the first Osaka Marathon, in which some 30,000 people from Japan and abroad participated, remarked, "All the runners seem to be having a good time. It made me feel like joining in." An Osaka man in his 30s expressed his expectations by saying, "I definitely want it to be continued. I suppose it also helps boost the economy."
Starting from centrally located Osaka Castle, the course transits such famous landmarks as Dotonbori canal, the Tsutenkaku Tower, Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine and others. A runner in his 30s who came from Saitama Prefecture to compete remarked with a smile, "The supporters lining the road were great...