Plotting a 3,500km Run (2,200 miles)

One of the fun parts about planning to run the length of a country is trying to decide where to go. A quick check with MapMyRun estimates a minimum distance of 2,500 km for me to run. I’m sure there would be plenty of places to see along that route, but it also misses many sights that will make a journey through Japan unforgettable.

The initial plan for this run is to miss out on Shikoku altogether. It will save some extra distance, especially if I also want to visit Himeji and Hiroshima, and keep it untouched for another run in the future – the Shikoku Junrei – a 1,200-kilometre (750 mile) route covering 88 Buddhist temples.

A few early pins in the map include a visit to:

Chitose, Kyoto and Kobe – to catch up with old friends
Treeleaf‘s home temple in Tsukuba – to meet a Zen teacher
Nara – to see the deer
Himeji – for the castle
Hiroshima – for the history
Morioka, Osaka and Kagoshima – for the food

It would be interesting to explore Nagasaki, but I’d also like to visit Beppu. These are, unfortunately, on opposite sides of Kyushu, which makes them quite awkward to fit in, unless I add an extra 100 kilometres or so to my journey. I might do this, but alternatively, one of them might make a lovely place to relax at the end of the journey (if I run from north to south).

Here are the estimated distances I’ve got so far:

Hokkaido – 650-700 km (400-450 miles)
Honshu – 2,000-2,250 km (1250-1400 miles)
Kyushu – 500 – 650 km (300-400 miles)

So, we’re looking at somewhere between 3,000 and 3,500 kilometres of running, over a maximum of 80 days. That means my minimum distance per day should be around 37.5 km. If I want to cover everywhere of interest in just two months, that adds up to averaging 60 km per day.

My gut feeling is that each day should be broken up into at least a couple of runs, perhaps a marathon in the morning, stop somewhere for lunch and another half in the afternoon. Some of it depends on where we will stop and see, how many rest or low-distance days might be needed, so it’s hard to really say anything for definite at this stage.

One thing I want to avoid is spending all my time running. I don’t want to find myself running 80-100 kilometre days regularly, where I’m just grinding out the miles, staring at the pavement. I want to get absorbed by the adventure, learn more about Japan, and make sure I enjoy an experience that many people never even get the chance to try.

I’m sure I’ll do some big days. There will be stretches where it makes sense to keep going to reach the next town. Likewise, I expect to stop early sometimes to enjoy an afternoon off. It’ll be interesting to see how far off my initial estimates end up but, I’m kind of expecting the following: