"Ultra Running Makes the World More Peaceful" — A TDT200 Finish Report
Contents
- Introduction — The words I heard at the finish
- What TDT200 is
- It started with the 2024 TDT100
- Preparation — Training and recovery are one set
- From "aim for HR 120" to "never exceed 130"
- Lap 1 — The scorching 60km riverbed road
- The night mountain felt like a break
- Dawn on the road, and sudden knee pain
- Takeya's taping
- Early in Lap 2 — The feel of a group run
- Lap 2 mountain — Sleepiness
- Each time a wave came, I reset with stretching
- The blazing final road
- The Naniwa Aid and everyone who came out
- Savoring the finish
- What stayed with me afterward
- The gear that carried me 320km over 54 hours
- In closing
Introduction — The words I heard at the finish
In the afterglow of finishing TDT, everyone — runners, pacers, support crew, supporters — was soaking it all in. I was at the finish talking with Tomo. And right there, these words came out of his mouth.
Ultra running makes the world more peaceful.
Honestly, the first time I heard it, it sounded like an exaggeration. But as I kept talking with Tomo, I started to feel that the world really might become more peaceful. Countless people keep cheering on the runners of these ultra-long distances without expecting anything in return. The runners head for a finish more than 160km away. And out of that, something like gratitude, trust, respect, and connection is born. Isn't that itself a symbol of peace?
Over these 54 hours, hadn't I lived exactly that myself?
Ultra running makes the world more peaceful. Those words really sank in. I was glad I ran.
In late May 2026, I ran TDT200. About 320km, nearly 54 hours. I want to write down that record, the friends who supported me to the very end, and the gear I used.
What TDT200 is
TDT200 is open only to people who have finished TDT100. The idea is simple: you run the TDT100 course twice. Lap 1 within 27 hours. Lap 2 also within 27 hours. Even if you finish Lap 1 early, you can't start Lap 2 early.
For context, TDT (Tour de Tomo) is not a race. The organizer, Tomo (Tomokazu Ihara), holds up the idea of "running together, not competing" — it's a group run for everyone. It isn't a place to fight over rankings or times.
Starting from the Grand Torii of Haneda — nicknamed the “SaloMon” (a play on the running brand Salomon; 門 / mon means “gate” in Japanese) — you run the riverbed path from Haneda to Ome, climb the mountains of Ome, and come back to the SaloMon. Roughly speaking, the first road section is about 60km, the middle trail/mountain section about 40km, and the final road about 60km. The road follows the riverbed the whole way.
In TDT200 you repeat this twice. About 320km in total. More than 240km of that is pavement or gravel, so the proportion of road is very high. Damage from the road, the heat, the monotony, the switch into the mountain section, and holding on through the final road — those become the big factors.
It started with the 2024 TDT100
In 2024, I ran TDT100 on a recommendation from Junko of the Budozaka-ren running club (there's a lottery to get in, but I got picked on the very first try!). That year's TDT100 had a changed course with more mountain sections and a reputation for being tougher than before. Even so, when I actually ran it, it was a lot of fun. It felt like it suited me. What suited me was the feeling of repeating the same thing steadily, and the sensation of moving forward at low output. Repeating the same thing over and over does take its toll, of course, but I don't really mind it.
The damage afterward wasn't that big either. My legs held up better than I expected. My stomach was fine. I was sleepy, but I could keep moving. Even the next day, I was surprisingly normal.
So when I finished the 2024 TDT100, I found myself thinking, "Could I go around this course one more time right now?" — and I had a vague sense that if I prepared and managed a few things, it might be doable. If I kept the output low and ran patiently, it felt like I could keep going almost forever. In reality that's impossible, but I thought that if running became something like a part of daily life, maybe I could keep running even beyond 100 miles.
The reason I decided to take on TDT200 was that "maybe I can go one more time" feeling, plus the desire to test just how far I could run. It was a realistic curiosity, born from the experience of having run TDT100.
Preparation — Training and recovery are one set
I didn't do anything special to prepare. I didn't stack up any special ultra-long training sessions for the 200 miles.
I don't like running for extremely long hours in training, or running overnight. The reason is that recovery takes time. If I take too much damage, it's not just my legs — lack of sleep throws my whole body off. My autonomic nervous system gets disrupted, and it takes extra days to get back to normal.
To gauge my condition, watch data is also very useful. In particular, I use HRV (heart rate variability) as an indicator of my body's state. HRV is a number that reflects the state of the autonomic nervous system from the tiny fluctuations between heartbeats, and it drops when fatigue and stress build up. When the number falls below my usual baseline, I don't push — I put that time into recovery.
I think of training and recovery as one set. If I can't recover from a hard session, that session becomes meaningless.
So I kept it steady: 10–20km a day. Even my long runs were around 40km. As a rule, I don't do overnight running as training. I prioritized sleep and recovery.
On the other hand, I went into the mountains often at practice sessions such as the Mountain Club that our shop hosts. In terms of distance volume, I think the trail-running training ended up being the larger share. Lately the members at these sessions have been getting stronger and stronger, so even just running together takes a lot out of me. I'm wiped out every time. I also practiced taking in fuel — training so that my stomach could keep working and processing food.
From "aim for HR 120" to "never exceed 130"
The start was at 8 a.m. It was an extremely hot day. The direct sunlight was strong and the temperature was high.
What to base my running on also mattered. Normally it might be speed — pace per kilometer, that sort of thing. That's important too, of course, but this time my primary metric was heart rate.
My max heart rate is around 200. For TDT200, I planned to set a ceiling of 120 and run at a fairly slow pace so I'd never reach it. HR 120 is the kind of intensity where, as long as I keep fueling, I feel like I could run forever. At the sort of temperatures we get in early spring, that's a pace of about 5:40–6:10 per kilometer.
But this heat made that hard. On this day, even at 7:30 per kilometer my heart rate got close to 130. Even mixing in some walking, it climbed to around 120. And if I went too slow, I wouldn't make the cutoff.
So I changed my plan. Instead of aiming for HR 120, I decided to "never exceed 130." If it went over 130, I slowed down further. It was a way to keep moving through the heat without breaking my body.
I wasn't anxious. But since my speed wouldn't come up, I did think the timing might get tight. And I had to run again the next day, so I felt I needed to keep damage like sunburn to a minimum.
Lap 1 — The scorching 60km riverbed road
As a heat countermeasure, I doused myself with water whenever I could. There are taps here and there along the riverbed, so I used those. I also used a parasol. I'd forgotten the one I meant to bring, so in a hurry I searched and found a lightweight parasol at a FamilyMart and bought it. It did provide shade. But it was very weak against wind and hard to run with.
Lap 1 allows support freely. Junko, Hide, Masatsuru, and Sakamoto — who jumped in to help on short notice — moved by car and set up fuel and ice at various points for me. I put the ice they gave me into a T8 Neck Cooler to cool my neck. That was quite effective.
Arm sleeves were also effective for UV protection. They keep off direct sun while preventing overheating, and when you wet them, the evaporation actually feels cool. On a hot road they were useful.
The night mountain felt like a break
The middle section is about 40km of trail. For Lap 1 I'd asked for a pacer from here, and Masatsuru — who had been supporting me since the morning — came along.
Now and then I ran with other TDT200 runners, Tomo ran alongside me too, and we moved through the night mountains with headlamps on. Compared to the daytime heat, it was comfortable. The trail somehow felt like a break, and it was easier on my mind. There was a sense of being freed from the heat and monotony of the road.
Dawn on the road, and sudden knee pain
The second-half road is 60km. The section after coming down from the mountains was right at the timing when night turned into morning. It was cool, and I could run very comfortably.
When I talk with my road pacer Hide, my pace naturally rises. Chatting as we go, I end up running easily and fast. But I didn't want to push the pace, so I decided to stay behind him.
Even so, I ran too much.
My legs started to feel a little heavy, and with about 40km to go, symptoms of pes anserine tendinitis appeared. It's an inflammation where a stabbing pain runs along the inner side of the knee every time you bend it. It's not a serious injury, but it hurts. It hadn't shown up in years, and then it suddenly arrived. I thought, this is pretty bad. I could still run, but the pain kept my speed down.
Hide gave me a massage. It was an intense one. Afterward it got a lot better, and I ran for a while forgetting the pain. But with about 10km left, the pain started again. In a "I'll just have to nurse it along" kind of way, I headed for the Lap 1 finish.
Just before the finish I closed my eyes for about 30 minutes, but I couldn't sleep. It wasn't so much anxiety or excitement — I simply only had 30 minutes, so I couldn't sleep. There was a little time before the Lap 2 start, but I'd ended up with less rest time than I'd planned. The biggest reason was that yesterday's heat had kept my speed from coming up.
NEWHALE Takeya's taping — "With this, I can go"
At the Lap 1 finish, Takeya from NEWHALE had taping ready for me. While applying a massage gun, he taped me up.
Because the pain had already appeared, deep down I thought the taping was too late. Taping is something you apply preventively so pain doesn't show up, and once it's there, I figured I'd just have to carry the pain itself along.
But the moment he finished taping, I could bend my leg without pain and the discomfort was completely gone. The massage probably helped too, but with the pain gone, I felt I could really go for it. I felt the effect of the taping strongly.
And in fact, even after Lap 2 started, there was no sign of the tendinitis at all. I'd wondered whether it would start hurting again after about 20km, but the pain stayed away for a long time after that. The theory, I think, is that it releases the fascia — in any case, it really worked.
Early in Lap 2 — The feel of a group run
Lap 2 has no support by rule. Pacers only from the mountain section. That's exactly why the cheering and the presence of runners going alongside me mattered so much.
The start of Lap 2 wasn't hard at all. I moved along with the 30-some runners taking part in TDT100, so my spirits were light. With no pain in my legs, I could run smoothly.
It was hot, but having been through yesterday's heat, I knew how to deal with it. It felt easier than the day before. I think heat acclimatization had probably set in.
Moving along with the TDT100 runners, it started to feel like a group run. It was fun. Up to about 20–30km I could run easily. But then everyone's pace crept up a bit, and I couldn't keep up.
From there I kept plugging along steadily, and Hagi from the Budozaka-ren stayed with me the whole time. Hagi is in charge of "Oshiete Milestone." Running alone versus running with someone — even at the same pace, it feels completely different. It gets so much easier. He ran with me the whole way along the road up to the mountain section. I was really grateful.
The conversation was nothing special. It wasn't any particular pep talk — that ordinary chatter was exactly what was good. It was fun to run together.
Lap 2 mountain — Sleepiness
From the Lap 2 mountain section, Yamaguchi came in as my pacer. All the way to the end. He'd done the same for me in past TDT100s, so I could just follow him with peace of mind. Someone who pulls you along. Someone you can trust completely.
Sleepiness was hitting me hard, but I could keep climbing steadily. It was never really agonizing. Still, my pace gradually dropped. There was almost no pain in my legs. Here too, I felt the power of the taping.
As for dealing with the sleepiness, I think I did a one-minute nap, a three-minute nap, about three times in total. I believe that if you take caffeine and then sleep a little while later, you get a strong sense of alertness. So that's what I did. During those short one- and three-minute naps, Yamaguchi acted as my timekeeper.
Each time a wave came, I reset with stretching
In the second half of Lap 2, I was running at the same intensity, yet my pace kept dropping and the speed just wouldn't come. I could run, but I couldn't get any speed.
There were waves. Stretches when I could run smoothly and stretches when the speed wouldn't come, alternating. A no-speed wave could arrive as soon as a few hundred meters later.
Each time, I stretched to refresh my body. What I stretched most were my glutes and quads. Every few kilometers I'd reset my body with stretching and start running again at the speed I wanted. It was that, over and over.
Fueling got tough partway through. But in the second half, with the heat and the low output, I could run without eating much. There were probably a few hours where I ran on Pocari Sweat as my calorie source. The big things were that I had no major stomach trouble and that I could still eat solid food.
The blazing final road
Heading into the final road, I thought, "If I've come this far, I can make it." But here too the waves came, and there were stretches where my speed dropped drastically. Each time a wave came, I kept going while resetting my body with stretching.
The second-half road was blazing. Especially just before the finish, it may have been the hottest of the three days. My pace dropped, and without dousing myself with water it was brutal.
With about 40km to go, I joined up with Ryo and his pacer Zen. Encouraging each other, we moved on together. I couldn't have run it alone. The presence of pacers and of runners moving alongside me was huge.
The Naniwa Aid and everyone who came out
At the Naniwa Aid, they serve akashiyaki. Everyone there was a face I knew. Meeting familiar faces gives you a real boost. With everyone calling out to me, my mind eased for the rest of the road. Thank you to everyone from Kansai.
Junko, Hide, and Masatsuru, who stayed with me as support the whole time. Sakamoto, who jumped in to help on short notice. Icchy, who suddenly showed up to cheer me on. And Bando, who rushed over despite being busy with work and kept pouring water over me and cheering me on. They really saved me, and they gave me energy.
Savoring the finish
When the finish actually came into view and I was in a position to finish even by walking, I slowed down to savor it. I dropped to the very back and headed for the finish.
I felt incredibly clear and bright.
We all took this on precisely because we had the confidence that we could run 200 miles. But in reality there was anxiety too. When the finish came right in front of me, there's no doubt my spirits soared.
And I felt strongly that I could never have run it alone. The support of friends. Everyone who ran with me. All the cheering. Every one of those things was an important piece of these 200 miles.
The first emotions that welled up right after finishing were a sense of accomplishment and gratitude to my friends. It was a challenge the whole team pulled off together. A team victory. Not a victory over anyone else — a victory in the sense of taking on the challenge and winning the finish.
The time, both laps combined, was about 53 hours 50 minutes. Nearly 54 hours. Right after finishing my body was surprisingly fine. I drank three beers.
What stayed with me afterward
After I finished, I talked with the organizer, Tomo, for a while. And that's when the words from the opening came up.
Ultra running makes the world more peaceful.
Countless people keep cheering on the runners of these ultra-long distances. The runners just run for the finish with everything they have. And out of that, something like gratitude, trust, respect, and connection is born. Isn't that itself a symbol of peace?
These words, which at first sounded like an exaggeration, put into language what I'd experienced over 54 hours. In those 54 hours, I lived a place where people support people, cheer them on, and runners head for the finish. So I thought, maybe it really is true.
As a finisher's award, I received a carved wooden daruma. I felt like I'd been given a treasure.
But the real treasure, isn't it all of it? — the feelings while I was running, the time with everyone, the memories of this challenge, the emotions that welled up moment to moment. It feels to me as if every one of those is packed into this carved wooden daruma.
The gear that carried me 320km over 54 hours
From here, I want to talk about the gear I actually used in this TDT200.
Road shoes: Mount to Coast R1
Of the 320km, more than 240km was pavement or gravel. The shoe that ran most of that was the Mount to Coast R1.
Mount to Coast is a running shoe brand developed for runners who keep going over long distances, with ultramarathons and long-duration running in mind. Rather than chasing speed alone, it emphasizes staying comfortable and keeping the foot stable even as the distance piles up. The R1 is a model centered on road ultramarathons that also handles daily long runs and full marathons.
In a situation like this one — running for a long time at low output — it mattered a lot that there was stability, not just cushioning. The balance of cushioning and stability is good. It holds down the load that accumulates on the feet over long hours while supporting a natural stride.
Its unique lacing system was also effective for the moments when the state of your feet changes over long hours. You can adjust the instep and the forefoot separately, so it handles swelling and changes in fit while you run.
Having run 320km, I had pain all over. That I could still grind it out to the end was, I think, partly thanks to the shoes. In the end, my feet were almost completely unharmed. Just one small blister, and the soles of my feet were nothing to speak of. My toenails were normal too.
The brand only recently launched in Japan, but as a long-distance shoe I feel it's very well made. Their trail-running shoes are quite good too.
Trail-running shoes: adidas TERREX AGRAVIC LT
For the mountain sections I used the adidas TERREX AGRAVIC LT. It's clearly positioned as an entry-level model, and it isn't the type of shoe built for speed. But it's lightweight. In a situation like the TDT200 mountain section, where you keep moving steadily rather than pushing for speed, its simplicity and lightness were just right. For this surface and this kind of pace, a shoe like this is actually easier to run in.
Tops: T8 / STATIC / Teton Bros.
For tops, I changed through three shirts as I went.
For Lap 1's road and mountain sections, the T8 tank top. Very light, thin, and quick to dry. The ventilation was good too.
From the Lap 1 return road, the STATIC Hive Sleeveless. I simply wanted a change of clothes, so I went with something similarly light, thin, and quick-drying. I wore it until the Lap 2 outbound leg.
From the Lap 2 mountain section onward, the Teton Bros. Axio Lite Non Sleeve. A piece that embodies merino's "cool when it's hot, warm when it's cool" quality. Saying it makes you cool would be an overstatement, but compared with other materials, the difference is clearly noticeable. Especially in humid, hot hours and on summer nights, you feel it distinctly.
Among the many merino pieces out there, the one I most want to wear actively in the hot season is the Axio Lite. It's a synthetic blend that dries fast, extremely thin, and highly breathable. It's also made with less fabric touching the skin. Even under the blazing summer sun, I clearly feel merino's characteristic UV-blocking effect. The damage is minimal.
It's a base layer I'd call the best partner, and you can never have too many. It's indispensable to my outdoor activities. It works for long-distance trail races like the summer Alps, Yatsugatake, Shinetsu Gogaku, and Lake Biwa, and for daily wear too. As an aside, I actively wear it even when I'm sick, wrapped in a futon running a fever. I really recommend that use.
Shorts: patagonia Endless Run Shorts
I didn't change my shorts for the whole 54 hours. The patagonia Endless Run Shorts. A masterpiece among masterpieces.
You can wear them as-is without underwear, and they greatly reduce chafing. The side pockets don't bounce much either — I even kept a plastic bottle in one. Over nearly 54 hours of continuous movement, not having your shorts distract you is important. No discomfort, resistant to chafing, and the storage is easy to use. That's what matters.
Care products: TOMO'S PIT TENGUBALM / TENGULOTION
Anti-chafe care is absolutely necessary. TOMO'S PIT TENGUBALM is a must-have. No matter how much your legs have left, chafing can bring you to a stop. By rubbing it into sensitive areas and the soles of your feet in advance, you can cut down trouble considerably. On long distances, it's important to eliminate small discomforts, not just rely on leg strength and cardio.
TOMO'S PIT TENGULOTION was also very effective. From the middle of an ultra-distance onward, there's the muscle fatigue and stiffness you can't avoid — so-called "tension." By loosening that up, the finish line should come closer. Its greatest benefit is being able to run in the late stages of a race without your form falling apart. How smartly and efficiently you run is an important factor in the ultra world. It also reduces the damage you take in a race, so you can recover in a shorter time and start training for the next race sooner.
This time, when the tendinitis flared from tightened muscles, Tomo advised me to use it. And — lo and behold — the tightness in the muscle released and the pain went away too.
Heat-management items
What proved effective against the heat were dousing with water, the riverbed taps, the parasol, the T8 Neck Cooler, ice, and arm sleeves.
The parasol was the last-minute FamilyMart purchase after forgetting mine. It provided shade, but it was weak against wind and hard to run with. The T8 Neck Cooler I filled with ice from the support crew and supporters to cool my neck, and it was quite effective. Arm sleeves not only keep off direct sun but feel cool through evaporation when wet. They were also effective for preventing overheating and reducing sunburn damage.
In closing
TDT200 is not something I ran to the finish by my own power alone. I ran on my own legs, but I didn't move forward all by myself. There were people who connected me to TDT100. People who trained with me. People who supported me. Pacers. People who cheered me on. Runners who ran alongside me. Familiar faces who were waiting for me. Every one of those was an important piece of the 200 miles.
I'm glad I ran. I want to share this feeling with as many people as I can.
And I, too, want to be someone who can support another person's challenge.