I started track and field in fifth grade. After breaking a new school record at a marathon race, I was invited to join a local running club. That running club has produced many alumni who have participated in the Hakone Ekiden, and after joining, I naturally wanted to become a runner in the Hakone Ekiden. Even after entering junior high and high school, I continued long-distance running with the goal of 'running in the Hakone Ekiden.'

J. F. Oberlin University was invited by coach Shinyaka Stefan and coach Katsuhiko Fukunaga, who came to watch the high school track and field team's practice, which led to enrollment. The Ekiden team in Obirin includes international students from Kenya, whose training level is very high, and the team's strengths are expected to improve, which led to my decision to enroll. J. F. Oberlin University Ekiden team has no grade barriers and a friendly atmosphere. Even during tough practice, members encourage and support each other, and even though it's an individual event, I feel the team's strong strength.

In high school, I never ran distances of 20km or more, but in university training, it's commonplace to run those distances, so at first, I could barely keep up. I've always been anxious about running long distances, and I often struggled with it in high school, so to overcome that anxiety, I started incorporating training that involved running 21km at least twice a week. As I continued training, I felt that I was becoming more adaptable to longer distances, both technically and mentally. Perhaps because of this, in the Hokuren Distance Challenge 2020 that I participated in last July, I improved my personal best in the 10,000m race by more than a minute. Although I went into the race aiming for a personal best, I achieved a result that exceeded my expectations, and I realized the importance of daily training. Also, this competition included strong athletes from corporate teams across the country, so by running with them, I was able to learn about race strategy and how strong athletes run. For me, this competition was not only about setting a new personal best, but also about learning how to get closer to my goals. It also became a catalyst for me to aim for even greater heights.

My current goal is to run the 10,000m in under 29 minutes. To reach the standard time in the 28-minute range for the All-Japan Intercollegiate, I am working to improve my personal best by about one minute from last year. To that end, I now focus not only on running many long distances but also on training that prioritizes quality over quantity, running fewer runs at a faster pace than usual. J. F. Oberlin University Ekiden team has staff who support training and the coach closely monitor each athlete. I communicate my condition and goals to the staff and create training plans tailored to each situation, so it is important to clearly communicate my intentions. I feel that it is because of the support from the staff and the mutual backing among team members that I can always aim higher and keep running. For me, running means continuously chasing my goals. From now on, as J. F. Oberlin University ekiden team, we will continue to run aiming for the 'Hakone Ekiden.'