Heartbreak Hill

The term “Heartbreak Hill” usually refers to the infamous hill twenty miles into the famed Boston Marathon course. Legend has it that this name was coined in the 1936 version of that classic foot race, when Ellison Brown passed Johnny Kelly on the hill, gave him a pat on the back and “broke Kelly’s heart.” A wonderful story from an amazing race. A less wonderful story from a non-race was my attempt at running Japan’s version of “Heartbreak Hill” yesterday. The hill I am referring to is the infamous 5th stage of the iconic Hakone Ekiden, the stage with the seemingly endless hill that snakes its way from seaside Odawara city to near the top of Mt.Hakone. For the purpose of transparency, and to highlight my less than amazing level of fitness, I began my ascent halfway up the hill, outside the door of my hotel in the sleepy hamlet of Kawakudani. As the pre-dawn light slowly poked its way into my room and tempted my Asahi-super-dry-induced slumber to come to a less than glamorous end, I laced up my shoes and headed for the enticing elevation awaiting me. Two minutes into my climb, I noticed a large sign warning of monkeys coming onto the road, and being not entirely sure as to what the possible hazards of that might be for a sunrise jogger, I plodded on.  Five minutes into my climb, and I was fishing around in my pockets for the receipt for my cardiovascular system, as surely it wasn’t working as advertised.Ten minutes in, and my quadriceps took on the persona of a three-year-old in the supermarket not getting the chocolate they desired, and started screaming and throwing a tantrum at my mind for forcing them into this Sunday morning foolery. Twenty minutes in, and I started wishing that a monkey would suddenly appear as the signs enticingly displayed, banana in hand, and I could take a break and chat about the 98.8% of DNA that we share.Thirty minutes in, a rare break in climbing enabled me to take a huge gasp of the most refreshingly beautiful mountain air, cast a look to my left and see an inspiringly stunning vista. At this point, my quadriceps grew up and stopped their tantrum, my cardiovascular system began working as advertised, and I realized how very lucky I am to have the opportunity to run in such an exquisite location.Then it was back down the mountain to my hotel, happy in the thought that the hill didn’t quite break my heart!

•