This year marked the first race in three years, and since no course maintenance had been done in 2020 or 2021, vegetation along the course had grown so thick that the trail was nearly impossible to find in some areas.

We started by reconnecting the course. We also opened up three new trail sections this year.

On the 100-mile course, approximately 200 meters before the highway crossing past the National Myoko Youth Outdoor Learning Center aid station, we rerouted the course off the road to ensure runner safety.

Race producer Hiroki Ishikawa studied topographic maps, entered the dense vegetation, identified the best running routes, and cleared the trail. While runners may pass through in just a few minutes, the maintenance work took one to two days per section.

Typhoon No. 19 in 2019 severely eroded the river crossing area past APA Hotel & Resort Joetsu Myoko, making it impassable and forcing a course change.

The left photo shows the pre-typhoon condition where a bridge allowed river crossing. After the typhoon, the area was severely eroded as shown on the right, making it impassable. A detour was set along the Shiratakiri River. After passing Shiratakiri Bridge, the trail reveals a stunning view of the magnificent Mt. Myoko.

With the change of the finish location, we cleared the section between the former Iizuna Kogen Ski Resort slopes and Nariiwa Forest Road. Since very few people had entered this area before, it was littered with broken branches and fallen trees. Thanks to local runners, a beautiful trail emerged.

Thank you to everyone who helped!