Vegan Marathoner Podcast

Today it is called Maeda Forest Park. It is easy to find in online guidebooks, Sapporo tourism sites & Trip Advisor. But there’s no direct mention of a samurai linkage. Previously, the Maeda Family lived here. I think. Or, someone somehow connected to this family. Perhaps. A local told us about a hidden connection with this famous family of samurai who ruled much of west-central Japan from the 1500s until the mid-1800’s. Their domain was “second only to that controlled by the powerful Tokugawa family.” (Britannica.com)“They were the daimyo, or lords, of Kaga Province (now part of Ishikawa Prefecture).” (Britannica.com)I cannot vouch for any direct connections and am not sure how a park in the central region of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido ended up with the Maeda name; however, I can state certifiably that this is a wonderful little nook for running. A colonnade of bright white poplar trees line the pathway at what I presume is the main entrance to the park. Even on a clear, sunny day in late August there were no more than a dozen of us in the park during our late morning-early afternoon run. Several days later, there were many loads more during the Hokkaido Marathon when the same entrance off the main road—just across the street from the empty river pathway seen in my previous post—transformed into an aid station, complete with a man shoveling “snow” from a pile on the granite entryway, with depleted runners scooping it up readily beneath burning sun overhead. I’d never seen that before. Wet sponges were being chucked around. Some marathoners we’d been cheering on over the past 45 minutes or so lay prone on cots receiving medical attention. (I empathize with their plight.)Scorching sun was burning up the runners at around the 14 mile mark of a 26.2 mile course. It was still warm the day we ran in the park, but not quite so intense. We also had the luxury of a 1-hour or so jaunt vs. the sometimes seemingly endless march of a marathon distance. Passing the poplars, following a curve just past the reflection pool—600-meters around—straight ahead into the shade of fragrant pines, with one of the only other parkgoers coming directly at us on a bicycle. Or, were we going directly at him?? This being Japan, there are two things to note about this normally forgettable encounter: * I was confused yet again about which side of the pathway we should run on. Road traffic in Japan is on “the wrong side,” (read: left), so most folks on most sidewalks and pathways stay at left, too. However, sometimes in some places this inexplicably is just not the case with most folks back on “the right side,” literally & directionally. * The Japanese man said nothing, slowed to a stop so as not to endanger us and gave us his right of way to pass. He did not seem annoyed at all, although I could not blame him if he was. We wound our way around this estate, searching for any sign of a home or historic ruins. Following a seemingly abandoned road we followed it…straight out of the park! Turning right, we continued along just a regular countryside road and at that point we may as well have been running in Nelson County, Kentucky. It reminded me of some of the quiet country roads surrounding the bourbon distilleries—places from which I do not imbibe of anything save the bucolic surroundings of bluegrass, whitewater smoothing over limestone, rolling fields of cows & horses and the packs of farm dogs I must at times escape from. Nary a car drove past us along the straightway, as we went past a larger truck (still smaller than an American semi-size truck). Turning right at the first cross-street, I figured we’d get to another entrance of the park. Soon, we re-entered by some soccer fields with an interesting little coffee shop nearby, covered intriguingly with USA license plates—but, regretfully, not one from Kentucky. Also, beware: coffee shop only open weekends & holidays. Heading towards the middle of the park, traversing little steps downhill on the pine needle blanketed forest floor, we then shot out into a small field of grass with a little stand of trees. There seemed to be ruins of some kind, a circle of large stones with gaps between them. Almost like they demarcated the doorways of a building—a home?—which seemed to have once stood on the site. Could this have been the place where a prominent samurai family once lived?Glancing around for historical markers, there seemed to be none. Just snow white flowers blossoming at left. A quiet peace pervading. Ending up behind a structure under renovation, we clamored over a railing and onto a long covered walkway. Looking out into the distance was a stunning sight:Just below, a European-style garden with narrow brick pathways. A long colonnaded walkway descending on each side. Reflection pool just ahead of the garden. But the real pièce de résistance—-Mount Teineyama directly ahead. If it had been snowing, I would’ve needed to be picked up because the sight of a winter wonderland would have floored me. As it was with royal blue sky, billowy cotton white clouds & a tapestry of greenery weaving the scene together, it was still a show-stopper which did quite literally stop me in my tracks. Just imagine that bad boy with snow atop its crown. We ran straight into the garden area, zig zagging as we traversed every little segment of the brick pathways. Could this have been the Maeda family’s European-style garden? Were we running in the footsteps of the samurai?Only after the garden running did we loop around the reflection pool.If only a snowfall had begun…yet, it remained a wondrous site, this little nook of the world tucked away so close to the mountains and the sea. The city center a mere 12-15 kilometers away but it may as well be a world away.Sapporo—-such a quiet place. Two million people?? Perhaps they all live within a mile of the city center & nightlife district. Maeda Park encapsulates the reason why Sapporo is such a prime place for running; almost as though it was built for runners. There are so many wide open spaces devoid of most people. Long river pathways, short canal pathways, unnaturally quiet neighborhood streets, a beautifully wooded university campus, cheeky gravel trails popping up here and there. All of this surrounded by stunning mountains with the Sea of Japan nearby. Chuck the guidebook onto the couch & go out to explore…And don’t forget to pick up a coffee on the way home. NOTE to Readers: Although not yet the promised Otaru running tale as mentioned in my previous post, I hope you nevertheless enjoyed this glimpse of a gorgeous nook of Sapporo. VIDEO CREDIT: Wang Chengye This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

The funny thing is, we never even made it to the arts-filled park. That was an initial plan drawn from some research I’d done pre-trip. I thought for sure we’d run there and that Chengye could also pop into some crafting workshops within the park. Primarily, I expected us to be running along the Toyohira River pathway in the center of Japan’s 5th largest city—like, on a daily basis. I’d read runners discussing its half-marathon + distance, with easy add-ons to a nearby university and some smaller parks and it seemed like the ideal spot for daily maintenance running. We also made a point to include a Half Marathon Challenge in our trip up north to help kickstart a new cycle of training. And what better time than while in JAPAN—on the shortest of short lists of the world’s greatest nations—and further northwards in late August where it would be cooler?*And that’s the funny thing about traveling…finding the unexpected whilst not doing what was expected. We barely even touched the Toyohira pathway (!), only running a tiny segment of it one night—ONE time—in a week spent in Sapporo. That time would not have even happened had it not been for us dropping our stuff spontaneously by some trees next to the pathway (——then coming back after what turned out to be a nice lil’ progression and changing beneath an awning straight out of Arachnophobia, huge spiders descending from webs directly over, first, Chengye’s head and then soon thereafter over my own). So, why in the heck were we not hitting the “hot spots” of Sapporo that everyone else was raving about? How could we have not even visited Odori Park in the middle of the city (although I did visit a bookstore by the Odori subway station twice; great spot for picking up newspapers)? Well, this is the magic of what happens while staying away from the city center—in a suburban-like neighborhood a mere 25-minute bus ride from what seemed like the closest part of downtown. Kazue’s home in the very quiet Kita-ku area of Sapporo—enroute towards the smaller city of Otaru—opened up a whole new world different from the typical guidebooks. Within these environs we ventured into little worlds previously not researched. Two blocks from “home” was an entirely different riverfront pathway, set down bank from the streets above. Seemingly virtually unused, it was a lushly green, peaceful place with asphalt path—occasionally crossing over some stones or bricks overgrowing with wild grasses—stretching on for what must be at least a couple of miles one-way. I’m still curious how far it goes on for, but going towards the sea we definitely found its terminal point. From there, we jaunted out into another new world of quiet roads traversing an industrial park. Doesn’t sound too welcoming, does it? Industrial park. However, if one takes the path less traveled to the side of one of these factories at road’s end, one is led along a beautiful gravel trail beside a channel of water leading directly to a beach and the Sea of Japan. Truth be told, the channel view is the best part. It feels so wild and looking out into the distance in between stands of small trees and vegetation, one feels worlds away from the 2 million folks living in Sapporo (although even that was always hard to believe because outside of the city center’s nightlife district, everywhere else is so calm and quiet, if not devoid of virtually all people in many places). Once upon DREAM BEACH (actual name), it’s a mixed bag of sorts. Hitting the sand is wonderful—as the soft sand replaces hard asphalt and stone. Salty sea air and tiny piping plover-like birds…wind gusts over the grassy dunes beneath hot sun…gazing out over miles of sea water in the distance…Emerald mountain ridge lines float out to the waterline, as if they are marching out into the open sea. But also a beach desperately in need of a beach clean-up, Florida-style. A bunch of us needing to descend upon its sand to pick up the loads of trash washing ashore. It’s sad. There remains beauty when one sees the essential nature of the place beyond its contamination by modernity. A ramshackle wooden outdoor cafe where everyone seemed to know everybody else found us washing up upon its shore at beach’s end. Shirtless Rastafarian-looking local guy with rainbow-colored hair extensions, skin deeply tanned, sold us some very overpriced ginger ale in 1950’s-type glass bottles. An older gentleman nearby rocked in a hammock as he burned to a crisp beneath the blazing sun. Everyone seemed surprised by us sauntering into their midst, but welcomed us onto their seemingly private club patio. Rasta guy asked for a pic with us—but he never asked us to send it to him. He posed wildly with tongue out, Hawaiian-like hand gestures. Then we were up and over the jetty cutting this beach off from its next segment, found by crossing over a bridge behind the cafe. Not much later—not much at all—we needed more fluids so we hit up the ol’ Japanese stand-by—a Lawsons full of its COLD 100% fruit juice selections. I love that stuff. And it’s so cheap by American standards. We stood out front of the konbini (convenience store), drinking our beverages, just across a narrow road from the beach with the Sea of Japan leading the eye far out onto the horizon. It felt a lot like being back in Florida, Satellite Beach-like, c. ‘92. Good feelings, good times. We wanted to keep running through the narrow beach town streets towards the nearby city of Otaru. I wanted to revisit The Garage just down the way for its winter cabin aesthetic—complete with wood burning cast iron fireplace—and excellent hand drip coffee. We’d gone there the one other time we ran through town—the day when the footage in the short video above was filmed. Alas, Chengye needed to return home by a certain time for another woodworking workshop with Kazue, a professional woodworker. We’d brought transit cards expecting to take a bus home, but figured we could more efficiently just run, even though it was like another 8km home and that number stung a bit considering I was already pretty well spent from the sun’s intensity beating me about the head. Running home through so many oddly quiet neighborhood streets we were able to get a real feel for what it would be like to live within such peaceful environs, where folks place a real premium on quiet, not bothering others.** [In a full week in this city of 2 million, I heard a grand total of 2 vehicles honking.]The architecture I’ve seen in many Japanese neighborhoods over the years has not been particularly eye-catching, it’s very different from the much larger (and at times ostentatious) diversity of styles I’m accustomed to in the US or even China. However, it is supremely functional, practical and with so many relatively smaller homes so close to one another alongside so many dollhouse sized streets, usually with a river or small canals nearby, it all comes together to form such a neatly organized whole. Together with the general atmosphere of safety, quiet and cleanliness, it becomes impossible to doubt the top-tier benefits children in Japan have while growing up within such surroundings.I actually thought these precise things, among other thoughts, as we ran our way through such precisely organized neighborhoods, occasionally compelled to say aloud: “They’ve put together a real nice society here.” It just cannot be doubted. Interestingly, what are considered “weeds” in the USA are allowed to grow freely along the streets of Sapporo, leading some sidewalks to become exponentially narrower as nature reclaims its space. Wildflowers and wild plants sprout from every direction, looking like miniature forests in places. Some plants have grown taller than me. It’s quite fascinating from an American perspective, where such greenery would’ve been long since mowed down with complete abandon, leaving bare concrete in its place. Back through the park with breathtaking mountain views in the distance, where we huddled with polite 9-year old school boys and an older gentleman beneath an awning during a rainfall a few days before. Good vending machine fare there, too. I can never get over how good their vending machine cold green teas are. And every machine indeed has green tea, believe you-me. 1980’s phone booth on the street side. Larger than average homes across the street. Yes, I could definitely live right about there. We’d discovered a little woodland trail that just came out of nowhere in front of us within another neighborhood. It was a bit overgrown, but offered respite from the sun. Nearby, we ran through tall grasses, cross-country style, and I’m happy there were no chiggers nor ticks to report of (soon thereaft, I read how Hokkaido does have ticks, though). We ran down a short but sweet gravel road connecting two streets, sunflowers on our right. We said “konichiwa” to a city worker on the sidewalk, who responded in kind. I found a Japan News in the Seicomart konbini near home. It’s a Hokkaido chain and this was the only place outside of the city center where I could find an English language paper. A few days before, I ran back to Kazue’s with it in my bag. In a light rain, we made our way down bank to the Shinakawa River, then rejoiced in having our own running path as we made our way home. Passing by Maeda Forest Park just above us, reminded of yet another place we had not known about pre-trip. A gem of a little park comprised of the estate of the Maeda samurai family. 600 meter loop around the reflection pool standing just before the ruins of the Maeda home, still encircled by long colonnaded walkways. If we’d stayed in the city center, if we’d taken only the advice of the guidebooks, perhaps we never would have experienced such places. When in doubt, do not fear to take the running path less traveled. *ended up being both Hokkaido & Japan’s hottest summer in history. Average temp around Sapporo during time we were there around 8-10 degrees Fahrenheit more than usual. **In 3 total weeks

WELCOME! In the second-ever Vegan Marathoner Podcast, we are meeting Top and Rose Taylor, in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Top is a United States Marine, having served in both the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was then a longtime Marine Corps Junior ROTC instructor and coach as well as legendary cross country and track coach at Louisville’s Seneca High School*. He coached me from 1993-96. Top’s influence is a major reason I am still running today. Top ran cross country for Louisville’s Shawnee High School. He continued running for decades and is known today for typically wearing cotton racing shirts from the 1980’s & ‘90’s. Rose is a Master’s runner extraordinaire who at one point held 4 regional records in the Kentuckiana area (Kentucky and southern Indiana region). 2 of her records still exist and are posted on the running board hall of fame at the Iroquois Park racing course, in South Louisville. She also won her age group in a National Master’s Cross Country Championship. Rose helped cheer me on in most if not all of my cross country races from 1993-96. Right alongside my Papaw. TWO NOTES RELATING TO THE SHOW:* Yared Nuguse is the Louisville athlete named whose name we could not think of off the bat. He was Kentucky State Champion in cross country, before going on to run for Notre Dame and then won a bronze medal in the 1500m in the Paris Olympics ‘24. * Bobby Curtis is the runner from Louisville’s St. X high school who won 19 (!) Kentucky State Championship titles in track and cross country. He went on to run for Villanova—winning the 2008 NCAA 5000m title—before going pro. Our time with Top & Rose is great, but I’d also like to include you in the convo…**What stories would you like to tell about your running?**Where are your favorite places to run? Favorite races?**How long have you been vegan, or vegetarian?If you’d like to stay connected, please subscribe to the Vegan Marathoner Substack. I’d greatly appreciate it!Thank YOU for your support and for listening to Episode 2. Please check in weekly to the Substack for other bits and bobs, such as running travel stories, training info, more “Hidden Mickeys,” (episode 9 will be released next week) and new podcast episodes. At least one of something will be released each week.Hope to see you out there on the course, ~Kyle*where TV journalist Diane Sawyer and professional basketball player Wes Unseld graduated from“If you BELIEVE it, you WILL ACHIEVE it.”—Coach Johnson, Robert H., Wabash College (Indiana, USA)Source Music: Pearl Jam. “Rearviewmirror.” Vs. (Expanded Edition), Sony Music Entertainment compilation, 2004. (original Vs. album, 1993) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

WELCOME! In the first-ever Vegan Marathoner Podcast, we are in conversation with Robbin Trebbe, who has run around 70 marathons worldwide and helped develop the running side of businesses such as InterSport & Adidas. Time with Robin is great, but we’d also like to include you in the convo…**Have YOU run marathons? What stories would you like to tell about your running?**How long have you been vegan, or vegetarian?If you’d like to stay connected, please subscribe to the Vegan Marathoner Substack. I’d greatly appreciate it!Thank YOU for your support and for listening to Episode I. Please check in weekly to the Substack for other bits and bobs, such as running travel stories, training info, more “Hidden Mickeys,” and new podcast episodes. At least one of something will be released each week.Folks are welcome to find Robin at the following places—Strava: Robin TrebbeLinkedIn: Robin TrebbeFacebook: Robin TrebbeInstagram: runningrobinho“Believe It & You Will Achieve It”—Coach Johnson, Robert H. of Wabash CollegeSource Music: Pearl Jam. “Rearviewmirror.” Vs. (Expanded Edition), Sony Music Entertainment compilation, 2004. (original Vs. album, 1993) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

Dear Supporters, Hope you'll enjoy this video filmed & edited by Chengye. It was a great New Year’s adventure. Hope you’re well,KyleCredit: wangchengye.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

Hey Friends, Just a quick post with some video & pics from the December 1st Shanghai Marathon. I wasn’t registered, but ran alongside Chengye from this point on the course—the 23km mark—to the 41st kilometer (total marathon is 42.2km.). Beautiful conditions that day—cooler than usual for this race, and better organized from what I’ve heard. Shanghai has applied to become the 8th of the World Marathon Majors. Let’s see if our city here gets it——Jia you! Add oil!~Kyle This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

As Disney Legend Marty Sklar’s book advises, “Dream It,! Do It!” Join me for a whirlwind video tour of this 50k run (31 miles) around Hong Kong Disney Resort. Truth be told, I had not planned to do this the week before running up Shanghai Tower. But the FitFam November Challenge had to be completed at some point, and time was running thin. And what better place and time than while staying at Hong Kong Disneyland?Looking forward to hearing from you all—-What is a DREAM you have?Keep the Magic Alive, KyleVideo Credit: Chengye Wang— wangchengye.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

Thanks to Chengye Wang for the video production. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com

Music credit: John Carpenter, Halloween (1978) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veganmarathoner.substack.com