Half Marathon in Kobe 2011神戸バレンタインラブラン

It is the day before Valentines here in Japan. The day before women around the country must give chocolate and gifts to their boyfriends, husbands or special someone’s. That’s right. In Japan, Valentines is a one-sided affair. Men have to give their gifts and whatnot a month later on March 14th, aka, White Day!

In Kobe, the Sunday before Valentines Day is when thousands of people descend upon Port Island for the Kobe Valentines Day Love Run (Half Marathon) 2011神戸バレンタインラブラン．

This is my third year in Japan and I have run this half marathon my first two years here. I intended to run again this year, but like with the Kakagawa Marathon late last year, registration filled up much faster than expected and I didn’t get a spot (you snooze, you lose)! I wasn’t bothered too much since I have run it a few times in the past and to be honest, it isn’t the most exciting or scenic race course I’ve been on.

I did however take the opportunity to head out and watch some of the runners. I took some photos and some video as well. The weather was great and the day looked to be a huge success!


These are some of the race leaders running beside Kobe Gakuin University on Port Island. This was probably at about the 6-7k mark.


More people, front to mid-packers running beside some residence apartments at Kobe Gakuin University.


Folks enjoying themselves running past the Daiei building across from Kobe General Hospital. This was almost the half way point.


Here are a few videos I shot and uploaded to You Tube with my iPhone (quality isn't the best):






Now, today I am suffering from a cold, but really wanted to go out and watch. I made a video when I ran this race in 2009 and when I just watched it this evening was surprised that I actually had a chest cold on that day as well!

Here is my video blog of the race from 2 years ago (I'm dying from a chest cold as I type this blog tonight as well!):



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Sunday Half-Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the Kobe Valentines Love Run Half Marathon for the second time. It was supposed to rain on Sunday, but ended up being a beautiful sunny day. I bested last years' effort by several minutes. I ran the half in 1 hour 45 minutes and 39 seconds. I'm feeling pretty confident leading up to the Tokyo Marathon. The only thing that makes me a little worried is that I haven't had the chance to put in some serious long runs. I have only had a few of 25 kilometers or more.


The shirt was given for participating in the run. This year it was a technical fabric shirt which is cool because I can use it for running, but I suppose I really won't feel very masculine while doing so!



I've been following the story about director Kevin Smith being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for "being too fat" for the last few days. I'm a huge Smith fan and love listening to his SModcast podcast. Yesterday in an "emergency" SModcast, he railed about the whole situation. Very entertaining to say the least. I hope Kevin Smith gets a few heads rolling within their organization!

Director Kevin Smith told he was 'too big' to fly
Clerks director Kevin Smith has revealed he was asked to get off a plane in the US because he was too big for the seats.
The 39-year-old claimed a pilot ejected him from the Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, California, saying he did not fit in a single seat.

Smith complained about the incident on his Twitter account saying: "I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet."
Southwest issued an apology to the director via Twitter and its website.

In a statement titled Not So Silent Bob - a jovial jab at the Silent Bob character Smith plays in several of his films - the airline said: "We would like to echo our tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you."

The statement continued: "Our pilots are responsible for the safety and comfort of all customers on the aircraft and therefore, made the determination that Mr Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight." Read more at BBC