MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- She triumphs over the land of Japan. Her humble beauty fogs her unforgivable features. She is a challenge to all, submissive to none - she is Mt. Fuji.
Six Station residents participated, alongside more than 5,000 competitors from all over the world, in the 58th Annual Mt. Fuji Race, July 22.
The competition was split up into two races. The first race consisted of a 21 kilometer trek to the top of the mountain, and the second race was to the 5th Station, 15 kilometers up.
"I believe this race is the toughest race in Japan," said Tadamasa Uemura, Marine Corps Community Services IronWorks recreation specialist. "Fortunately, everyone was lucky because the weather was really nice that day."
For most individuals, hiking up Mt. Fuji is one thing; running up it reaches a whole different physical and mental level.
"I always like to challenge myself," said Brian Fogarty, competitor who came in at 2 hours, 12 minutes. "Other than that, maybe it'll inspire other people to challenge themselves too."
"I wanted to run it for the sense of accomplishment," added Jaramy Dodge, who finished in 2 hours, 27 minutes. "Who can honestly say they ran up Japan's toughest mountain? I can now."
Breathing difficulties, fatigue, severe cramping and the terrain were just a few of the difficulties each runner had to endure.
"At first the road was paved with a slight incline and then gradually became very steep over a rocky dirt terrain," said Brian Hubbs, who crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 42 minutes. "Near the end I experienced sever cramping in both legs, but I pushed myself to finish."
"The trail going up was very, very steep," said William Schmidt, who completed the 15 kilometers in 2 hours, 20 minutes. "It was actually steeper than I thought it would be. You couldn't even run up it, you would have to walk. There was no way you could run up parts of this mountain."
"It was extremely challenging like nothing I've ever done before," said Fogarty. "I trained on the Kintai Mountain for about three months for this. The Kintai is a little bump in the road compared to this thing."
For these Station residents, there was no such thing as giving up. Crossing the finish line was each of their goals and nothing was going to prevent that. After taking their last step all of them were overwhelmed with feelings of accomplishment, and, of course, extreme fatigue.
"I was so happy when I finished the race, but I was also in a lot of pain," said Hubbs.
"I feel pretty awesome," added Fogarty after finishing the race. "But I am not looking forward to tomorrow."
"There were so many times that I thought they were going to have to pull me off the mountain," said Dodge. "But when I ran through the finish line, I felt so proud, a sense of accomplishment. It was everything I expected and so much more."