MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Station residents and Iwakuni city locals competed together in the 2011 “Heat the Streets” Duathlon here Sunday.
The Duathlon is an annual event sponsored by Marine Corps Community Services Iwakuni to strengthen bonds between station residents and Japanese locals.
“(The race) builds a sense of community amongst the athletes,” said Thomas F. Durning, MCCS Iwakuni SemperFit division athletics director. “When you do this event, you look around and see that everyone is going through the same thing during the race. When the Americans and Japanese get to compete against each other, they find that they are not too different.”
Besides Friendship Day, the races MCCS Iwakuni sponsors are the best way to allow locals access to the station.
“Many of the people outside the gates have no idea what the inside of the station looks like,” said Durning. “When we invite (locals) aboard the station to compete, it gives them a better understanding of the station and the opportunities available here for them. If the local people understand more about the station, they are more likely to support the mission of the station.”
Participants stretched out across the grass in front of IronWorks Gym before the race started, preparing for the challenge ahead.
The race started in front of IronWorks Gym with a four kilometer run to Penny Lake fields and back on the seawall. Participants then changed over to their bikes inside the bike rack area for a 24-kilometer biking portion. The last part of the race had participants place their bikes back in the racks and run for another four kilometers from the seawall to Penny Lake fields, finishing in front of IronWorks.
“I am grateful this event gave me the opportunity to come aboard the station and compete,” said Takuya Miki, Iwakuni city resident and male division overall winner, via a translator.
Miki was the first athlete to cross the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 17 minutes, 14 seconds.
“Work is what I have to do to provide for my life, but this is something more important than work to me; it is something I love to do,” said Miki.
Yasuyo Tonoyama, an Iwakuni city resident, was the overall female division winner with a time of 1:18:13.
“This is a great opportunity for Americans and Japanese to get together in sports,” said Mai Tajima, MCCS Iwakuni SemperFit division athletics recreation specialist. “How many events do you see where we bring so many Japanese people aboard the station? This is a great opportunity for participants, their families, JMSDF and U.S. active duty volunteers.”
While the event was sponsored by MCCS Iwakuni, it required the support of many departments within the station.
“There is a lot that goes into preparing for the event,” said Tajima. “You have to block the road and make an announcement to the local people. The clinic, (Provost Marshal’s Office) and everybody aboard the station helped. It took me about two months to prepare for this.
”The events MCCS Iwakuni host have started to become even more successful at bringing in Iwakuni city locals to participate.
“We did this same race last year and we had 65 participants,” said Durning. “This year we had more than 130, doubling our participation.”
There were six divisions total, three for males, two for females and one for team participants.
Trophies and prizes were passed out to the first, second and third place participants of each division.