It’s been quite the week but we’re almost there. We’re only two marathons away from Cape Sata, our final destination for this trip, but we’ve had a rough time this week trying to get there… and our week started in such a relaxing way in the hot baths of a Japanese onsen.

👟 Weekly Summary

Monday - Day 72 - Beppu Rest Day

We got up late and stayed indoors, planning the last couple of weeks of our trip. We'll have 8 more days of running, followed by a few days off in Kagoshima before we fly back to Hanoi. The target is to finish on Day 80.

To prepare for such endeavours, we had a soak in an onsen, and then had dinner. That's about it. Such a lazy day.

Tuesday - Day 73 - Beppu to Nakadake (70.59 km)

We left Beppu and immediately ran into problems. I needed to stop at the first convenience store for the loo. I had an upset stomach and would need to stop at every possible toilet opportunity over the next hour.

The first section of running was a long road along the sea. It would have been beautiful if I hadn't been concentrating more on getting to the next loo stop. Once we reached Oita, the Imodium had kicked in. Even though my stomach felt uncomfortable, I was able to push on.

Today we started with two options for camping: a very short day of 33 km, or a 66 km day. Even with my stomach problems, the aim was the latter. Cold weather was coming in, and we wanted to get over the hills and to the coast before it hit. That meant putting in a big day.

We pushed hard through the day, Joy working hard cycling uphill, and with me occasionally pushing the bike. Once we were out of the town, we were in some fantastic countryside, amongst the best we'd seen since before Kyoto. It felt great to be out, but with the afternoon ticking along, we had to keep working hard to make the distance.

We kept going well into the dark. Joy struggled on some of the uphills, and later I struggled on the downhills. But the road was quiet and had a large pavement. The tunnels often had a barrier between the road and the pavement, so even if there was some traffic, we'd have felt safe.

We made it down to our campsite shortly before eight. It was a beautiful night with a big moon and clear skies, but not long after the tent was up, I was ready to sleep. The day had taken a lot out of me, and I was shattered.

Wednesday - Day 74 - Nakadake to Nobeoka (43.75 km)

We woke up on and off from around 5.30 am as the wind attempted to flatten our tent. We were in no mood to rush today, so we kept snoozing. We were only ready to leave at 9, but with a short day planned, it was nice to have a relaxing morning. We'd camped in a valley next to a river, and if there was a convenience store nearby, I could easily have been tempted to spend another night here.

As we set off, someone who lived nearby stopped for a quick chat. He wished us good luck as we pushed the bike uphill towards Totoro. The village had been called Totoro since before the movie was made, but now it had a Totoro bus stop, with a few signs and figures for photographs. It made a nice little stop on our way downhill.

Most of the day would be a long downhill along a main road, with a collection of tunnels to hide the scenery, but they at least prevented any big uphills. There was plenty of pavement along the road, and little traffic, so we could enjoy the day.

I was slow today, tired and sore, paying for yesterday's long day. This was fine for the first 30 kilometres or so, but in the last ten I really began to struggle. By the time we hit the marathon, when I stopped at a Lawson, my vision struggled to keep up, and everything looked like it was still moving. At least we had a hotel to retire to, and to hopefully recover before another short day tomorrow.

We're only 250 km away from the end now, and with 6 days remaining on the clock, we can make every day a short 40-kilometre day.

Thursday - Day 75 - Nobeoka to Hyuga (22.71 km)

Well, that idea of making every day a short day went out the window. I spent half the night awake as my knee locked up. It started with no way of getting comfortable and soon turned into no way of relieving the pain. For a time, I wondered whether I would even be able to leave the hotel.

By morning, I could at least put weight on it. And so we packed up after breakfast and set out with a late start and knowing it would be a short day. I unpacked my poles to help take the pressure off my legs, and after a few kilometres of walking, I attempted to break into a trot. I'd make a couple of other soon-aborted attempts before settling into a limping shuffle for the rest of the day.

At least the sun was shining, and I still enjoyed being out there, but there was that slight lingering fear that if my knee doesn't clear up soon, I won't make it to the end in time. It was frustrating not to be able to break out into a run. While I limped on, Joy had to cycle absurdly slowly, or get off her bike and push. My lack of pace made the day more difficult for her, too, but she kept our spirits up as we plodded on.

And that's the day, really, a plod. Six hours to cover a half-marathon. With a fully working knee, I'd have covered twice that distance with today's flat roads. As it was, we had to settle for a hotel in the hope my knee would recover in time for tomorrow's run. I've already made the average distance needed for the next few days a little bit harder.

Friday - Day 76 - Hyuga to Kawaminami (32.06 km)

Another disrupted night of sleep, this time, the pain in my knee had shifted. It was another morning where I struggled to stand properly, but that got easier as my knee warmed up.

We set off at 9, which was later than I'd hoped, but probably a good time to start, as it was clear I couldn't push for a whole marathon today. Within an hour, I'd settled on a 30 km target for the day. Enough to keep the average remaining daily distance realistic, but not sufficient to prevent further recovery. I know we're going to need some long days to make it, but today wasn't that day; today was still about recovery.

We'd benefited from being indoors overnight, and despite the cold nights, the mornings felt warm enough while the sun was shining. It was perfect conditions for running. If only I was in any condition to run.

As we marched on, my knee felt better, but my hamstring was still too tight to risk running. I attempted a trot for around 10 metres before saying nope and going back to walking. But at least by the end, I was able to walk at a more reasonable pace, even if it was only 6 km/h.

The hardest part of the day was feeling the time drag. It somehow felt worse when unable to run. All I could do was concentrate on using my walking poles and keeping my feet moving quickly with short steps.

We didn't even get far along the sea today. We could have had a longer seaside run if I were fit and able, but we stuck to the shortest (and most boring) route possible. Following a main road all the way to our hostel for the night, before we hopefully head out for an early start tomorrow.

Saturday - Day 77 - Kawaminami to Miyazaki (51.63 km)

We didn't quite have the earliest start, but I was moving better than the past few days. It was still going to be a walking day; my knee was sore, but my hamstring was the real barrier to running.

I could walk quickly and relatively pain-free, which gave me confidence that we'd do the distance we needed to today. It was all main-road running, which meant things were a little tedious at times, but that made it easier to concentrate on getting the distance done.

We stopped at a drugstore for lunch and some more ibuprofen. My knee was looking better today, but I still planned on a low dose in the evening to help me sleep.

After about 30 kilometres, I found I could jog a little. I ran/walked for the next 10 kilometres through Miyazaki, and it felt great to finally be able to move my feet properly again. I'd accepted that I might not run again on this trip, which made the little jogs a pleasant surprise.

On the way out of the city, we decided where to end the day. We had the option of 50 km or just over 60, with some bonus uphill. We chose the shorter day to protect my knee and give me time to recover.

We arrived at a deserted park by 6.30, and set ourselves up in a quiet corner. We started plotting tomorrow's route and found no campsites or places to stay within striking distance. We decided that rather than split the last three days 50-50-50, we'd aim for 70 km tomorrow, and 80 km over the final two days. With that decision made, we headed straight to sleep, ready for a ridiculously early morning.

Sunday - Day 78 - Miyazaki to Shibushi (74.74 km)

We got up before sunrise, aided by the light of an almost full moon. It wasn't too cold out, and it was remarkably dry, which made packing the tent much easier. We left the park by 6.30 and were drinking warm tea from the nearest 7-Eleven before the sun was up.

After a short walk, I was ready to run, or at least jog, and that jogging would continue for most of the day. By our next convenience store, I was already confident I could make the 70 kilometres we needed to make, so we booked our place to stay and carried on.

There were plenty of hills, especially in the early and latter parts of the day, which tested Joy as much as me. With my legs as they were, she had to push the bike up the hills. By lunchtime, we were at the 40 km mark, and despite a little mistake which added a couple of mistakes, we kept plodding on and chipping away at the distance.

We were over the last big hill before dark, and it was only really on the way into the village and towards our room for the night that I started to feel some sharp pains in my foot. Not bad, given how I was earlier in the week, and we are back within striking distance of finishing on time.

☀️ Photo from the Road

🚀 Next Up

Two more days to go… we’ll be finishing up the YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and stories, then taking a little break before we start the main YouTube videos.

🏁 Finish Line

That’s all folks.

Thank you for reading and for all your support.

Take it easy,

Phill