Pre Race Acai Bowl in Kyoto!
Anyone who knows me knows just how particular I am about my diet! I personally believe that the way I have eaten for the past 13 years is one of the biggest factors behind my success in sport. Do I believe that eating a plant based, wholefood diet will improve your performance?! It is unlikely. But from my personal experience, I am able to recover from very tough workouts EXTREMELY quickly. In fact - whereas it used to take me a couple of weeks or more to fully recover from a kickboxing class, after my change in diet I am now able to run 165km races and go hiking or running again the very next day! 

The calm before the storm! There was a lot of nervous tension you could literally FEEL at this point. The monks from Enrakyu-ji came out and spoke, as well as some of the professional runners from Japan and abroad. This really heightened the atmosphere and made me realise how awesome and magical this event was going to be!


Getting to meet and hang out with an Ultra running world champion who was invited and flown across from the USA to compete against the Japanese runners.
Seeing him overtake me and shout out 'You're doing amazing! You can do it David!' made my day! He ended up coming in third place, despite being extremely jetlagged from the flight. Incredible!
He even took the time to email me after the race and send me some kind words. It is humble champions like Joe Grant that make this sport so special.

12,100 ft and 50km later I finished!

I have competed in many ultramarathon's both in the UK and abroad, and I can honestly say that this was my favourite of all time. 

Running 50km, up and down Mt.Hiei 6 times is a powerful tool for growth!
The director of this race is a well known ultra runner from Japan, and his goal behind this event was to push people to their absolute physical limit and then beyond it. Many people quit when they experience this immense pain and complete shutting down of their body. But once you can mentally control these feelings, you are capable of achieving anything.

We have a choice to stop when we feel discomfort in life, and in this context, when you are already feeling like you can't go any further after only 10km and one ascent and descent of Mt.Hiei, you have to mentally force yourself to continue. It is only when we go through this process (it maybe happened 20 times on this race!) that growth (both mentally AND physically) is able to occur. 

What a crazy, incredible weekend. 

I am still feeling the adrenaline from it today!

Next stop - Koyasan Ultramarathon in June.
I can't wait! :-)

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.

David