Sports Day

This is a bit overdue (4th of Feb?), but I finally got around to uploading the photos from Kobe High School's sports day. It was basically a big hike up the nearest mountain and then a marathon.

We'd probably call this strange creature "cross country" back home, except that this one was about 689m taller and had blue lips.
They did warn me that it would be cold up the mountain so I made my own bed to some extent. My first mistake was probably agreeing to hike up instead of being chauffeured up in the Deputy Principal's car. By the time I realised it was only the uber-serious PE teachers who seemed to be in for the hike, it was too late to pull out. The space-age lycra skins should really have given it away.

Still, not wanting to look soft, I bravely started the hike up the mountain. Unfortunately it had been raining all night so the school oval had turned from dirt into thick mud which we had to navigate. My shoes are obviously Crocs in disguise, because by feet were reasonably soaked by the time I got to the other side. Chin up old boy, you'll be fine. It's not that cold... yet.

The hike started out reasonably easy, but it went on and on. Every time I looked up to see the blue trail of students in tracksuits stretching ever higher up the mountain, I felt like I was trying to go up the down escalator. Still, we kept catching glimpses of the shrinking city which kept me going. By this stage I was soaked with sweat and shame at how unfit I was. At about the 45 minute mark, the scenery finally changed and we found ourselves at the bottom of the biggest staircase ever - a monster of a stone thing that we couldn't even see the top of. Each step was about a foot tall and someone said there were 300 of them. Then someone else said we were only halfway. I killed them both and ate their hearts.

Legs having to be carried up, we finally made it to the top and plopped down for a rest. Thankfully the "halfway" thing was just a particularly cruel joke, and we only had about 10 minutes left after that. It was only when I saw the sign that I realised how bloody high we were - 690m, apparently. The city just looked like a big blob of grey. There was snow everywhere too, but I could have told you that before I saw it. It was a very special kind of cold that cut straight through my coat and found all my wet bits. My toes were numb within about 10 minutes and would remain so until I was back at sea level. I felt really sorry for the kids, who were about to start an 8km run. I would probably have remorselessly hurled myself off the side of the mountain if anyone suggested I join them.

I'm not going to say too much about the hot coffee cans in vending machines because I think the internet has heard more than enough about them already, but they really were a life (and hand) saver in this case. Incidentally, I think when I get home, coffee with anything less than 6 sugars just isn't going to seem right.  I don't know how something that sweet and milky can only have "17 kilojoules". I suspect some dark alchemy/Faustian bargains.

I mostly stayed in the gazebo trying to stay out of the wind and wrestled all the injured kids for heater space. I made sure I had a lift back well in advance. Once the winners of the run had been announced, I fell asleep in the car, fell asleep at my desk and then nearly fell asleep in the bath when I got home. I'm kind of glad I did it now that it's over - it was just about worth it for the view. That bloody cold though - just thinking about how far below zero it was is making my toes twitch.