Running the World by Nick Butter

Author:Nick Butter [Butter, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473567658
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2020-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

Japan

I landed in Tokyo a little after 7.30 p.m. It was dark, but the neon signs lit my path as I found my way through the maze of underground tunnels covered with Japanese writing. As always when arriving in a new alien land my first step is to find my accommodation, which was just around the corner from the famous Shibuya pedestrian crossing. I accidentally bought a first-class ticket, but it was much cheaper than expected, and the carriage was empty – just me and my huge leather recliner seat that was home for the next 80 minutes or so. With my eyes heavy, the carriage rocked me to sleep to the tune of that whooshing noise as the train hurtled along the tracks and in and out of tunnels.

Once I arrived in the heart of the city, I stopped at the Shibuya crossing with my luggage by my side and couldn’t help but stand and stare. I think everyone does this when they see it for the first time. Apparently Shibuya is the busiest intersection in the world; the crossing is like a living thing. It’s clean, manned with traffic police, and at peak times it can handle 3,000 commuters in a single 11-second crossing. It was coldish in comparison to the last few weeks. I wrapped up warm as soon as I could. I stayed for a brief time in the Millennials pod hostel, right in the heart of the student district of Shibuya. The small pods offered only a bed. And I mean only a bed. The key to my ‘room’ was an iPod – this in itself a world away from Manila. Picture this: a double queen bed in a box with one end a fabric shutter and walls either side. Not only a key, the iPod can turn my pod’s lights on and off, tilt my bed into a sofa, and even set an alarm so the bed moves to wake me up. The toilets are also pretty fun – there are more buttons in the bathroom than in my entire house.

Despite the quirkiness of the hostel, I had absolutely no room to move, and my body was achy and sore. I made a snap decision to upgrade and move two miles out of town to an Intercontinental. I had no money and in hindsight this was a stupid decision, but I had room – a lot of it. I sprawled out in my clinically white room and got naked. I was in that mood where I just needed space and a deep clean. I sent off all my gear to be laundered, and I showered for a good hour before falling asleep in my towel. It was a luxury I couldn’t afford, but I went for it anyway. (Sorry, Dad.)

The world marathon majors were on my list to complete during the expedition. These are six of the biggest marathon events in the world and despite not actually needing to run them to accomplish my

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