20000 words from Athlete :
Nozomi Tanaka　Kaede Hagitani

Hagiya Kaede rolls her big eyes and searches for words as she speaks. Her Kansai dialect has a soft intonation. Her impression is slightly different from the way she looks during the race, staring straight ahead with her teeth clenched and her legs moving single-mindedly.

He says that when he was young, he was a child with strong barriers.

"He was what they call a 'bad kid' who found meaning in life by annoying people. But that was only with his family and those he trusted. On the other hand, he was a really 'good kid' with people he didn't open up to. So when he went to nursery school he was really well behaved, and would gently stop fights between his friends. But when he came home he would change completely and make a huge fuss. His angry parents would throw him outside, but he showed no remorse and continued to bang on the front door. When their parents finally gave in and opened the door, he wasn't crying, just acting completely blank. When his parents tried to talk to the nursery school teachers about it, they were told, 'He's such a good kid, there's no way that could happen,' and no one understood him...My parents still say that was painful for them. They often said, 'This child will either grow up to be a really bad person, or someone who accomplishes amazing things.'"

With a wry smile, he analyzes what happened at that time as follows.

"Ever since I was little, I've had trouble expressing my feelings to others. Even if there was something I didn't like, I couldn't say it in words. So I think I would act a little strangely to get my family's attention. I would pretend to be a good kid in public, but at home I would irritate my parents so they would notice how stressed I was... that was the kind of child I was."

Hagiya was already good at running when he was in elementary school. He was selected as a relay runner for six consecutive years at the sports day, and performed well alongside the boys in the marathon. Hagiya himself was already proud of his ability, and found running to be fun.

"I joined the track and field club in elementary school, but I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it. It wasn't the kind of club that had an 'We're practicing for a tournament!' kind of atmosphere, and I just played tag and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. But there was no track and field club in middle school, so I joined the basketball club instead. I planned to build up my basic physical strength through basketball, and then join the track and field club in high school. As I participated in track and field meets while also playing basketball, I started to run pretty well...and so, somehow, the teachers at the high school track and field club started to take an interest in me."

After graduating from high school, he went on to Nagano Higashi High School, a strong school in the prefecture. However, he says that he was often plagued by injuries during his high school years. He was able to run well up until the summer Inter-High School Championships, but as autumn approached, he began to feel something was wrong. Perhaps because he was weak in the cold, he often walked dragging his leg in the winter.

"So it was hard for me to practice consistently, and I didn't get the results I wanted. But when I was in high school, studying was the most important thing, and athletics came second. Of course, I loved doing it, so even when I got injured, I didn't feel that much pressure. But I just loved running. I didn't think I could do anything else but running, so even when things got a little tough, I never thought about quitting."

Although she didn't have a strong sense of purpose, perhaps because she felt relaxed, the distance between Hagiya and track and field gradually became closer. At that time, she had always wanted to run in the National High School Ekiden, commonly known as the "Miyakoji." Ever since she decided to do track and field in high school, she had wanted to run on that stage.

"But I was injured both in my first and second years, and didn't have a chance to compete. In my third year, I was determined to compete, but then I got injured three weeks before the competition... But I couldn't tell my teacher about it anymore. I really wanted to run in the Miyakodaiji, so for the next three weeks I practiced while hiding my injury. But right before the competition, the pain became unbearable, and I finally realized I had to tell my teacher. To express my feelings, I shaved my head with clippers."

I didn't have a hair clipper at home, so I went to a 1000 yen haircut. When I asked the hairdresser to cut my head, he told me "You should stop," but I didn't give in. On the way home in winter, it was a bit cold. Looking back on those days, he said with a laugh, "I can't do it now, so I kind of respect him."

"It wasn't like I shaved my head as an apology for getting injured at a crucial time. I thought that if I didn't convey that I felt that way, I wouldn't be allowed to run. I wanted people to know my determination, so I shaved my head. Thanks to that, I was able to run in the Miyakoji as scheduled, and I was able to achieve a satisfactory result."

He ran well in the second section, known as the section for international students, finishing in sixth place and contributing greatly to the team's second place finish for the second year in a row.
Ever since I was little, I've had trouble expressing my feelings in words. But I'm not afraid to take action. There's no point in doing the same thing as others, and I want to find my own way. Hagiya Kaede's self-expression is epitomized by shaving his head. By the way, this story has become a legendary one, and even now, when I get injured, the director teases me by saying, "Don't shave your head."

"I have fond memories of the Miyako-daiji race, but I won't shave my head again. It was fine when I was running, but it was really hard in my daily life. The girls' ekiden club at my high school were active all over the country, so when one of them suddenly shaved her head, everyone around us wondered, 'Did the teacher do it?' (laughs). I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you at the time."

During his high school days, he suffered some kind of injury every season and was unable to practice well. Of course, he would get anxious when everyone else was running and he was the only one walking. However, his long track and field career had only just begun. He saw this as a time to build a foundation and worked on the training he could do. Hagiya's strength is that he can face the things in front of him with a long-term perspective.

After graduating from high school, he decided to join a corporate team. While talking to several teams, he met Edion's coach Atsushi Sawayanagi. He participated in the Hakone Ekiden and New Year Ekiden as an athlete, and after retiring from active competition, he coached the track and field teams at Daihatsu and Edion.

"When I spoke with Coach Sawayanagi, I was immediately struck by him. I knew I wanted to aim for the world with him, and I thought he would be willing to fight alongside me. I chose him on that intuition alone, so I didn't attend any team training camps or go see the dorms beforehand. Normally, you come to observe the team about a year before joining the company, and get a feel for the team atmosphere. Because I didn't do that, even now when people ask me, 'Why did you choose EDION?' I can't really answer that well. All I can say is that I thought I could aim for the world."

That intuition would come true three years later, in the summer of 2021. It was at this time that his instincts as an athlete were clearly on point.

Hagiya's first year in the Edion Women's Track and Field Club was a relatively calm one. Although she ran much more than she did in high school, she was able to continue training without any injuries. In order to improve her 1500m, in which she placed 5th at the Inter-High School Championships in her third year of high school, she focused on speed training.

"I had planned to increase the distance in the future, so I think I was strongly aware that training for the 1500m was just building a foundation. Perhaps because of that, I didn't feel like there was any big change in my running ability or what I was doing. But even so, in the summer of my first year, I immediately saw results. I was able to place third in the Japan Athletics Championships and the All-Japan Corporate Athletics Championships, and won the National Athletic Meet."

What further changed Hagiya's tide was his impressive record in the 5000m, which was outside his field at the time. At the Hokuren Distance Abashiri race in July 2019, he pulled away from his rivals and set a personal best.

"Because I had been training mainly in the 1500m, I thought I might not have the strength to compete in the 5000m. However, now that the Japan Athletics Championships are over, I don't need to focus as much on the 1500m as I had in the past, so I thought I'd give it a try to broaden my horizons as an athlete."

It was just a passing interest, so to speak. Hagiya stood at the starting line, genuinely excited to see how well he could run in a sport he had little experience in.

"I really had a lot of fun. I had hardly practiced at all, so the 5000m race was a completely unknown world to me. I took on the challenge without even being able to imagine where it would get tough or where I should hold on. I just assumed I'd just keep up with the top pack until 3000m, and who knows what would happen after that! But that actually made it really fun...I was able to finish the race enjoying being close to the front. Of course it was tough after 3000m, and I realised that this must be the difficulty of the 5000m distance. But that gave me the confidence that 'I can still increase my distance'."

Even though it was a race three years ago, he speaks with such enjoyment that it seems the excitement he felt at the time still lingers within Hagiya, providing him with the motivation to compete again and again.

Having unexpectedly gotten a good response in the long distance race, Hagiya has been training hard in the middle distance races, using this as a talisman. In 2020, his second year at the company, he achieved third place in Japan's all-time record for the 3000m at the Hokuren Distance Fukagawa Race. He finished in 8 minutes 48.12 seconds, well below his target of nine minutes. In the following Hokuren Distance Abashiri Race, he also achieved the seventh-best time in the 5000m.

"Even while practicing, I could feel my strength gradually improving. I was always aiming to run under nine minutes for 3000m, so I was very happy. Around the summer of 2021, I was often too focused on my time and couldn't perform as well as I should have... But looking back, I think I wasn't really thinking about it at the time, and maybe that's why I was able to set records. However, now that I've joined a corporate team, it's important to aim to break records. It's difficult to strike that balance."

She also set a personal best in the 1500m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix Athletics 2020 Tokyo. In the Princess Ekiden, where she was on an upward trend, she set a new section record, just like last year.

"When I'm wearing the sash in a relay race, I feel a different kind of strength emerge from me than when I'm competing in an individual race. At the time, I had been injured just before the race, so I didn't imagine I could go that fast. But I just ran thinking about passing the sash on to the team, and somehow I set a new section record. Maybe having a clear goal of 'just do your job well' was good. I'm a simple person, so thinking too much about who's strong, what pace I should run at, and so on, in a race plan, can actually make me less successful."

She looks back on her experiences with ease, but you can see how she gradually unraveled herself with each race. When she achieved results, when she didn't. Why was she able to avoid feeling pressure, and how can she recreate good conditions? After many results and reflection, Hagiya gradually found her way to victory.

Despite such a brilliant debut, she also faced her first obstacle.

"When I first joined the corporate team, I felt strong-minded and like I could run no matter what. I was convinced that no matter how many injuries I had, I would always get back up, and I didn't want to stop. But... little by little, I started to find myself not improving my times, even though I was training properly. In high school, I was constantly injured and couldn't train as I wanted, so in a way I always had excuses. But now that I'm able to run this well, there's no excuse. I've started to feel down more and more as I've come across a wall for the first time."

Here again, the "bad boy" who has difficulty expressing his feelings briefly appears.

"In her first year, she was very good-natured, and the older members of the corporate team would say to her, 'Hagi-chan, you're such a good kid.' But she couldn't keep up that good behavior forever, and her true colors started to show from her second year onwards. If she couldn't train well, she would distance herself from the others and withdraw into her shell. She would often act like, 'I'm the one who's suffering the most,' in an attempt to get others to understand."

It was Coach Sawayanagi who dealt with Hagiya in place of his parents.

"The coach would pry me out of the shell I'd shut myself in. He'd say, 'You won't be able to compete in races like that,' and he'd do it by force. I'd know it was annoying at the time (laughs), but thanks to him, little by little, I'd become able to rely on those around me. I think it was all thanks to the coach, who never gave up or abandoned me, but always kept throwing himself at me."

Because they are unable to express their feelings well, they turn to people they trust or try to shoulder everything on their own. In the world of track and field, this is particularly problematic when an injury occurs.

"I didn't want to worry the people around me, so even though my legs hurt, I couldn't tell anyone and I ended up trying to deal with it on my own. After all, as an athlete, it's important to keep my body in good condition at all times. I thought that would lead to trust, so it was even more difficult for me to confide in anyone about my injury..."

Just before the Oda Kinen in April 2021, he had an injury that was not noticed by those around him. His legs were very heavy before the race, but he still insisted that he was in good condition and ran in the race. The results were, of course, disastrous. When he finally told his honest condition after the race, the coach said, "I hope you will continue to talk about it without hiding anything," and did not blame Hagiya.

"Because I'm human, there are times when I get tired or my legs hurt. Up until now I'd lied and hid things, but I realized that true trust comes from showing my weaknesses. I think I was afraid that people would find out my weaknesses and abandon me. I'd assumed on my own that I would be abandoned if I didn't produce results. But one day my coach told me, 'I'll always look after you until you retire from competitive running,' and I felt like everything was okay."

That being said, it's not like I can suddenly express all my thoughts well. Even now, the director and I are still in the process of trial and error.

"After practice or a race, I always talk to my coach. I understand that I should be honest about all the different situations, but I still can't express them well. Even if my legs hurt or I'm tired, I often just answer reflexively, 'I'm fine.' But my coach knows all about it, so when he's in doubt, he asks, 'Are you sure?' and probes me (laughs). He's really helpful."

Hagiya has complete trust in Coach Sawayanagi, not only in terms of communication but also in terms of instruction.

"He's always calm and says things that make sense. I get annoyed when he denies what I think is right, but he always explains things properly and with logic, so I'm always able to understand in the end. If he was like me, someone who can't express things well in words, I think we would just clash and it would all fall apart."

When he is not satisfied with the content of the practice, he sometimes asks what it means, expressing his dissatisfaction. Most of the practice is set at a relaxed pace. However, if Coach Sawayanagi clearly explains the purpose of the practice, Hagiya responds with his running. Even if he does not run according to the set time, it is OK as long as the purpose of the practice is achieved. No matter how fast he runs, if the purpose is not achieved, it is NG. Such practice is possible because of careful communication.

The director and I are on different wavelengths. That's why we have to use all the words we can to understand each other. But if we don't give up and keep facing each other, we can build a strong relationship of trust like this.

The end of her second year at the company was the Japan Athletics Championships cross-country race. In the women's 8km division, she won the race, beating the second place by nearly 30 seconds. Nozomi Tanaka, who had already secured a ticket as the 2021 summer representative for the 5000m, also participated in the same race.

"In high school, I did a lot of cross-country running in the mountains of Nagano. So I have no problem with running ups and downs or on uneven ground; in fact, I think I quite like it. Maybe that's why this time, rather than thinking, 'I'll get out in front and create the race,' I went into the race with the mindset of, 'I'll get out in front and create the race,' rather than, 'I'll stay in the lead pack until the end and win.' In normal races, I don't get out in front of others or pull someone along, so I thought it was really good to be able to experience that kind of race development first-hand. I think it was good that I thought, 'Even if I get a bad position, there's nothing that will affect me later, so I'll just go for it. I'm grateful that I won, but I was really happy to have been able to make this new discovery about my own running. However, with regards to this race, I feel more like, 'I was allowed to win,' rather than 'I won the race.'"

That being said, this race was Hagiya Kaede's. As she pulled away from the rest of the pack, you could sense the momentum she had been harboring.

"I always admire racers who can get the crowd excited in the final lap like Tanaka-san. To do that, not only speed but courage is important too. I don't think you can get to that stage without passion. That's why I want to have that kind of exciting race in the future."

I love running, and as I continued to run, I started to be able to run faster and faster. I didn't have to have a strong, long-range goal, just facing the race in front of me was fun enough. But little by little, Hagiya became greedy for running.

After the cross-country race at the Japan Athletics Championships, I hurt my legs and couldn't run for a while. I wasn't satisfied with the results in the 5000m at the Oda Memorial Athletics Championships, so I was still depressed when I took on the challenge of "READY STEADY TOKYO". It was hard to get my spirits up.

"I know that a strong runner can produce results despite feeling the pressure and expectations, but I'm still inexperienced, so it's not that easy. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it at this rate, so I ran with the feeling that I would at least try to go as far as I could."

Hagiya's theory is that she is fast when she doesn't have high expectations and just goes with the flow. In the same tournament, she made a fierce final sprint with one lap left to go, clocking in at 15 minutes 11.84 seconds. Although it was just two seconds short of the benchmark for the big stage, it was enough to make her presence known. Her performance in the 5,000m and 10,000m, beating the other athletes who had already qualified for the national team, gave her a strong boost in confidence.

"Of course, I would have liked to have finished in under 15 minutes, but at first I didn't think I'd get that close. However, from the moment I started running, my body felt light and my legs moved surprisingly well. Once I passed 1000m, my time didn't match what I felt physically, and there was a noticeable "gap" between us. I couldn't imagine what would happen from here, or how heavy my body would become, so I decided to just stay calm and carry on."

After the test race results, the deciding factor for the summer would be how he would perform at the Japan Athletics Championships. Determined to finish in the top three at all costs, he held repeated training camps at high altitude.
Hagiya looked a little apologetic as he recalled the pressure he felt at the time, saying, "My mood was up and down and I was taking it out on those around me." Perhaps he was pulled into that mental state and before he knew it, his body had become tense. He finished in fourth place at the Japan Athletics Championships, which was a poor result.

However, in July, Shintani Hitomi, who had been selected earlier, announced that she would be concentrating on the 10,000m. Suddenly, a spot on the 5,000m team became available. With her strong performance at READY STEADY TOYKO helping her rise up the world rankings, Hagiya now had a ticket to compete against the world.

"The month from when I got the job offer to the competition passed more smoothly than I expected. I just had to keep up with the training I had been doing and get into good condition. My only goal was to keep that good condition and run through to the end of the competition. I had been pushing myself really hard up until the Japan Athletics Championships just before the competition, so I think it was good that I had been able to build up experience there."

However, Hagiya is naturally feeling pressure as his participation in the tournament seems to have come out of nowhere in some ways.

"Since I was selected after Shintani-san declined, I thought I had to run in Shintani-san's place. There's no way I could replace Shintani, who is a very strong athlete. At first, my perspective was narrow, but after I was selected, I received so much support... and many people told me, 'Run like yourself, Hagi-chan.' After that, I was able to relax all at once.
In the first place, I'm sure the people watching don't really care how I became able to run the race. Rather than feeling pressured because of how I got there, I thought that my job as a representative of Japan was to run in my own way and achieve the best possible results. To do that, it was most important to be in good condition. I had the mindset of just going for it and giving it my all, so it was a lot of fun. I was really grateful that I was able to unexpectedly take part in the tournament in 2021, which I had vaguely hoped I would be able to participate in someday. If it had been held in 2020, I don't think I would have been able to participate, as I had almost no experience in 5000m races at all."

The big stage in Hagiya came as a result of the efforts he had accumulated up until that point and a series of coincidences. He finished with a time of 15 minutes 4.95 seconds, his personal best and the sixth best time in Japan's history, but he placed 12th in the qualifying round and was unable to advance to the finals.

"I still feel a bit disappointed that I was eliminated in the preliminaries despite setting a personal best. Tanaka, who competed with me, became the first Japanese athlete to reach the finals in the 1500m and lived up to the expectations that were placed on her, but for me it felt like I had simply been allowed to compete. I couldn't help but feel uneasy. But my coach told me, 'You weren't aiming for this result this time. It's a race that will lead to the next one, so that's fine.'"

Hagiya was happy to receive such positive words. But he also began to notice a passion for track and field bubbling up inside him.

"I want to race like Tanaka-san, where I can get the crowd excited in the last seconds, and I also want to race like Hironaka-san, pulling from the front. But when I said that to my coach, he told me that I just need to create a new charm for myself. Leading and exciting the race is an important role, but that's not all that an athlete is attractive. That said, I couldn't think of a charm that was unique to me, but he told me, 'Hagiya's charm is that he hangs on until the very end, making you wonder how far he can go'... He might run closely in second place, and it might be sneaky and stingy, but he still fights until the very end. I realized for the first time that that was my weapon, that I had a weapon too."

Hagiya continues, "It seems like he has become very greedy."

"While I will continue to treasure my own strengths, I also want to be able to put on spectacular races in the future. That's necessary if I want to compete on the world stage. For now, I want to just relax and start by building on what I can do, one thing at a time."

After participating in the competition, he has come to feel that being able to perform on a global stage is the strongest thing of all. "No matter how fast or slow I am in other competitions, I want to produce good results in this competition that takes place once every four years, where athletes from all over the world gather. I think that getting myself in shape to achieve that goal is the most difficult and important thing," he says, looking to the future.

Even after making it to the big stage, my daily training hasn't changed much. I just keep working hard with a broadened perspective and a newfound passion.

"In my regular practice, I value the 'plus alpha'. If I'm running for 60 minutes, I'll run for 65 minutes. If I'm training for 72 seconds, I'll run under 70 seconds. I'm afraid I need to be a little ahead of myself to always give 100%. If I train at 95%, I feel like I'll be pulled that way in the real thing too. At the EDION Women's Track and Field Club, the training isn't that difficult. If you just work at it normally, they'll put together a menu that you can do at 100%. That's why I need the extra alpha inside me."

The coach never pushes him to do more. But sometimes, when Hagiya goes too far, he is restrained. The other day, even though he was just a few days before the race, he was scolded for jock training for 90 minutes because he felt good. But when he's running that well, the results of the race tend to be good, he says, laughing mischievously.

"But I don't really like training that much. I slack off occasionally, so I feel like people around me think I'm a slacker, but the other day someone told me that I always train at a high level, which surprised me (laughs). But training aside, I want to enter any races I can. Races are just so tough, and during the race I sometimes wonder what's so fun about running...but in the end, the sense of accomplishment you get when you get good results is irreplaceable. I think I can't quit running because I want to experience that."

However, even though I like it, I still get nervous. I get excited a few days before, so by the time the day comes, my body naturally gets used to the tension and I'm surprisingly calm.

"Especially when I have had a good training session, I just can't wait to run. I'm so excited I can't sleep the night before. It's like a kid before going on a field trip. On the other hand, when I'm anxious, I sleep well. My sleep quality may be a good indicator of my condition before the race."

I'm talking with excitement right now, but once you actually start running, you're alone. All you can do is listen to your own rhythm and keep your legs moving.

"I'm often alone even when I'm training, which may be because I deliberately create that solitude for myself. Ekiden is a team sport, but I'm the only one running. This is even more so in an individual race. In ball games, you might be able to take turns, but in track and field, once you start, no one is there to help you. No matter what the situation, you have to keep moving forward, and you have to pass the sash on. I'm always alone when I'm running, but I think that solitude is something a runner needs."

Do you ever feel anxious when you're running alone? Do you ever feel anxious and lose sight of your surroundings during a race or practice? What can you do to convince yourself that it's okay to be yourself just the way you are?

"I believe that solitude is necessary to reach a level where I can compete on the world stage, and I choose that state of mind...but when I feel emotionally unstable, it's the staff around me who help me out. They're always looking out for me, and if I become too withdrawn, they'll pull me out even if it means doing something forceful. I think it's because I trust the people around me that I can be alone without worrying."

Another thing that helps Hagiya cope with his loneliness is the presence of his rivals who are also facing loneliness. When he sees the success of players of his generation, he feels unsettled, as is typical of young people, but at the same time, he is also filled with a positive fighting spirit.

"If we were to compete in the same race, I definitely don't want to lose. But it's also frustrating when I see other riders achieving good results in races where I'm not racing. If they're doing well in a field far from me, there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to admit this sense of rivalry, so I don't usually say it, but...it does bother me. I'm the type of person who gets too emotional, so it's no good for me, so I try not to think about it as much as possible."
He smiles and says that these days he tries not to look at who ran which race and how fast they finished.

In addition, the presence of his family, who have shaped Hagiya and supported him from the time he started running until today, is also indispensable. His mother, Akemi, was once a runner in a corporate team. How reassuring it must have been for him to have a family that understood his suffering and was always silently watching over his struggle.

"We keep in contact with each other all the time, but she never says anything about my competitions. Especially after a race, she never makes any comments, whether it went well or bad. That makes me feel really at ease. I'm sure she has a lot of thoughts, like, 'Maybe I should have run this way this time?' or 'Why didn't you move forward there?'...But my mother was a runner too, so I think she understands how I feel. But when I'm not satisfied with my race, I feel like I haven't made her happy, and I feel bad."

Once you make a decision, you follow through to the end - that's all his parents ever taught him. They never forced him to do anything, and they always supported the path he chose. "If I said I wanted to quit athletics now, they might say all sorts of things to me," Hagiya said, sounding somewhat proud and revealing his trust in his parents.

Before the 2020 Queen's Women's Ekiden, her older sister, who is two years younger than her, gave her a pair of lotus root earrings as a gift. The earrings were with the hope that she would be able to see the outcome of the race.

"When you make a wish, you become conscious of the contents of the wish, and somehow it seems like a good thing. But the results of that Queens Ekiden were not so good, so I only have resentment towards the lotus root (laughs)."

Although he laughs, he still continues to make wishes on his earrings. At the Japan Athletics Championships, he chose chopped okra to help him run tenaciously. At the Japan Athletics Championships cross-country race, he chose a golden frog to "jump up to a new me." He also chose a snail to help him stand out, and a ladybug, which has the habit of always climbing up...

"I'm shy, but I also like to stand out, so I want to make sure that people remember me when they hear piercings, so I'm continuing with them. But it's hard to find good piercings, and I've been running out of ideas lately."

He has been running steadily since he was young, achieving one brilliant result after another, but he is just a little over 20 years old. When I pour water over his trademark boyish short hair, he begins to talk with a more casual expression than ever before.

"I've always wanted to grow my hair out, but it just never works out. In high school, all the members of my team had short hair, so I decided to grow it out when I joined a corporate team, but I got annoyed and ended up cutting it. Last year, for the Coming of Age Ceremony, I tried my best to grow it out, but it still didn't go past my chin line. Now I'm trying to hold back and let it grow out again, but everyone keeps telling me things like, 'Short hair suits you, Kaede,' so I'm wavering in my resolve..."

New Balance, which he has had a contract with since 2021, has had a stronger image of being for town use than for athletes or sports. He was simply happy to be able to wear the brand.

"Tanaka-san, who signed a contract with us before me, always wore a cute uniform when she ran, so I was really happy when I heard about the offer. You see New Balance sneakers a lot when walking around town, and they're really stylish. I personally wasn't that interested in fashion up until now, and I always wore a tracksuit, even when traveling to training camps. But since joining the Edion Women's Track and Field Club, I've felt that I have to dress more appropriately when getting on the train or a plane. I usually wear simple clothes like skinny jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers, but I've finally started buying what you might call casual clothes. But it's fun to try out different clothes for my private life, too. I don't want to be super fashionable, but I do want to find clothes that suit me and that I'm comfortable in, and enjoy fashion in moderation. New Balance hoodies and pants are cute and easy to move in, so they make me feel good."

It has been four years since he joined a corporate team and began his journey as a runner. He has had a good start, setting many good records and participating in international competitions. This could be attributed to the fact that he has broadened his horizons by boldly challenging himself with the 5000m and other distances, rather than sticking to the 1500m and Ekiden that he has been familiar with for a long time. Hagiya says that each distance has its own appeal.

"The 1500m is the event I've run the most since high school, so it's interesting because I can see my own growth. Recently, I only have the opportunity to run about once a year, so I've been able to enjoy it even more. When I was first joining the company and only ran the 1500m, I couldn't run very fast, but recently I've been gradually improving my times...I ran in the All-Japan Corporate Team Championship last year, and for some reason I was able to get my best time even though I hadn't practiced. However, I can't beat athletes who run a lot of 800m races in the start dash, so I feel it's a difficult sport. The training is also hard, and I do intervals at just the right distance, like 300m. The 200m is short so I can push myself hard, and the 400m is fine if I run at a more relaxed pace, but 300m is tough..."

He seems to be remembering the tough training he underwent when he first joined the corporate team. However, his facial expression also shows that he believes that it is thanks to those experiences that he has become what he is today.

"There aren't many opportunities to compete for the world's best in the 3000m, but that's exactly why I feel like I want to perfect it. I think that steadily working hard in this area will also help me improve my base performance in the 1500m and 5000m. I can't remember ever making any major mistakes in a race, and when I think that it's over in seven and a half laps of the track, I can keep my spirits up even when it's tough. So I feel that this is a distance I can approach with a relatively positive attitude."

Next, the 5000m, where Hagiya showed great growth since becoming a corporate runner. Hagiya would not be as successful as he is today if he had not encountered this distance.

"The 5000m is surely the event I will be running the most from now on. I think that running on the world stage was a truly invaluable experience for me as an athlete. But the 5000m is tough... (laughs). There is a 'tough distance' that the 1500m or 3000m don't have. Running after 3000m is a particular challenge for me right now. With my sights set on the world stage, simply running under 15 minutes won't do, so there is a lot of pressure to keep raising my level. So far I have had good results in many races, and it's not that I don't want to run at all, but it takes me a while to get into the groove... I get the impression that it's an event you can't run with half-hearted feelings. When I'm running and it's tough, I often think of my coach's face. There are many moments when the feeling that I'm doing it for my coach, who always encourages me, gives me strength."

Compared to middle and long distance races where one person has to shoulder the entire burden alone, the simple enjoyment of cross country races and relay races seems to prevail.

"Cross country is the most purely enjoyable race for me. I like the ups and downs, and the feeling of uneven ground is interesting. I think I'm able to get into a rhythm with a course that has a lot of changes because of the experience I've gained over three years of high school. Even in ekiden, it's special to have everyone on the team there. Running with our feelings linked together through a sash is not only fun but also encouraging. When the 5000m is tough, I run thinking of it as something for myself or my coach, but in ekiden I can think of everyone on the team, which makes me happy."

Although he runs a variety of distances, he always wears LD-X shoes. He says, "I'm not that picky about shoes, so I'm the type to keep wearing what I like." In fact, he has used spikes in cross-country and run 1500m in marathon shoes.

"Recently, I've been fond of FRESH FOAM, which I've been wearing since the previous version. The hold has improved, and the softness of the upper feels just right. Previously, it was a little too soft and my feet felt loose, but it's gotten a lot better. Maybe because they're a little wider, I feel like they're more stable. For me, being able to trust my shoes in this way has been a big change over the past few years. I feel that being able to try out different shoes to suit my training and the range of shoes I can wear has expanded, which is a plus for my sport."

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been many situations where I have been unable to do what I wanted to do. Even though I originally preferred practicing alone, it must have been quite stressful. Still, around the summer of 2021, I was able to produce good results. I gained confidence that even if I was practicing alone and feeling my way around, it would be okay as long as I was moving with a clear purpose.

"Looking back, I really feel that my running is influenced by my feelings. Even though I've been running for quite a while, I only realized this last year. Until now, there were only two times when I wasn't training properly, or when I was just going full speed ahead, so maybe that's why I didn't notice."

For example, even though he didn't do well in the national team selection race that he had aimed for, he easily broke 15 minutes in the 5000m at the All Japan Corporate Championships immediately afterwards. From what I've heard so far, this result is very much like Hagiya. One reason is that he added running to his training, which he had barely done before, but what is very different from before is that Hagiya himself is clearly aware of the strong influence that his emotions have.

"I've gotten used to feeling completely down when I'm not doing well. It can't be helped that my legs feel heavy as the seasons change, or that I worry all day about not being in a good position. But I've learned that all of those ailments will go away with time. I think it's fine just to keep doing things calmly without overthinking it. As long as you don't start to hate running, I think you'll be fine. If you think too much about setting a new record, your regular practice will turn into, "I have to do this," and "I have to do that." But if you simply love running and find it fun, I think you can forget about those constraints and relax."

To achieve this, it's all about repeating good practice. If you can practice well and are feeling a little better, you can ride that wave and run well in the race. I'm the type of person who tends to get depressed, but being able to carry the same comfortable feeling from the previous day with me is also an advantage.

"In my free time, I like watching zombie and war movies, and visiting hot springs. When I lived in my hometown of Nagano, there were hot springs everywhere, so I would go to the hot springs in my jock and have my parents bring me a change of clothes when I went home. Even now, I like saunas. It's unfortunate that I can't go there very often because it's not good to sweat too much. But even when I'm in a hot spring or sauna, I can't help thinking about track and field. Who ran how, what I should do, and even though I don't want to think about it, my head fills with thoughts...I've just given up and thought that it can't be helped now."

In 2022, he will start with the 5000m Oda Memorial Athletics Meet. He will also enter the 10,000m for the first time in the Japan Athletics Championships a week later. If he can achieve a good record, he will be within reach of the Oregon World Championships this summer.

"I want to get a feel for the 10,000m first, so that I can move on to the various races that follow. I don't think I'll be able to achieve results over the 10,000m right away this year... That said, I think I'll be able to run better if I go into the race with a more relaxed attitude, and there's also the possibility that I'll become more aggressive along the way."

It's a mischievous smile. For Hagiya, this kind of mindset is probably the most comfortable way to run. Since the summer of 2021, he has been able to make daily progress without any major injuries, which is also a source of support. I want to keep on increasing my speed little by little, gain momentum, and enter the season.

Since his high school days, he has been thinking about gradually increasing the distance he can run, and now he is finally reaching 10,000 meters. Where will Hagiya go from here?

"Ever since I started athletics, I wanted to eventually run a marathon. My mother was a corporate runner, too, and although she never made it to the marathon, I've heard that dream for a long time. I don't feel like I'm running in her place or anything, but I simply want to see scenery that even my parents have never seen. In fact, my coach and I were even joking about whether there would be a marathon in Paris...I've been to a few marathon competitions this year, but for some reason, I can't watch them with an objective mind anymore. I can't simply enjoy the race or cheer on the runners, and I find myself thinking about what would happen if I were to run. I've never trained for a marathon before, so I know I can't just say I want to run, but I can't help but find myself drawn to it."

Just like when he took on the unknown 5000m. Just like when he tried to show his own running style on a big stage that he had never experienced before. Hagiya's big eyes darted around, exuding both expectation and a little anxiety.

"I'd like to start running marathons little by little from next year. Up until now I've only ever run up to 35km, so I'm a bit worried about whether my body is ready for a race. I feel like I could probably manage if I went another 10km, but I also feel like it's not going to be that easy. My coach says I need to wait a bit. I want to continue competing for a long time, so I know I shouldn't rush into starting, but... still, I want to do it."

Some will say that he should focus on the 5000m, where he is already thriving, and work on improving his time. But can outsiders say the same when they see Hagiya looking so happy and dreaming of a marathon?

"It's just a hunch, but I think marathons suit me. My style is to take a certain amount of time and persevere while pushing through tough parts, so I thought marathons might be a good fit for me. It's really just a feeling, though."

However, her intuition cannot be underestimated. And then, in her second year at the company, at the Cross Country Championships, I remembered Hagiya cutting through the wind with ease, beating out the other strong competitors. If this means that the field where she can show off her unique style will continue to expand, then there is nothing but hope.

"Since the summer of 2021, the environment around me has changed a lot. When I go to my hometown of Nagano or to the stadium, little kids come up to me and ask me for an autograph. I'm very happy, but at the same time, I feel sorry that it's not my fault. I was always feeling embarrassed, so my mother told me, "You may think that now, but you can get stronger and become an athlete that the children who receive your autograph can be proud of. In fact, when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I got an autograph from Yuichiro Ueno, but at the time I didn't know how great an athlete Ueno was. However, as I gradually learned how great Ueno was, I became proud to have his autograph. The children lined up in front of me now probably don't know what I have done or how fast I run, but... I thought it would be nice if one day my autograph became like Ueno's autograph to me. Hagiya is currently eliminated in the qualifying rounds, but I want to win medals, win championships, and accumulate records that will make those children proud. I will do my best so that the day never comes when they ask, "Who's autograph is this?"

Although he has already left a vivid mark on many people and has plenty of room to grow in the future, Hagiya remains humble. Not only do many children line up with colored paper, but also with hats and shoes, asking him to sign them in permanent marker. When this happens, Hagiya picks up his pen with a pounding heart. "I feel a little pressured, thinking, "Is this what I'll wear during the race? So I write in small letters," he says with an awkward laugh.

No one knows yet how far she can go.

This article is the record of Hagiya Kaede, born on October 10, 2000, who has continued running until August 25, 2022. It is also proof that she will start running again from here.