Tomisato Suika 10K Road Race 2017

Suika means Watermelon in Japanese, and they are in season currently and are grown in huge volumes in Chiba Prefecture. Temperatures are hitting the 30 degrees centigrade now, and coupled with very humid conditions, running fast times over middle and long distances is a gruelling task. As an antidote, Tomisato, a rural town in Chiba close to Narita Airport, hosts an annual 10K road race to celebrate the sweet watermelons produced around the town.

Unlimited slices of watermelon on offer
to race finishers!

Getting to Tomisato for the start of the race from Tokyo requires a 5am wake up to catch an early train to Narita Airport. The thought of tasting the legendary sweet melons of Chiba drove me out of bed and I felt euphoric as I jumped onto a train packed with other melon running enthusiasts. This race is so popular that entry is decided by a lottery draw for about 7000 places. Perhaps the enthusiasm can partly be explained by the fact that on the race course, alongside the usual water stations, they have ‘melon stations’ too. Once you finish the race, you can also eat unlimited amounts of melon. And the top 20 finishers in each age category are given, yes you’ve probably guessed, their very own full sized Tomisato melon to take home!

The leading pack of the under-40 10K race

There was a huge line at the nearest train station to the race, with successful lottery winners waiting for the shuttle bus to take us the 20 minutes ride into deepest Chiba to the race HQ. As I limbered up and jogged to the race start line, I saw many runners had donned melon themed costumes for the run, and I couldn’t help but smile as I saw a family of 4 all dressed as watermelons. The 10K is split into two races, with the under 40’s race literally being ran first and the over 40’s section starting about an hour later. It had been raining all morning, but that hadn’t kept the crowds away. 

The rain didn't deter these
melon running enthusiasts

The first kilometre was along a flat road section, and perhaps over enthusiastically I covered that in 3:20. Soon afterwards it started raining again and I slowed down after hitting some uphill sections. It was warm and very humid, though I had heard that several runners were taken to hospital the year before with heat stroke, so a bit of drizzle was preferable. The course is basically a big undulating loop. I was inside the top 20 for the early part of the race, but started to slip back after the half way point, and once I knew I had lost any chance of winning a watermelon, my motivation waned a little and I eased off. I kept looking out for the watermelon station, which turned out to be at the 8.5km mark, though I decided to skip it – partly because I could see an uphill climb immediately afterwards which I just wanted to get out of the way. 

Tasty: this is what it was all about

I finished the race in about 37:21, around what I had expected beforehand due to lack of training since Tokyo Marathon. However, I did get the chance to eat several slices of watermelon afterwards, and I can confirm that it was especially delicious after running 10K. I will certainly apply for this race next year: I want to get inside the top 20 to win my very own Tomisato Suika.