Over 1.5 million people were living in the industrial and cultural city of Kobe when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake [1] hit on January 17, 1995. More than 6,000 lives were lost and much of the city was cut off from gas, electricity and water. Many people lost their jobs and/or homes, while vacant lots were scattered everywhere across the city.
While a city cannot regain all of the things it lost, Kobe has re-emerged as a bustling city brightened by new lights in the 17 years since the disaster.
On November 20, 2011, the city held its first ever official marathon event. More than 20,000 runners completed the 42.195 km distance for “Kobe Marathon 2011 [2]”, running through famous tourist spots as well as former vacant areas. Among them were 641 runners who came from the Tohoku region, which had been devastated by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake this March.
Capturing the energy of a city that has fought to overcome a disaster rouses the spirits of its people, and encourages those who are in the midst of going through similar difficulties themselves. The event theme [3] articulates the spirit of the organizers who decided to hold the marathon event at the very place where people had struggled to rebuild their city.
“Event Theme [3]: “Thanks and Friendship”, We would like to express our sincere thanks to the people and communities in Japan and overseas who reached out to us in our hour of need, and are still reaching out to us as we seek to recover from the recent disaster.
Ahead of the start whistle, some runners and supporters expressed their feelings.
A runner from Tohoku answered in a video interview [4] [ja]:
同じ経験をされた地だと思いますので、それを胸に一緒になって走っていきたいと思います。
A supporter described her pleasure that the formerly devastated city held such a big event:
@juju_fleur [5]：間もなく神戸マラソンスタート!!震災で大きな被害を受けたこの街で、25000人のマラソン大会が実現するなんて、当時を思い出すと感無量です。ランナーもスタッフも頑張って!!応援行きます!!
Runners from Tohoku were running with green ribbons. The PR Twitter account from Kobe City tweeted to increase extra cheering for the green-ribbon runners.
@kobecity0311神戸市広報専門官 松下麻理 [6]：
【神戸マラソン】ランナー快走中！緑のリボンをつけて走っておられる方は、被災地から来られたランナーです。大きな声援をお願いします！ pic.twitter.com/5cl5mCgT [7]
[Kobe marathon] Runners, on a good note! When you find runners with green ribbons, give your great cheer to them. They are from Tohoku! pic.twitter.com/5cl5mCgT [7]
[7]A runner from Tohoku
A short video of the event has been uploaded to YouTube, where a runner from Tohoku is expressing his impression of the event.
まだ自分の街が建物も信号もない状態が続いてるんですけど、自分の街も将来復興するというイメージがつきました。
We can also feel the atmosphere of the event from many blogs. This blogger wrote multiple entries on participating in the marathon:
sakaeのniponipoブログ [8]：
『スーパーマンの紛争で
走っておられるランナーと会いました。
真っ赤なマントには、
「 神戸 ありがとう 東北は負けません 」
と書かれていました。』『沿道からも、
「 東北、頑張れ～！ 」 「 スーパーマン～、頑張って～！ 」
「 神戸がついてるよ～！ 」
と、多くの方が声援を送っていました。
この神戸の４２kmに、どんな景色が見えたのでしょうか。
どんな思いを胸に走っておられたのでしょうか。
４２kmを走りきった充実感とともに、
大きな希望と、温かい想いと、
前へ向かっていく強い気持を持って
故郷へ戻っていかれたことを願います』
I met a runner in a Superman costume. The famous red cloak carried the message, “Thank you, Kobe. Tohoku won’t give in.And many supporters in the sidelines cheered for Superman – ‘Go, Tohoku!’, ‘Go, Superman!’, ‘Kobe is with you!’. I wonder what scenes he encountered during the 42km in Kobe? What was going through in his mind as he ran towards the goal? I hope Superman went back home with a sense of fulfillment for finishing the marathon big hopes, warm memories and a strong resolve to keep pushing forward.”
Ryuji Watanabe from Fukushima Prefecture, one of the many people who completed the marathon, wrote down his memories on the website “Koide Dojo [9]”, the runners’ group to which he belongs:
マラソンを通じて「復興run」、東北から元気な発信を少しでも出来たと思います。そして今回の大会で
多くの方々が声かけてくれて、「兄ちゃん太ってるけどがんばりや～」「あごあがってるで～」
「ふくしま頑張れ～」等本当に走っていて、涙が出ました。号泣しながら走っていました。
本当に私は皆さんに支えられて生きてるのだ～と実感しました。
Meanwhile, the revitalized city of Kobe does not mean that people have forgotten the earthquake that hit 17 years ago. They still have scenes of those days clearly in their mind.
@uraimayumi [10]：ヘリが沢山飛んでる。神戸マラソンの準備なんだろうけど、震災を思い出してしまった‥ twitpic.com/7fms8u [11]