However Seigi Arita, the Japanese runner resident in France, and perhaps the major force in French 24-hour running, is becoming better known in his native country. Arita and Kenji Oklyama, second in this year's Spartathlon, would make a formidable basis of a Japanese team in a World 24 Hour Challenge. Trail running in Japan has perhaps a different emphasis to that in the West. Most of the Japanese population of 140 million is concentrated in the Southern coastal cities, primarily because much of the rest of the country is so mountainous. The spiritual influence of mountain worship is still a potent force.
Emphasis is placed on feeling part of nature and experiencing the changing seasons.
The definitive book of Japanese mountains is 100 Famous Mountains in Japan, by Hisaya Fukuda. The River Shimanto World Challenge in October 1998 will offer many runners a chance to tackle almost certainly the most beautiful 100-km course in the world, and to observe firsthand developing Japanese ultrarunning. It also will enable the relatively isolated Japanese ultra community to experience the kind of competition many ultrarunners in Europe take for granted. Recent 100-km Results Runners at the Torhout 100 Km race on June 20 were faced with tough conditions. Marc Vandenlinden and Jan Vandendriessche have established themselves as the top two Belgian 100-km specialists, following the retirement of Jean Paul Praet.