Our story

• Enter the world of adventure racing

Hiroki completed the UTMF in 2015. When he was thinking about his next goal, he noticed OMM. He participated in the 2016 OMM Scorelong as a men's pair and when he said, "I want to read maps better!" Fukiko did not miss it.

Fukiko can't forget the adventure race she once participated in after being invited by a senior colleague, so she immediately invites Hiroki to join her in the adventure race.

At first, Hiroki said, "I don't want to do it because it seems like it would be too much work, with mountain biking and kayaking," but at the Nokogiriyama Adventure Weekend in December 2016, he finished in first place, leaving the rest of the field far behind.

After that, I started to enjoy reading maps, and I got more and more into adventure racing and orienteering, and started participating in races almost every week.

Winner of the OMM Score Long in 2017, runner-up in 2018 (Hiroki), winner of the mixed Straight Elite in 2019 (Hiroki and Fukiko)

He began to achieve results in adventure races as well, and in 2019 he won the Extreme Series season championship. He has also won many adventure races in Japan.

From 2020 to 2023, he will be in the United States for work. During his time in the United States, he gained experience by placing third in the Wisconsin AR Series and competing in the US AR National Championship.

After returning to Japan, in 2024, they won the Niseko Expedition, beating strong teams such as veteran Australian teams and domestic professional teams.

• Create something convincing

Hiroki's map reading style is basically to go the shortest route. Rather than running around the road, walking through thicker brush will help you conserve your energy even if it takes the same amount of time. That's how it feels.

And Hiroki's bushwhacking is very fast. He has raced with sub-three runners several times, and crushed them (Hiroki's full marathon time is about sub-3.5).

Even Hiroki doesn't want to row through the thick brush in snowy areas like Niigata and Hokkaido because the trees grow sideways and his shins get worn down. But soon after, he started thinking about how to row through the brush as quickly and stress-free as possible, such as putting felt on his shins or making soccer shin guards.

The Wisconsin race had a lot of prickly grass and thorns that hurt and slowed the runners down, so they sewed a cushioning material into the front of their 3/4 length pants.

Also, on the uneven terrain in the mountains, stones, dirt, and leaves would get into my shoes, and the shoelaces would come undone, which was stressful, so I tried various shoe gaiters, but I couldn't find any that suited me, as they would not stand up to hacking through the bushes, and would slip up or fall off.

In 2023, I decided to make it myself! I searched for various fabrics and tried to make it, but it didn't work out. After much trial and error and the resulting arguments between my husband and I, in 2024, I finally managed to create something close to my ideal.