Our journey through Japan started after a - long awaited - whole night of sleep in a nice and quite hotel in Hiroshima. The temperatures were pretty hot with 32 oC and a high humidity. Those conditions are pretty typical for Japan at this time of the year which is considered the height of the summer. After breakfast at the hotel Paul and I went out for a walk to the Memorial Park which was only a short walk away. The park is very beautiful with several memorial sites and the actual site of the first atomic bomb explosion. Visiting the site of the event that ended world war II is a pretty powerful experience, and a stark reminder of the power of destruction we hold in our hands, but also a symbol of human resilience. Later that evening Taeko started our run across Japan at this very place, a most appropriate location. While some of us were slowly recovering from our not so great time across China, things were definitely looking up. The run into the night along coastal roads was rather hilly, but also very relaxing while passing through some beautiful costal towns. The next few days passed in similar manner, and although the running schedule remained rather tough, we were getting more rest and were able to put our worries over food aside. However, the previous ten days did leave us with some consequences, and both Rudy and Laurel finally have to take time off to recover from worsening injuries. My last two runs in Japan were quite memorable. On one day I run through a torrential down poor with thunder and lightening up a long ~7 km hill – challenging, but exciting at the same time. The other day, on our last run in Japan, I actually got lost – really lost for that matter. While crossing traffic lights on a busy road up Mt. Fuji I passed the pilot car on a busy intersection without noticing and went up on a Mt. Fuji road for quite some time before noticing that I was lost. I then backtracked to the last major intersection and stayed there for more than one hour before being picked up again by our folks. Although I was not too concerned about my situation, it was a reminder on how quickly things can get complicated if you are lost in a place where you can not ask for directions, not able to read any street signs, and also unable to give any explanation to people who may want to help you out in a situation like this. All in all, the time spent in Japan was very enjoyable. After a personally - rather disappointing – couple of days in China, it was a pleasure to see the Japanese countryside with beautiful and pristine villages and towns, and meet some of the most friendly and courteous people I have ever met. Japan will definitely be high on my list of places to revisit in the future.

The last day in Japan was a busy one and after a courteous and delightful interview with Nikkei which both Mary and I attended we were off to the airport and on our way back to the US. When arriving in San Francisco, a most pleasant surprise was waiting for the Yellow Team: We were greeted by Jason Gross, our unlucky substitute runner who ended up breaking his foot several weeks back in Europe. He had been able to rejoin the BPR team and will be our driver all the way to NYC. It was so great to see him back in action and all of us are thrilled to have him back with us for the journey across the US.