HERENESS MEMBERS introduces "people who know the joy of physical exercise.

In this fourth issue, we introduce Nobuhide Takashima, who has been involved in athletics since middle school and continues to work in the field of running.

Nobuhide Takashima has been a member of the track and field team from junior high school to university. He still works for a company that manages running events and running media, and running has always been a part of his life. However, there was a time when Mr. Takashima was not involved in running.

What I would not have realized if I had been running alone

In junior high school, I was in the top ranks of the city, but not at the level where I could compete at prefectural level, so I did not plan to continue running in high school. But when I went to Canada for a summer study abroad program, the weather was really nice, and I enjoyed running while talking with my friends and competing in short distance races like events. My friends encouraged me to continue running track and field if I could run that well.

With the encouragement of his friends, Takashima returned to the track and field world, and with the help of a spartan coach, he began to distinguish himself in the middle distance. By the time he was a sophomore in high school, he had reached the point where he placed 6th in the 800m at the national championships. Having put in that much effort, he felt a gap in running for fun after he stopped competing.

It was hard for me to accept it at first," he said, "because it was so different from track and field, where you just run together in a friendly, fun atmosphere. But once I realized that track and field and citizen running are completely different, I began to genuinely enjoy it. I think this is because I was able to see other people enjoying themselves through coaching and other activities. I don't think I would have noticed that if I had been running alone.

To run is to live.

Mr. Takashima, who was wearing environmentally friendly "allbirds" shoes for the photo shoot, has recently become increasingly interested in sustainable products.

We are also collecting T-shirts from marathon participants and using them to make prizes for the next year's marathon. However, environmental actions are costly, so I feel that it is difficult to solve this problem. I think it would be better to start with what we can do, such as separating garbage.

While running has now become his job, his lifestyle has changed dramatically with the birth of his child. But he still manages to find time to run.

I take the kids to a park near my house and run with my wife in different places," he says. I think of running as a way of life. It's like brushing your teeth; if you don't do it, you don't feel good.