Why does HAGI organize GMRC (Good Morning Run Culture)?
It's not about running. GMRC" has two meanings: Good Morning Run Club and Good Morning Run Culture. Running is a means to an end; the goal is to lead a fulfilling lifestyle.
By getting up early in the morning, we can make the most of our day. To do this, he gets up an hour or two earlier than usual and works up a sweat. The community continues to grow because of the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that running is not the goal of the group.
Morning running is hard to sustain. If it were every day, we wouldn't be able to get together like this. By setting the time to once a week at 6:00 a.m. on Thursdays, everyone is willing to work hard if it's once a week. That's all right. We are trying not to add more Thursdays to the weekly schedule because we want to make the most of this time.
On this particular day, some participants rode bicycles. I thought they were pacers, but it turned out to be injured members who couldn't run, so they rode their bicycles.
They come because they don't want to run. We come here to have a fulfilling day, so we welcome cyclists as well. The other day there was a guy who came on a moped, and I wasn't so sure about him (laughs).
Rediscovered running.
Although HAGI hosts such a relaxed community, he was seriously involved in athletics from junior high school through college. During his college years, he experienced fierce competition for a spot in the Hakone Ekiden relay race, and even made up his mind that he would never run again after graduation.
I was pushed so hard that I didn't even have the courage to quit. All I could think about was shaving off one second in every event. Other than that, I was nothing. To shave off one more second, I had to lose one kilogram, or gain weight if I had another serving of curry and rice, and so on. I didn't run for 10 years after I retired. I don't even run at flashing lights. I hated running so much that I didn't even run when the light flashed green.
One day, he had a chance to rekindle his love of running among his friends who, like him, had worked too hard in college and had, in a sense, burned themselves out.
Nowadays, we use the word "running" in everyday language, but before, all I knew about running was "track and field. When I heard the term "fun run," I thought, "What does that mean? What's the point of running if you're not going to get faster? I thought, "What's the point of running if you're not going to get faster?
Then I heard that you don't need a watch. I thought it would be fun to sweat a little, like running to the post office or to the convenience store. It was the first time I learned the word "running. It was a new concept for me. It was a shock.
Share the joy of running
From there, it was quick. He realized that the knowledge he had gained during his competitive years was often beneficial to new runners he came into contact with, and he began to share it through coaching and Youtube. HAGI's joyful comments reached him, and communicating with many people through "running" became his life's work.
I was the first one to say that what I thought was normal was not normal for runners. I was saying things that were obvious to them, but they were happy to hear them and learn from them. I started a youtube site to share my knowledge, and the number of subscribers grew to about 30,000. From there, HAGI led the running crew, which I wanted, and when I took the lead in the GMRC this time, everyone followed me.
The just-started GMRC is the first step toward expanding the morning run culture. I want people to use it that way: "When you get up an hour early, your eyes are clear, your mind is sharp, your body is finished and you look good, so your presentation will go well. I want people to use it that way. To expand the culture of morning running, I'm calling it Good Morning Run Culture. Right now, when people talk about "GMRC," they think of Maruko Bridge, but I would like to expand GMRC to various places. I would be happy if we could spread morning running under the theme of not only running, but also having a fulfilling day.
About HERENESS products
Finally, we asked him about the HERENESS products featured on Youtube.
I was originally interested in the brand. I like to wear simple, plain clothes in my daily life, and I wear a lot of them because I like to look good with just one piece.
I found the brand "HERENESS" at that time and bought a merino wool T-shirt at a pop-up store. I had heard that merino wool was very good when I started trail running, and I liked the plain and simple design. When I asked about it later, I learned that they are very particular about it. I can use it as an inner layer in the winter, and I can also wear it alone. I was so happy to see it featured on Youtube.
This cotton tank (AIRLY COTTON TANK) is super hot! I love cotton fabrics so much that I usually wear 100% cotton for running. Some people think I'm playing around, but I think it's cool. I was thinking that I wanted to use cotton for hard training, and then I found this. This is hot without any discovery. The clothes are simple, so I like that I can play with the shoes.
Yuma Hagiwara(HAGI)
HAGI is a popular running YouTube star with over 30,000 YouTube subscribers.
He is famous as "Running Shoes Freak" who wears more than 100 pairs of running shoes a year, and his running shoe reviews are popular content.
In addition to being an active runner himself, he also organizes GMRC, which promotes morning run culture, and runs a running school, online salon, and other running businesses.
Instagram @hagi_running
Youtube HAGIRUNちゃんねる
