うたぴょんスポーツFirst race of the new year. Uta ran the Fujimi City Marathon, a local road race event, on January 11, 2026, in the 1.5km race for upper-grade elementary girls (roughly 9 to 12 years old). She's 9 herself, born early in 2016, so she's one of the younger kids in that bracket.
We'd marked this one on the calendar as her first individual race of 2026, so there was a bit of extra excitement getting her shoes on that morning.
How the day went
The Fujimi City Marathon is a community event, not a big national meet, so the morning had a relaxed, neighborhood feel even with the nerves. Uta had been talking about it as her 'new year debut' for days. She warmed up, did her usual strides, and seemed calm by the time she lined up for the 1.5km upper-grade girls' race. No complaints about the cold, no last-minute stomach aches — just focused and ready, which is usually a good sign with her.
The race itself
Once the gun went off, Uta got out well and settled into the lead early. She held her position through the race and crossed the line first in the upper-grade girls' 1.5km division — her first win of 2026. It wasn't a huge field or a championship meet, but a win is a win, and starting the year that way matters more for confidence than for any ranking. She's currently ranked 10th nationally in the 1000m for third-grade girls from the 2024 season, so she's used to racing against the clock as much as against other kids, but a straightforward head-to-head win like this one is a different kind of satisfying for her.
What a parent took away from it
What stood out to me wasn't the result so much as how unbothered she looked beforehand. We didn't do anything special in preparation — no extra sessions, no pep talks about pressure. She just ran her normal warm-up and went. I think that's worth remembering: sometimes the best preparation for a small local race is treating it like a small local race, not building it up into something bigger than it is.
I told her afterward that I was proud of how she started the year, not just that she won. She shrugged and said she just wanted to run fast from the start, which is about as honest a race plan as any 9-year-old has given me. Going forward, I want to keep an eye on pacing as she moves up in distance later this season — 1.5km rewards a fast start, but the longer races she's aiming for this year will need more patience early on. That's a conversation for training, not for race day, though.
Next up, we'll see what she's entered for later in January — she's already asking about longer distances. For now, one win in the books for 2026.
The video above has the start, the race, and her reaction at the finish.