うたぴょんスポーツEvery year on December 31 we do the same thing: run out the old year instead of just watching it go. This time Uta ran 12.31km, matching the date, and I tagged along for 20.25km of my own.
It's turned into a little family tradition now, something we look forward to even when the mornings are cold.
What happened that day
Uta is 9 years old, born in early 2016, which in Japan's school year system puts her a bit younger than some of her classmates. She's been working hard at track this year, and it's starting to show.
On December 31 we headed out for our end-of-year run. Uta covered 12.31km, matching the date, same as last year's tradition. I ran alongside her for part of it but kept going after she finished, ending up with 20.25km total.
Partway through, we broke things up with a family relay. It's always the best part of these long runs. Everyone takes a turn, there's some shouting, a bit of competitiveness, and it turns a long slow run into something that feels more like play.
Uta also had a moment on TV this month. She appeared briefly on Nsuta, a Japanese evening news program, standing next to a character called Run Girl. It's a small thing, but fun to see her pop up somewhere outside of our usual running routes.
On the competitive side, her 1000m time from third grade this year put her 10th nationally among girls in that age group, based on the rankings tracked through the season. She doesn't talk about it much herself. She just keeps showing up to train.
What I thought about it
Running 12km at nine years old isn't about speed for me. It's about finishing something that takes a while and staying steady the whole way. Uta didn't complain, didn't ask to stop, just kept her rhythm and got it done. That's the part I notice more than any ranking.
The relay in the middle was my favorite part of the day, honestly. There's something about running next to your kid instead of behind them, handing off and cheering instead of just logging distance. It reminded me why we started doing these year-end runs in the first place. It was never really about the number on the watch.
Seeing her on the news clip made me smile too, but not for the reason you'd think. It wasn't about recognition. It was just strange and nice to see a few seconds of her normal life, the running shoes and the quiet mornings, show up somewhere so far from where we actually live it.
The national ranking is encouraging, sure. But closing out the year with a 12.31km run next to her, legs tired, breath steady, that's the memory I'll keep. Rankings change every season. Mornings like this one don't come back.
If you've got a kid who runs, or is just starting to, I hope you find your own version of this. Not the distance, just the day you look forward to every year without really planning to.