Why Japan’s Buddhists run a deadly 1,000-day marathon

Author: Matthew Davis / Source: Big Think

• The kaihōgyō — a seven-year, 1,000-day marathon — is among the world’s most difficult physical challenges.
• It is rarely completed, and those who fail are historically expected to kill themselves.
• Why do Japan’s Buddhist monks take on this nearly impossible challenge?

Many of us have that friend—the one who runs marathons. Their car is plastered with bumper stickers: 13.1, 26.2, “I’d rather be running.” Half of the photos on their Tinder profile is of them smiling in the rain with a marathon number affixed to their Lycra shirt. They use their cardiovascular health as a club to bludgeon us undisciplined folks.

If you know somebody like that, you may find it satisfying to know that there is a marathon out there where bragging is very much frowned upon. It’s the kaihōgyō, and its difficulty is enough to put even the most ardent ultra-marathoner to shame. The marathon can only be carried out by Buddhists monks belonging to Japan’s Tendai sect of Buddhism, and it takes 1,000 days spread out over seven years to complete. Instead of bragging rights, the monks who complete what is likely the most difficult marathon in the world are said to receive a better understanding of the universe.

The marathon’s structure

The kaihōgyō takes place on Mount Hei, which overlooks the ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto. The grueling, 1,000-day marathon is carried out over the course of seven years, with a different regimen each year.

For the first year, a monk must run 30 km each day for 100 consecutive days.

On top of this, they must still perform their regular temple duties, leaving very little time for sleep. Endo Mitsunaga, the most recent monk to complete the challenge, would wake up at a bit after midnight, lace up the straw sandals he was required to wear, and run up and down the mountain, stopping to pray at about 260 different shrines along the way. At 8 a.m., he would return and perform his duties at the temple. Each night, he slept about 4 and half hours.

As Mitsunaga ran throughout the mountain, he would also pass by a number of unmarked graves. These, along with the knife at his side, were reminders of the seriousness of kaihōgyō. At…

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