Dream come true for Koji

Life is a funny thing. While scientists are tirelessly striving to make our lives easier, some people refuse to go gentle into that good night, and rather opt for the path of Dylan Thomas to rage, rage against the dying of the light.

For Koji Yumoto, the life of a marathon runner was his, and miles of road passed beneath his feet as he repeatedly pushed his body from gun to tape for the sport that he loves. It would have been far easier for him to relish in his accomplishments rather than look for another quarter century jaunt in the islands.

While a crowd of volunteers honored Saipan’s first marathon champion as Stuart Smith crossed the finish line in a remarkable time of 3:09:28, few knew the struggle of the inaugural race’s final finisher. It is only now that the story of Koji Yumoto has come to light.

His nine-year-old daughter was the talk of the town once word began to spread that young Julie had entered the Saipan Marathon, and people rushed to catch a glimpse of the tough tyke.

Julie was shy and was not interested to speak with reporters about her prospective challenge the night before the race during the pre-registration and spaghetti feed at the American Memorial Park Pavilion.

Some thought she was just a cute kid afraid of the spotlight. Others thought that she might not have really been all that enthused about running 26.2 miles for the first time. Now it seems that neither of the theories account for her selfless desire to be there for her father.

With a personal record of less than three and a half hours, Koji was far from a racing novice, and he explained to many how his family has carried on the marathon tradition. Yumoto told many of his young son’s completion of the Honolulu Marathon four years prior, and that his daughter would be able to complete the feat on Saipan as well.

Taking on the long distance challenge of the Saipan Marathon seemed like just another race to the experienced runner, and the spotlight was focused on young Julie for the course of the next couple of days.

What nobody but his family knew was that Koji is a terminal cancer patient and that it was his dream to complete one final marathon before he dies.

Aside from the physical hardships that he knew would tax him along the way, the journey to the Micro Beach finish line was more difficult than running for the better part of a Saturday morning on Saipan.

Koji was far from the able-bodied runner that completed a marathon in less than four hours, and was sure that his next race would be the longest by possibly double or triple the fruits of past efforts.

His debilitating condition precluded Koji from participating in any marathons with time limitations, but he continued searching in hopes that he might one day feel the joy of breaking the tape. While his quest took him to marathon websites around the world, Koji was repeatedly disappointed to find that all had time restrictions.

In October 2005, organizers of Saipan’s marathon had no idea when they met in the conference room of the Marianas Visitors Authority that they opened a door that had long remained sealed when they decided to allocate as much time as necessary for the runners to complete the race.

When the Yumoto family arrived on Saipan in January, they kept their secret from the media and event coordinators to ensure that Koji would live out his dream on the roads. Even after his return to the archway at Micro Beach nearly nine hours later, the Yumoto family celebrated their father’s joy in private.

It was only after Koji placed a call to the MVA-Tokyo office upon his return to Japan to extend his heartfelt appreciation toward the organizers of the event that the full story of his plight was known.

Event coordinators and racers who have since learned of Koji’s struggle and accomplishment have all expressed their amazement at his perseverance and willingness to take the more difficult of two paths.

This Sunday, general manager Yoichi Matsumura of Pacific Development Inc. will travel to Japan on a mission to bring this newspaper and a certificate of appreciation to Mr. Yumoto.

“We want to show him that we truly value his participation and invite him for next year’s event,” said Matsumura.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

(Editor’s note: Italicized portions are from Thomas’ poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night)