Ruy
Ueda
Japan
·
Ultrarunning
Date of birth | 3 October 1993 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Nagano Prefecture |
Age | 32 |
Nationality | Japan |
Career start | 2013 |
Disciplines | Mountainrunning |
Born and raised in Nagano, Japan, Ruy Ueda has always been sporty, but it wasn't running that initially occupied his energy. He spent his elementary and junior-high school years enthusiastically playing soccer, and it wasn't until he moved up to high school that he started running seriously. There, he joined the ekiden club – ekiden is a traditional Japanese long-distance relay format – and his talent began to emerge.
While at university, he took part in his first ultramarathon, the Tokyo Shibamata 100K, and finished fifth. The performance was enough to impress sponsors, which in turn led to him competing in some of the world's most famous high-altitude races – such as Japan's Hasetsune Cup, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc's CCC route, and the Gran Sasso Sky Race – posting impressive results at each.
In 2022, Ueda turned his attention to a new record, running all four of Mount Fuji's main trails in under 10 hours. With an average hiker taking around 10 hours to complete just one of the trails, the Japanese athlete completed the 57km – with 6,772 meters of total elevation – in a staggering world record time of 9 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds.
When not racing, Ueda sticks close to home, training on his neighbourhood streets and in his local park as he works towards his goal of becoming the world's top ultrarunner.