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Happiness is a running club that sports pink clothes.

Raku-Sou Kai, known as Full Hyaku. Roughly translated, it means: “Our goal

is to run 100 or more marathons and enjoy doing so.” Founded in October 1987, the club is truly national, having members throughout Japan. In addition, it welcomes runners from other countries. The present membership is 278: 53 females and 225 males. The average age is 60. Five members are American. One hundred fifty-three have completed at least 100 marathons. The club supports all marathoners and has special concern for the middle- and back-of-the-pack runners.

ye years ago, I was invited to join a Japanese running club, Full Hyakkai

All members, including me, have three mottoes: challenge, humor, and codawari. The meaning of “challenge” is obvious; it is the completion of the 26.2-mile marathon (in Japan, 42.195 kilometers). “Humor” means that we enjoy the run or the run/walk. “Codawari” (a Japanese word) requires that each member have a personal goal and work to meet it, while respecting the goals of the other runners—goals that may be different. Your goal might be to break 3:30. Mine is to do the best time that I can but with an emphasis on finishing. My main interest is in the number of marathons completed. As I am older, heavier, and slower than nearly every other marathoner in the club, I concentrate on finishing and then doing another as soon after as is practical. I hope that you have your own personal marathoning goals.

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Don McNelly, front row center, with members of the Full Hyaku Running Club.

Most of us want to be unique in some way and separate ourselves from the pack. Iam amused sometimes by the strange and creative goals that many of us have to set ourselves apart. You may wonder at mine, and I may puzzle at yours, but we should accept each other’s goals. A friend of mine, Wally Herman of Ottawa, has one of the most creative. His goal is to spell out the alphabet with the names of the countries he runs in, such places as Algeria for A, Brazil B, Chile C, Denmark D, and on to Zimbabwe for Z. He had trouble with X, as there is no country starting with the letter X. I helped him by suggesting that we run in Xenia, Ohio, as the best he could do for now, and we did so. He legitimately has the other 25 letters. He reached an important goal many years ago by being the first runner to complete a marathon in each of the 50 states (and remember that he is a Canadian). Then for an encore, he ran in every province and territory in Canada.

One runner claims to have run the most marathons on islands. Another says he has run the most marathons of anyone living on the west side of the Mississippi River. My claim is that I have completed the most marathons of any runners after their 70th and 80th birthdays. Whatever turns you on. In the club, we all have our goals and accept those of our fellow members.

We use self-declaration—in other words, the honor system. This works since most of us are actively completing as many marathons as we can, and we see each other many times during the year. We learn how other runners are doing, and I

think we can spot a phony most of the time. It is too risky to our reputations to cut corners in our reporting. The two 50 States clubs in the United States work in somewhat the same way.

When I first went to meetings in Japan, I mentioned our 50 states clubs and wore the shirt. Several Japanese members caught the idea and adopted it as one of their goals, later completing a marathon in each of the 47 prefectures of Japan. The president of the club was the first to accomplish this, and now 47 members have done so. Many others are on their way. I have run in six prefectures: four complete marathons, a half-marathon, and a running climb up Mount Fuji.

Ihave attended five annual meetings in Japan and have been elected a vicepresident of the club. It is a token office but an honor I appreciate. I do not know exactly what is going on at the meetings, but with an interpreter’s help, I am there to answer questions, make suggestions, and enjoy.

Though an American, I have been fully accepted and made to feel more than welcome. I am unique in the club in that I am oldest, heaviest, tallest, and perhaps slowest, but I have run the third-most marathons of anyone in the club.

Courtesy of Yasu Enomoto

Don and club mate Yasu Enomoto approach the finish line of the Hirosaki Marathon in the northern end of Honshu, Japan.

Courtesy of Yasu Enomoto

A Don, far right, with three other American members of the Full Hyaku Running Club (from left): Susan Daley, Paul Morgan, and Tom Adair. After Don joined the club and went to Japan and ran around the Imperial Palace, he told other running friends about the club and arranged for them to join.

Number one in the club is Giichi Kojima, with 1,116 completed marathons as of the end of 2007. He is 65 years old and is continuing with an annual goal of 50 marathons. He passed me up some time ago. When I joined, I was ahead of him. Iam now number three with 741. My unique attribute is that I wear the largest shoes—15 wide. Some Japanese women runners like to have a picture taken of their shoes beside mine.

The club’s annual meetings are moved around the country and are always tied in with a marathon. I have been to Tokyo (running eight-plus times around the Imperial Palace), as well as Osaka, Asahikawa on Hokkaido (the northernmost of the four main islands), and Nara. In 2005, I completed one in Hirosaki in the northern prefecture on Honshu, the main island of Japan. I have made a number of friends and many acquaintances among the club members, but I depend heavily on my best friend, Hiroyasu Enomoto of Yokohama, to know exactly what is going on. We correspond via e-mail often and have stayed in each other’s homes. His English is good (my Japanese is zilch) and enables me to communicate and know a bit of what is taking place. In addition, he is a good guy who sacrifices his own best times to walk with me as I complete my Japanese marathons.

Our most extraordinary members

The club has several outstanding members. Mariko Sakamoto has run across Australia and in the United States from coast to coast; won the women’s division on