Talento Hazama Kampei (60) is taking a medical break from his mammoth Earth Marathon, it was announced yesterday. Since December 2008, he has been running and sailing almost non-stop in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Having crossed the Pacific, North America, the Atlantic and Europe, in January he was discovered to have prostate cancer. After much discussion and deliberation, he decided to keep running while his medical team administered hormonal treatment. He got as far as Turkmenistan yesterday, crossing the border from Turkey on Day 484. But because the country lacks sufficient medical services, it was decided that Hazama would travel to the U.S. tomorrow and spend the next two months undergoing treatment there under a Japanese doctor. He is scheduled to visit the cancer center at the University of California in San Fransisco.
Hazama was quick to reassure his fans and supporters, “My condition hasn’t suddenly got worse, so please don’t worry. I made this ecision so that I will be able to complete the Earth Marathon. And I also made this decision for myself.” But there are concerns about the effect of a 2-month layoff. Even if he starts running again at the end of June as planned, he still has some 4,000km to go.
Earlier stories:
Even Cancer Can’t Stop Kampei’s Earth Marathon (Jan. 14, 2010)