As I passed by Ala Moana Center, the road became congested with lots of runners. As you see in the first picture, some were running on the sidewalk, outside of the marathon route. It must have been a violation, but no one minded. I'll tell you one thing, I was on the sidewalk to take a picture, not for the run. Anyway, with that aside, in Japan, the runners are regulated by plastic tape or guards not to step out of the route except on several occasions like washing hands, medical care, and so on. I felt again that the organization of the marathon was irresponsible.
After a while, several police motorcycles came in the opposite lane, and immediately I rushed onto the median and held my camera. At that time, a motorcycle policeman sent me that distinctive finger sign. I realized that this sign must have some specific meaning. I'll write about this later.
I wanted to see the top runner, who should have passed the turn and come just after the leading police motorcycles, but no one came. The motorcycle policemen passed by at a speed of about 40 km/h without taking care behind. What have they done on earth?
(Vocabulary)
median (médian strip とも) [名] [C](米) 中央分離帯
turn (マラソンの)折り返し点
１枚目の写真はアラモアナセンターにさしかかったところ。道路が混んでいて歩道を走っているランナーが多いことがわかる。断っておくが、僕は写真を撮るために歩道の上にいるのであってここを走っているのではない。ま、それはおいといて、普通なら歩道を走らないよう規制があるはず。ちゃらんぽらんというか、適当というか、まあ気楽なマラソンだと言うことがよくわかった。
しばらく走ると反対車線を白バイが走ってきた。中央分離帯によってカメラを構えると、先ほどの警察官たち、例のピースサインに似たハンドサインを送ってきた。これについては後で書く。
この後、普通は先頭ランナーが走ってくるはず、、、しかし、来ない。この白バイ隊員たち、いったい何をしてきたのか？ 彼らは後ろを気にすることなく時速４０キロくらいで走り抜けていった。まあいいか。
Comments