Ekiden relay race as an occupation

2024/08/26

Previously I wrote about Natsuyo’s experience of participating in an ekiden relay race

and how that supported her increased comfort and more active involvement at her workplace. 

Today we will analyze Natsuyo’s experience of participating in an ekiden relay race to understand the power of participation in an ekiden relay race as an occupation.

Ekiden relay race as an occupation

What happened to Natsuyo in the beginning of her story?

After Natsuyo had been transferred to a new department, she didn’t work efficiently, didn’t feel comfortable in her work place nor familiar with her colleagues.

She didn’t feel like she belonged to her work place yet.

That was her environmental challenge.

Natsuyo chose to join in an ekiden relay race when she was invited by colleagues.

Let’s see what she did next and how it affected her.

An Ekiden relay race is a competitive team sport. 

Natsuyo prepared for the ekiden race.

She bought a new pair of shoes for the race.

She trained by herself, imagining herself a runner of the ekiden team.

She practiced receiving the tasuki sash from a teammate and passing it to

another teammate.

She set a goal to complete her distance of 2.25km and to quickly relay a tasuki sash

to the next runner to contribute to her team’s performance.

Participating in the ekiden relay race, Natsuyo did her best but many runners ran

past her.

She didn’t contribute to her team's performance.

Nevertheless, her teammates respected and encouraged her for her efforts and her contribution of participating as a member of the team.

Engaging in the ekiden relay race included Natsuyo’s choice of joining the team, preparing for the race, training by herself, participating in the race, collaborating

with her teammates, and being accepted by them. 

Through this engagement, she became a teammate of the ekiden team.

Natsuyo felt closer to her teammates and trusted them.

She was involved in ekiden, a collective occupation.

That helped her to belong to the team and to establish a sense of unity with the

team and teammates.

She felt close, familiar and comfortable with the teammates.

This sense of unity continued after the ekiden relay race in her work place.

The sense of unity and belongingness supported her to be more comfortable

in her work place and to work more efficiently.

It supports her ability to make a good place for herself.

Ekiden promoted Natsuyo’s wellbeing.

Natsuyo’s team after the Ekiden relay race.

Have you ever had a similar experience to Natsuyo's?

How about in a new school or a new work place?

Didn’t you feel weird and unfamiliar at first?

Didn’t you wonder how to act there?

What occupation helped you to get a sense of unity with the people and place

and get comfortable and work better?

Chatting with classmates?

Finishing a project together?

Joining a singing group? 

Joining a soccer team?

Did you later feel more comfortable, trusting others and working more efficiently

with them? 

That is one of powers and meanings of collective occupations.