Steven Goes to Japan to Run a Marathon

Steven had a way of telling the story that I could actually visualize his experience. Very high energy. Funny, engaging, and educational!

Steven Andrews brings us this storytelling show from Alberta where he shares about the time that he and his best friend Skunks decided pretty much on a lark to go to Japan and run a marathon. He has a deep love of Japan, Japanese food (except their version of Gatorade), and Japanese culture stemming from growing up playing Japanese video games and watching 90s anime. Steven and Skunks could have gone to Japan purely out of interest with an itinerary of tourist attractions that they wanted to experience, but instead Steven trained for just five months in the winter in Alberta to run this marathon, and the anxiety around it kept him from being able to properly focus on anything he was experiencing in Japan until after it was over.

This piece is very funny. Andrews has really mined both his experience in Japan and the context from his life in Alberta for every single comedic possibility – and he presents the story with such enthusiasm and personable energy that it’s very engaging to watch. Much of the comedy comes from the clash of cultures and Andrews being a fish out of water in Japan, and much of it comes from Andrews’ own body, which seems to be dead set against him running this race. Read more at the link!