26.78 miles
A big trip and a big race…
The action began at the expo, which was at the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center. That’s a spot not really near anything except for the Tokyo harbor. The organization for the expo was not up to snuff compared to what I’d seen so far in Japan. Upon arrival, we went first down long corridors, with runners separated from the others to get their bibs. There were 16-20 different desks to issue bibs, and the same number of lines of people. Most international athletes had to use lanes 1-6. The line moved slowly, this process of getting to the front and showing my passport to get my bib took over an hour. The local runners used the lanes 8-16 and had barely any waiting. The chip attached to the back of the bib was a clunky old thing, one they reminded us should be deposited in a box after finishing the race so… they could reuse it again next year in 2025!
The regular vendor portion of the expo looked normal, until it was time to visit the main booths. Asics was the shoe sponsor of the race. They had the official “Tokyo Marathon” merchandise, but their booth was severely under stocked. NO shirts, jackets, or items with the race logo after the expo had only been open for less than 3 hours. There was a line to get in to Asics, and others lined up separately to get a photo next to the logo of the race on one of the walls. There was another small booth next to Asics that had Tokyo Marathon branded goods – but odd things. Hair scrunchies, boxes of candy, cookies, sake with the race logo, etc.
I got a fridge magnet so I’d have something from the race.
Abbott WMM had an expo presence and new WMM branded goods, but in a very small space. This event was expected to have 2600+ people achieve their final 6 Star race. They could have used triple the real estate on the floor for their booth. They also didn’t have all of the sizes or enough product to sell. All of this with the big Friday and Saturday crowds still to come through the show. I saw neat displays from Hoka and their “Fly Lab” demo, lululemon had a good booth, as did Maurten. I find it odd that the marathon majors don’t see and emulate what works in the other 5 cities. The race directors usually show up at their partner events, They can bring the best ideas home to their races. This should be standardized.
Saturday’s 5k
Saturday was the “Friendship 5k” fun run at a waterfront park near where we were staying. Jackie, Tami, Jessica Haines and myself were in that event. Billed as a chance to meet other runners from around the world, this was the best part of the day. It was cold & windy near the water, I was happy to stay in the rec center gymnasium as long as I could. The event called for an “Opening Ceremony” outside on a football/soccer field. That was well done with speeches, a cheerleader pep squad and many run participants dressed in their country’s garb.
There were 5 groups of runners, A-E. Each was sent on the course with the firing of a track pistol and a lap around the track. The run was a chilly jog around an H-shaped course with 3-4 switchbacks. This meant that we got to see all of the other runners a few times. Some walked, but most were using this as their “pre-run” before the marathon the next day.
After the running, each participant was given a raffle paper to select from a box. I selected “origami” as did Jackie and Jessica. I was glad my activity was inside the gym. Other activities like rickshaw driving and Japanese drum line occurred on the outdoor playing field. I was already cold enough!
For the day that was meant to be spent largely off our feet and hydrating, the rest of my afternoon was light. We ate pasta made at our Airbnb, drank water and didn’t do sightseeing. I prepped my gear and listened to music and watched videos on YouTube.
Race Day
Race morning had us taking two trains to Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world. We had already been here the night before to eat so I knew where it was. Now some of the station exits were closed off so finding a way to the corrals and Jen’s nearby Hilton hotel was a tricky geo exercise. Thankfully Jen was staying 0.3 miles from our Gate 1/Corral C starting point – because it was cold waiting outside. We went to her room, used the bathroom and waited in the warmth. The temp leaving her hotel was 33 degrees. The race officials said we started at 42 degrees. Maybe that was from their vantage point in the sun. For runners in the shade of the Tokyo Government Center building and its surrounding cluster of skyscrapers, we had breezes and a chill.
The race began with a confetti shower for the elite lead runners and a stroll from the 3rd corral to the start line. I put my thin Shamrock Run long sleeve shirt in a collection bin and began the run. The course was crowded in the first miles, we ran with a net downhill for the first 5k. Much of that was spent zigging around others. Thankfully I didn’t have many walkers or very slow people in front of me. My first mile was the slowest I ran all day (8:03), gathering speed to settle in with 7:40-ish paces once the early miles rolled by. I had an Underarmour long sleeve with a singlet on top, a pair of Abbott WMM gloves and long lululemon running tights. The new Hoka Cielo X1 shoes felt good. I noticed the cushioning but not any particular lightness or push forward. Maybe I was used to them after a six mile run at home last week and the 5k activities yesterday?
I seemed to wiggle through the crowd in the first mile quicker than Jen. But I didn’t see her near me until a few miles down the road.
I watched my heart rate pop into the 150s early on. It was cooler than two weeks ago when I ran A1A Marathon. In that race I kept in below 160 for the first half of the race. At an 8 min per mile pace. Here I was in the 7:45 range and the 160s HR was present for most of the miles between 7-17 I would presume.
The miles between 5-10 went well. We had out first “out-n-back” section, where lead runners are further ahead in their miles but running at us on the opposite side of the street. I enjoyed seeing the lead wheelchairs, then the race leaders. Three ahead running behind the timing truck and Eliud Kipchoge alone in 4th place. He was wearing a hat, too, this is the first time I’ve seen that. I saw Jen ahead of me but didn’t lean into catching her. When I though I was close enough I yelled her name but she didn’t hear me.
I took a Maurten gel at the start, a salt pill at 4 miles, SIS Beta gel at 5-6 miles and more salt at 10 miles. I knew even in cooler conditions that I’d need electrolytes. The course Pocari Sweat drink and water I knew about, I chose to stick with water. The Pocari Sweat was first up at the initial water stop, so I grabbed & drank one of those. Just once. I took more salt at around 13 miles, another gel at 12 miles, I kept ahead of the need for fuel. Catching my water at the correctly numbered tables mattered for the first few. At some stops I took water twice, at Table 4 (corresponding with the last number on my bib) and at one of the following tables, also.
What sticks in my head is that I’d been here in Tokyo for four plus days seeing the sights and traveling around. In the race, I never felt as if I knew where in the city I was. I saw billboards, tall buildings, towers, and things I sort of recognized, but it didn’t help. I watched the km signs go by and kept noticing where I was going. The first 20 miles I had a good bit of shuffling around on course. I stayed on the side of the roads when I could, it looked like I had more space straight ahead to gallop when I did that. I kept up with taking the gels and especially the salt pills. My older mini M&Ms case top finally broke off, so that needs replacing. I knew to gingerly use that in the later miles so I didn’t lose the top.
A sad part of the race was when I looped back on the longest out-n-back section from 13 mi to maybe 18 mi. When I got back to the earlier section, the road on the other side was empty. This was the cutoff time being enforced. They race had already removed those runners that couldn’t reach certain checkpoints. A line of yellow motorcoach busses waited on the side of the road, perhaps for the next group of people that would need to be removed from the course. This is the only race where I’ve seen that done.
I ran further down the course, into the 30-40 km range – This section has runners go past a loopback point that has you see the final straightaway and the “1 km to go” sign. I knew I was having a slowly rising HR, it was now in the mid 170s. The weather was cool, so that was in my favor. I didn’t want to push for the final 4 miles like I had in Ft Lauderdale and risk having to run and walk in the last few miles. I was at the upper ranges of HR being 170 and touching the 180 bpm mark in the final 2 miles. The cool weather gave me confidence that I could roll in at this pace for a pretty good time.
I watched a YouTube course tour video when I woke up at my usual 2 am. I remember the narrator saying, “You’ll know you are close to finishing when you see the Tokyo red and white tower.” Here I was running towards Mile 24 on the final out-n-back spur and there was the tall radio tower on my right. But I still had to go down the road another 2.5 kms then turn and pass it again. I thought of Jen Sober running the last piece of the CIM race a few years ago. She said she consciosly decided not to let the stream of runners dictate her pace. Because the stream in the final miles is always slowing down. You do see some runners who have that pep for the last 2 miles but most end up walking though water stops, they have given most of their energy already.
I passed the Tokyo Tower and chose not to grab water or eat a final gel this close to the finish. My pace was still good and I made a right turn then a short straight to the left turn that holds the “1 KM to go” sign. This part of the course is among tall buildings and and shaded roadways. I wasn’t cold, I ran down the last short straightaway and to the finish. I ran a tad slower for the second half, probably by about a minute and thirty seconds. I saw my first half was 1:42:30 – meaning if I ran the same on the second half I’d have a 3:25 finish time.
– Coros Pace 2 –
Finish Time – 3:26:29
I didn’t know where Jen was, she had been both behind me and in front of me at different parts of the race. Once I saw my phone, one of the texts from Pete said she was right behind me. She finished in 3:32 and I was fortunate enough to get to wait along the side of the road and to find her in the slow stampede of tired finishers.
The line we waited in to get to the “Six Star Finishers” area wound us back near the Finish Line so…
Then we lined up for the Six Star Medal and photos. Each runner gets a colorful terrycloth hoodie plus a lapel pin for Six Star finishers. I was glad to be in good shape, not hobbled at the end. Many people respectfully congratulated each finisher & made sure you had water and food if you wanted it.
The final stop near the Finish Line was to visit the reception area of Kid’s Door, the charity I aligned with to gain entry to the race. They took photos of Jen and I and had snacks and drinks available for us.
Set me up for Sydney, September of 2025.
drun4fun 