My story starts in the summer of 2019, I woke up at 2am to secure a charity entry place for the 2020 Tokyo marathon (you can see where this is going). I donated about £700 to Florence Charity (which offers day care and schooling for children with special needs amongst other things) and then bought my race entry fee for £150. There are a few different ways to gain entry to Tokyo Marathon with charities. You can either make a donation upfront to the charity (similar to a bid) or fundraise as much as you can and then earn your entry. There isn’t a JustGiving (or similar platform) so it can be tricky to fundraise the money you already donated back. This was the cheapest donation entry I had for the World Marathon Majors, so I was happy to donate and not have to add more stress to my training by asking people for money.
Turns out, I had to reschedule my trip twice due to Covid and restrictions for foreign visitors not on an organized tour. Aside from March 2020, I was supposed to race in October 2021 but there was too much up in the air with international travel to commit. I finally made it in March 2024. There were still regulations in place to keep runners safe, such as to using an app to register whether you had a fever every day for a week or two before and after the race.
Sadly, I don’t have many photos from the race as I was filming on a small sports camera for a vlog. I lost this footage along with some Kyoto city tour photos I logged on to a temporary admin profile on my laptop in haste. Lesson learned!
Without further ado, here is information from my experience running the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.
Entries and fees
As mentioned above, I decided to enter via a charity route in 2020, which the organization and charity kindly let me keep my place until 2024. While I paid an entry fee in 2020 (and received a large parcel with all of the 5Km race and marathon finish line goodies plus my 2020 medal at the 2024 expo). I was required to pay an additional race entry fee for the 2024 race and completely understand why. There was so much logistics and communication over the four years, I am surprised they didn’t charge people every time their rescheduled. Compared to the other WMM races I have done, it wasn’t too expensive (not counting the flights and accommodation).
Course and bogs:
The race starts on the west side of Tokyo in Shinjuku City and then ends near the Imperial Palace. There were not enough port-a-loos in our start corral for the number of people waiting which meant I split up from my friends. Just as I made it to the front of the queue, there was an announcement saying we had to start within 11 minutes but the start line was still a ways to walk. I was stubborn and stayed to use the loo and managed to start without any issue.
Along the course, there were many port-a-loos which were well sign-posted both with a warning that a toilet was near by and then volunteers were there with signs where it was time to come off the course. We didn’t run by too many famous landmarks (see the route I ran below). We did go close to the Hanazono Shrine (I think) and a shopping area that was on my tour. Otherwise, we passed a lot of 7-11s.
The course is said to be ‘flat’ but I would say that it is undulating. Strava tells me I had an elevation gain for 157 feet. Of course, I am very literal so would have preferred 0.
Location
Tokyo, Japan (see map above). The expo center and many events leading up to race (including the lululemon shake out run I went to) were in the Koto City area. I went back there nearly every day before the race (including for museums). Most people stayed in Japan either before or after the race to travel a bit. I will say that the jet lag was killer. I slept nearly an entire day after I arrived.
Atmosphere
Even though there were lots of people along the route, both spectating and working, there was not a lot of noise. I don’t know if it is true, but I was told culturally, Japanese people will not cheer unless you speak/cheer to them first. Of course, there were some international family and friends who had traveled with the runner that brought silly signs and they kept up the vibes. It was a sunny day so everyone was smiling.
The food along the course, both officially supplied and by the crowds, was a bit unusual for me so I didn’t try very much (nothing new on race day!). As a ran along, I saw people giving out Coca Cola and was grateful to have a 1/2 cup for a boost while I was flagging.
Race bling and goody bag
For this race, I walked away with two medals. No, not for my 6th star but for the 2024 and the 2020 races. I would like to commend the Tokyo Marathon race organizers for how well they handled all of the uncertainty during the pandemic. Financially and administratively, it must not have been easy for them.
The goody bag had bath salts and limited snacks. It also had a McDonald’s gift voucher. After I received by 2024 medal, I went to over to the Florence charity celebration for their runners. It was a bit confusing to get to as it involved sub-terrain walkways. Many runners headed here as it was where the official changing rooms are. Since it took me a while to finish the race, there wasn’t much time to enjoy the free snacks and drinks with Florence. My main priority was the sports massage which I was able to receive. After I changed, I can’t believe I went to McDonalds (even when I had to climb stairs to enter the restaurant and then needed a lift to find seating). I knew once I got to the hotel, I would not leave again and just wanted something very salty.
Tips if you want to take part next time
Communication: Organizer emails can be tricky to read because they are written in very formal English. Take your time to read through them as they do contain lots of helpful info. You can also log on to the race portal for more helpful info there.
Expo: Wear comfy shoes because the lines are long to both enter and collect your bib on Thursday. Bring food with you because there are only a few vending machines and one shop in the building where the expo is. There is a larger shop outside but it quickly was depleted in stock. Everyone going crazy for official WMM kit (the videos I saw were crazy!) but I wasn’t that bothered about it. Personally, I don’t think the 2024 WMM designs were that cool anyways. It is no where near the size/energy of the other WMM expos I have attended. Do stop by the charity stalls as there are many and you can let your friends know which ones to register for next year.
Strict rules for start area: No liquids allowed and they mean it. I had to throw away an opened tin of anti-chafe wax which made me very sad. If you plan on carrying water during the race, you need to fill soft flasks within the starting corals (which are huge and do not have many rubbish bins).
Along the course: Remember, Japan doesn’t not have rubbish bins on city streets and no one litters. Plan on carrying your rubbish with you until there are bins along the course.
Finish line: I had to pay to have my checked bag transported to finish line. It was not very expensive and definitely worth IMO. I did receive a towel poncho at the finish line which would have helped keep me warm, but I preferred having dry clothes too.
Best of luck to everyone running in 2025. Be sure to leave comments below with tips from this year’s race.
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