Author: Alex Battersby
I ran my first major in London in 2008, young, fresh faced and delighted to cross the finish line in 5 hours 11 minutes. 17 years later, I could not believe my luck to be standing on the start line of my 6th major hoping to claim the elusive 6 star medal.
The six marathon majors (Berlin, London, Chicago, Boston, New York and Tokyo) have now been joined by Sydney but on the completion of the original six you gain what can only be described as a “mega medal” (best said in your finest Geordie accent). For me and Rachael, Tokyo was to be the final of these six. We had very different journeys to get here and that would be a story in its own right but its worth a brief mention. Boston requires you to qualify by time and then hope that the cut off isn’t too brutal. The qualification time is set and then depending on the year determines how far under you need to be to get a spot. The others, you can qualify through time, run for charity or enter the ballot. I appear to be the luckiest person in the world and got into all of the others by the ballot, Rachael had a combination of charity, ballot and time.
So back to Tokyo. I spent the two weeks before traveling and eating around Japan so arrived in Tokyo hardly in ideal race state. Rachael arrived on the Friday before the marathon so had the battle of jet lag to combat. Both presented different challenges but both ending up in the same hotel without planning it!
Japan is an amazing country, with highly respectful people and a level of organisation and functioning that I have never seen before. The trains arrive on time and people queue in an orderly manner to get on, having let everyone off before. There is no noise on the train and in fact the streets and city are also incredibly quiet. The other thing you immediately notice is how clean the whole place is, with no rubbish at all. It is also one of the safest places I have ever travelled.
The Marathon Expo is held at the end of one of the many metro lines and is unlike any of the others I have been to. On reflection, this was to be translated to the actual race as well. It was calm and highly organised. There was a queue (of course) to get into the merch area and no frantic pulling of clothes off the rails. However, even on the first day a lot of the lines had sold out. What I found out after is that many people had ordered online and many had got things delivered to their hotel in advance of their arrival – good to know if you are as merchandise obsessed as I am. However, there were many opportunities to spend money as, after the clothes, there was a further shop with mugs, towels and even more things to help you remember your day! Number received, obligatory photos taken and even a metro ticket for race day (more on that later) I was out of there with considerably more objects and less money than when I went in.
The day before the marathon there is an organised 5k called the friendship run, but we headed to the local Parkrun. There are a few in travelling distance from the centre of Tokyo owing to the excellent train network. We headed to Futakotamagawa with a lot of other marathon hopefuls. This was a lapped course of what was essentially a sports complex. It was not the most scenic course, but there was a glimpse of Mount Fuji which really is an awesome site. There were also some enthusiastic Japanese school children keen to practice their English and say hello on 2 of the laps. The train station is a shortish walk but due to some renovations the route was not as straight forward as it should have been, so a volunteer was placed at the exit to greet us and walk us to the start. The briefing was done in both English and Japanese. There was even someone who had arrived straight off the plane with their suitcase – I was highly impressed by their dedication and the fact that there were no concerns that this wouldn’t be where they left it after they ran.
We had a trip to TeamLABS, an interactive art gallery, after this which was an awesome way to spend the rest of the day. After some teppanyaki in the evening it was to bed for an early night.
Race day finally arrived, I awoke super excited and met Rachael and Tim in the hotel lobby. I had slept relatively well as had pretty much adjusted to time difference. Rachael and Tim less so and in fact Rachael seemed to have forgotten how to sleep. We headed off to get the train to the start armed with our tickets from the expo. Unfortunately, the ticket was not valid on the train we needed to get and in fact wasn’t valid on any of the train lines in the immediate city centre (we never worked out exactly where it was valid) but we manged to buy tickets with some cash and off we went to the start.
Before entering the start area you had to go through security and there were very strict rules around what was allowed into the area, including a limit on food and water bottles (no bigger than 250 mls). You were not allowed to discard clothes in the start pens and had to put them into the bins just before entering your start pen. There were plenty of toilets and a very organised queuing system to ensure efficiency.
Pre-run rituals complete, into the start pen and then off we went. The pre race information informs you that you must not stop in the first mile and should not overtake either. It also gives information about which water table you take water from (the number matching the last number of your race bib – but it would appear most people had not read this). There are strict rules about not dropping rubbish and you are told you will be disqualified if you do! There are no bins other than immediately after the water stations, but there are volunteers with plastic bags at the side of the course. I had also been worried about toilets along the course as I had heard mention that they are a long way off the course and some of them are (up to 500m) but there are plenty along the course with volunteers who manage the queue and help you with the doors in your fatigued state!!
The route. It is a city centre course with multiple switch backs which presents a great opportunity to spot friends and celebrities!! I did see Tim (but not Rachael). I did not see Harry Styles but I did the see the great Paula Radcliffe (she was at 28k as I came into 20k) which I was super excited about. The support along the route is very different from any of the other majors. It is so quiet. There is very little cheering. There is a lot of smiling and waving and some very interesting entertainment. I saw a cheer squad and also a group of older woman (some definitely over 80) in turquoise kimono dancing with white sticks. I tried to record this as it was such an immense sight but only managed to video my thumb! There was a little bit of noise in the final straight but otherwise the support was very reserved. I saw my other half in the last mile. He was cheering and easy to spot as he is 6ft 2 so somewhat stuck out!
The course is very flat with few inclines and good time potential. Unfortunately for us, it was also the hottest day of the entire trip with temperatures reaching 20 degrees, a far cry from the snow we had experienced only a few days before and the rain we would experience the following day. But for me it was never about the time, it was about the feeling of crossing the finish and receiving the elusive 6 star medal.
Coming down the final straight it dawned on me that it was really happening and the tears started to come. It was just so emotional and as I crossed that line I could not have been more pleased. You can register so that you get your six star medal at the end so after finishing this was the next excitement. It was a fair walk to collect this but once I had it I was never letting go.
Getting back to the hotel proved a bit of a mission as many of the exits and roads were still closed. I ended up walking further than I needed to but I did bump into some Japanese ladies who were so excited by my medals they took a selfie with me. I am slightly worried they think I won as there was not much common language between us, but never mind we all smiled! We headed out for celebratory sake and discussion of what an amazing experience it had been and whether we would be taking on Sydney……..!!
I would thoroughly recommend Japan and the Tokyo marathon. We booked our trip through
Trail Finders which made it really easy. I can talk forever about the trip so be warned if you get me started you may need a few marathons for me to finish talking about it!
My Six Star Journey
London 2008: 5 hrs 11; 2009 5 hr 7; 2023 3 hrs 44; 2024 3 hrs 38 2025 – awaited
Berlin 2021: 3hrs 48
Chicago 2022: 3 hrs 44
Boston 2023: 3 hrs 32 (PB); 2024 3 hrs 51
New York 2024: 3 hrs 56 (2012 – cancelled when I had arrived in New York!!)
Tokyo 2025: 4 hrs 1 min 35 seconds
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