Tokyo Marathon 2016

On Feb 28, Sunday, Tokyo Marathon 2016 took place.
I saw the first one and a half hours on TV at home,
and the next 45 minutes on the train while heading to Central Tokyo,
and the following two hours and 50 minutes
at the 34 K mark in front of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Ginza.

Two things stood out as things that are worth mentioning.
The first is the fun of cheering.
The second is some exciting elements of the race itself.
Let me illustrate them one by one.

<Fun of Cheering>
Cheering on runners at marathons is fun.
It's especially so when the race is as big as the Tokyo Marathon.
There are plenty of good cheering spots.
But my most favorite is the 34 K mark, in front of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Ginze.
There are a number of reasons why I like it.
First, the energy level is very high there. It's easy access from everywhere;
there is a hub station of Metro there where three different lines cross.
Also, there are plenty of department stores there,
so even those who just happen to be there for shopping
stop and watch the runners go by.
Furthermore, it is one of the official photo-shooting spots,
and coming runners all smile and do their best to have their best shot taken.
But my biggest reason is that this is the area where runners need the biggest support
from cheerers.
For most leisure runners who run a full marathon for the first time
the second half is extremely challenging.
Some have a cramp in their legs.
Others feel pain in their knees.
In the Tokyo Marathon the general atmosphere remains upbeat
until the 28 K mark, which is the Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa.
The size of spectators is enormous,
and the volume of cheering voices is staggering.
Runners can forget about their pain for a while.
But once you leave the area,
the number of spectators decreases,
and your pain feels foregrounded.
It is in the Ginza area where the runners hear roaring cheers and receive high fives once again.
They store up here as much positive energy from cheerers as they can
before they embark on the journey to the finish line.
I know it because I ran the race twice, once in 2011, and again in 2012.

So as soon as I reached Ginza, I went straight to the best cheering spot,
and starting giving high fives and encouraging yells to passing runners.
I did it from 12:00 to 14:50, for nearly three hours, in half squat position
so that the height of my high five wouldn't be too high for runners;
you know when you have run more than 30 K,
even raising your arm feels hard.

I was originally going to do the cheering until 13:00 and then leave,
but the positive energy of coming runners was so overwhelming
that I just couldn't leave there until the cutoff time came and runners were no longer
allowed to continue the race...
It was that dramatic!

<Highlights of the Race>
Now, let me tell you about the second theme--the race itself.
As for as I'm concerned, the highlight of the race this year is
extraordinary performances by college runners.

The first runner worth mentioning is Mr. Yuma Hattori of Toyo University.
He is my most favorite.
I was impressed with his performance earlier this year in the Hakone Ekiden Race.
He ran Section 3, and marked the best time for the section.
He had allegedly trained so hard with over-30 K distance,
and his strong legs and stability of running form seemed to prove it was true.
In Sunday's race he showed the same stability until the 30 K mark,
when he suddenly put on a spurt and went ahead of the pack.
He soon took over his former Hakone rival Mr. Kenta Murayama,
who had stuck with the leading pack until the 22 K mark.
I thought Mr. Hattori would finish first among all Japanese runners.
But it was not as easy as that.

He started slowing down after going over a series of over-bridges,
and eventually he was overtaken by four runners,
two of whom were college runners, Mr. Shimoda and Mr. Isshiki of Aoyama Gakuen University.

Mr. Shimoda renewed the best record for teenage runners at his first try at full marathon,
and surprised everyone including his college roommate Mr. Isshiki,
who once said in a documentary that he was superior to Mr. Shimoda
in terms of stamina.

Although, Mr. Yuma Hattori was beaten by the two runners from his rival school,
I want him to be proud of making a spurt at 30 K to stir the equilibrium.
It takes a brave heart to do it.
His action proves he has the guts to take risks,
and his mindset must have been backed up by his confidence in all the hard training he went through.
Someday he will rise from this defeat, I am sure.

To conclude this essay,
Tokyo Marathon 2016 was an extremely exciting event
both from runner's and spectator's perspective.

I will go to the venue next year again,
whether I win the ticket to the race in the lottery and run it,
or I lose, and watch the race from the street.