Interview Relay

Interview Relay 2nd Run: Stories of “Connections Between People” Born Through the Tokyo Marathon 

This time, we introduce a “Story of Connections through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Volunteer Legacy” by Hiro, who strongly felt that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Tokyo Marathon keep connecting people.

The One Who Wrapped a Towel Around Me After I Finished…

I have ran the Tokyo Marathon six times from the first event until today. Among them, the one that is most deeply etched in my memory is the Tokyo Marathon 2021 (held in 2022), which took place while the effects of COVID-19 were still lingering.

At this event, I ran together with my fellow volunteers in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I forged bonds during the uncertain times of the pandemic and want to pass on the legacy of sports volunteering created through the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the next generation – with those thoughts in my heart, I stood at the starting line wearing the blue Tokyo 2020 volunteer uniform (for field cast).

On the course, the silent cheers to prevent COVID-19 and the non-stop encouragement kept pushing me forward, giving me the strength to keep running. The marathon was physically grueling, but finishing it with the support of my fellow volunteers was an indescribably moving experience.

What was even more moving was that the volunteer who wrapped a towel around me after the finish was actually a fellow volunteer from my Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games volunteer group.

This chance reunion made me truly realize how the Olympic Games and the Tokyo Marathon continue to bring people together.

Tokyo Marathon Has the Power to Change Our Life for the Better

Being able to carry forward the connections I made as a Tokyo 2020 volunteer into the Tokyo Marathon served as a “tasuki” (relay sash) that significantly reshaped my behavior and outlook.

These bonds are the reason I’ve stayed involved in sports volunteering like the Tokyo Marathon. My motivation is fueled by a strong commitment to being on the side that makes the event possible.

On a personal note, I suffered a serious injury in February 2020, fracturing my left shoulder in an accident, and spent about a year in rehabilitation. And then the pandemic hit, and I gradually drifted away from running. Finishing the Tokyo Marathon under those circumstances gave me a real sense that “I can still run” and that “I’m ready to move forward again as a runner.”

The connections between people gave me the strength to start moving forward again. Through this experience, I realized that the Tokyo Marathon has the power to connect people and positively change their lives.

With a feeling of gratitude for both ‘running’ and ‘supporting’, I want to continue connecting the bonds that are born, nurtured, and reunited there to the next generation.