I was at work when I received an email with the amazing news that I was selected to run the Tokyo Marathon, and I was ecstatic!
I would never have thought I would have been selected, but I was thrilled about this. This news made me briefly forget the even bigger news I received 2 days prior, which was my wife telling me she was pregnant! I called my wife as soon as I received the email and was so happy to tell her we are going to Tokyo, but I sensed some hesitancy in her voice, which ‌confused me until she kindly reminded me she was pregnant! Of course, I was over the moon with my wife being pregnant with our first child, so now we had to think if Tokyo was possible. My wife and I were deliberating for a long time about whether we should go to Tokyo, as our
baby would only be 3 months old when we travel to Tokyo for the marathon. We had a lot of factors to consider, such as the logistics of
flying 14 hours with a 3-month-old!

Preparing for the Tokyo Marathon was very challenging. Of course, the training itself was very intense, but at the same time, my son was born on the 3rd December 2025, and this was the start of my training block! So sleep (or lack of it) was the most challenging factor, and then after a long run, instead of relaxing, I took over the nappy changing and entertaining my son while my wife had a break! It was very tough coming home after a 30km run, then having to do squats and walk up and down stairs with my son to relax him and put him down for his naps! But I would not have changed anything!
I had a lot of thoughts going into the race as I ran the London Marathon in 2025, but unfortunately, it did not go to plan as I collapsed with
about 800m to go, threw up and had to wait a while until I was good to go. Eventually, I was allowed to go and finish the race. But mentally it stayed on my mind and nearly made me stop running altogether. Thankfully, I kept on running, but this was always on my mind, and I was worried if the same thing could happen again in Tokyo, so mentally I had to train to block this out and replace it with positive thoughts, and what kept me going was knowing my son and wife were there!

The amazing crowd and constant support from the crowd was memorable. I thought there would be periods where there would be no crowds, but everywhere I looked, the crowds were phenomenal and cheering all the marathon runners. Running past Senso-ji Temple was a fantastic experience

It is so hard to pick a specific moment; the whole event was an amazing experience, and I do not think I will experience anything like this again. All the runners were supportive, the marshals were friendly, the course was outstanding, and even the weather on the day was
beautiful! It was all a very emotional day, not just completing the marathon, but having gone through what happened in the London Marathon, and finishing the Tokyo Marathon feeling good and strong.
It was a personal redemption journey in completing a marathon
without passing ou

100% would be my lovely and amazing wife. She is the reason I was able to do the Tokyo Marathon. She has been extremely supportive and encouraged me to keep training on the days I did not feel up for it. Even I was constantly having second thoughts about actually going to Tokyo with our son, but she never doubted it and was determined that we would all go and have our first family holiday together in Tokyo.
Also, she is an amazing mum! There would not be many first-time mums out there who not only would want to travel 14 hours on a plane with a 3-month-old but also encourage their husband to train for a marathon after having a baby! My Tokyo Marathon medal is for all 3 of us!

I feel that these experiences have brought my wife and I closer together. Working as a team to look after not only our son but also each other. This has made us feel much more comfortable and confident about traveling with our son. Also, it has kept me more determined than ever to set a good example for our son and to continue with healthy habits.

While flying back from Tokyo to London, I had plenty of time to reflect.
Holding my son in my arms, I realized how crazy it was for us to take on this challenge―having our first child, traveling to Tokyo with a three-month-old, and training for a marathon, even after a difficult experience at the London Marathon.
And yet, if I could, I would do it all over again.
It was truly an honor and a privilege to be selected to run the Tokyo Marathon, and I will carry these memories with me for a lifetime.

Once in a lifetime

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay – Mr. Anil Tosar’s story:  here

I was at home checking my emails and saw an email from the Tokyo Marathon organisers which was unexpected. I was so excited when I found out I had been selected to run the Tokyo Marathon 2026. I really enjoyed the experience in 2025, so when I was selected to run in 2026, I couldn’t wait to get going! I then told my friends, family & colleagues in the UK, and sent a Line message to my friends in Japan that I’ll be going back to run again!

For this race, I prepared slightly differently to the previous year. I was a little more experienced, so I knew what my body liked and didn’t like, knew the course a little better, and knew what was in store on race day. I bought new training shoes and new race-day shoes. My first carbon-plated shoes! (Asics Magic Speed 4) I also changed my hydration strategy. The 2025 race was so hot! Being from the UK and training through the dark, wet and windy nights, running 2025 in very hot and dry conditions was a total shock! As such, I had to adjust how I would hydrate to make sure I was better prepared for the 2026 race. I better planned my gel intake, my water consumption, the snacks etc.. The preparation was worth it! Luckily, it was a little cooler than 2025, but I was feeling stronger. I knew the course and so knew which side of the road I wanted to run on (sometimes to get some shade from the sun!). In the end, I was able to achieve a new PB of 3hours 43 minutes,27mins faster than in 2025!

The crowd, as always, were great. Everyone shouting “Ganbatte!” kept giving me the motivation to keep running. My girlfriend also joined me on this trip. It was her first visit to Tokyo, so we’d planned where she could watch the race from, so she could cheer me and my fellow runners on. My colleagues were also tracking me on the app and cheering me on virtually! The race day staff were also fantastic. All the water & snack stations were great. Everyone was ready to keep the runners moving and hand out the much-needed hydration throughout the race.

Seeing the other runners and their own battles/challenges. Each person on the course was out there for their own reasons. I saw the pros (miles ahead of me!) on the other side of the road in some of the out and back. All competing for times that I could only dream of. I saw other runners in costumes such as Luffy, doing it for fun and great causes. I saw charity runners that I was one of in 2025, raising money for multiple different reasons. I saw people pushing those not able to run the race in wheelchairs so they too could experience the race. Everyone out there was racing their own race, their way, for their own reasons. I was one of them.

Not one person. But the people. Especially the locals! Great to see some traditional music from the bands, dancers and performers at various points in the race. They gave up their Sunday to come and watch people they had never met, and would most likely never meet, to cheer them on. Which is extremely generous of them. So I made sure to give them a clap each time I passed them.

Tokyo is my favourite city in the world. I’m very lucky to have had the
opportunity to run this great race twice. I thought once would be enough, but it changed me in that now I want to run it again and see if I can set a new PB! So hopefully I can come back again for round 3 and the 3rd part in the Tokyo Marathon trilogy for me.

The Tokyo Marathon mantra “The Day We Unite.” says it best. And I lived it. My girlfriend travelled to Tokyo to come watch me run. My colleagues in Tokyo arranged for us to meet up in an izakaya for food, drinks and a catch-up while I was in town. My colleague from the US, whom I’d never met, but we met up after the race and shared some food and laughs after running through Tokyo. My long-lost friends who were foreign language students in my family’s house 20+ years ago, whom I met in 2025, I got to meet again in 2026 and spend time with their families and enjoy some great home-cooked food. All brought together through the Tokyo Marathon.

Haiku *Japanese short poem

– Tokyo’s streets flew by, Best time shared with all my friends, Joy at every mile.

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay – Mr. James Wylie’s story:  here

In 2025, I attempted the Tokyo Marathon, running in memory of a Japanese patient of my medical practice in Massachusetts, USA, who had passed from esophageal cancer. However, fate had it that day for me that I was to fail. At the third cutoff point, I could not make the time and was pulled from the race!
Disappointed, I went to Hiroshima to say my prayers, as my father was a WWII veteran. It was that day that I received the email from the Tokyo Marathon Foundation, asking for submissions for the 2026 race. I applied, never for a moment thinking that I would be chosen! On the 7th of April, I got an email to say that I was selected! I remember feeling an immense sense of gratitude and joy to be given another chance to fulfil my promise to my patient! I immediately replied that I would be honored to run!

On top of the privilege of being given a chance to run the Tokyo Marathon 2026, my daughter who is 28, told me that she too would run with me to encourage and keep me company! My daughter had never run a marathon before! She applied to Plan International charity and got a spot. Both of us started a marathon training plan, each one supporting and encouraging the other. On November 9, she ran her first EVER race with me, the Boston Athletic Association Half Marathon! Then we began our winter training to get ready for Tokyo. I am eternally grateful for her support and encouragement in my preparation. She made sure that I would be successful in the race!

Surprisingly, the main emotion I felt at the starting line in corral K was a sense of peace and quiet! Something told me that I was going to have a great race. This would also be my final Six Star race but somehow that was never at the forefront of my mind. At the start, I said a prayer to my patient in whose honor I was running and asked for his guidance and care over the 42 kilometers! And I said a prayer to my angel, Nena Magararu, who was the dearest of friends and my work colleague that we had lost to pancreatic cancer in 2015.


Three incidents stand out clearly in my memory. At mile thirteen I came upon a runner who was down! The medical team had barricaded off the area and the medivac helicopter was hovering above! Being a physician the first instinct is to help but I realized that the team was a professional team and I would be more of a hindrance than a help. However, for the rest of the race I could not help but worry about what became of the runner. Luckily, at the end of the race I found that there were no fatalities and that was a HUGE sense of relief.

The second incident happened close to the final cutoff at 38 kilometers! My daughter, who was about 30 minutes faster than me, spotted me on her return leg of the final switchback and screamed out at me! At first I did not notice and then I saw her! “You are on the home stretch Dad! You got this!!” she shouted. I could not believe that this girl who was running her first marathon and first Abbott World Marathon Major, was MORE worried about her father than she was about her own race!! We both finished well and met up with my wife and son for a celebration.

The final incident happened at 42 kilometers! I was on the home straight and just two hundred meters from the finish when I caught up to this woman who was also a Six Star Finisher. I wished her well when she noticed my Boston Red Sox hat and shouted “Are you from Boston?” I replied yes and she asked where I was from. “Swampscott” I said. “Oh my God! My mother grew up in Swampscott!” she replied. I could not but burst out laughing!! Here I was, having traveled halfway across the world to run forty-two kilometers on the streets of Tokyo only to find another American who was not just from Massachusetts but from the town where I have now lived for twenty-six years!! She is a childhood cancer survivor. Hand in hand, we crossed the finish line in the most memorable finish for both of us! I have NEVER had such an experience in ANY race before!

There was not just one person! ALL of Tokyo and Japan left the most positive impression on me and my family! The generosity, the welcome and the care that Japan showed to all of the runners was just unbelievable. And for me, the most memorable moment came in Boston on my return, when I could give my patient’s wife, the race vest and bib and the medal to keep in honor and memory of her husband Masaharu Mabuchi. Megume Mabuchi has gone to Japan this week to meet his family and give them the bib which has his name on it and the medal so that they can keep it as a remembrance.

Running has grounded me. The young woman, Lauren, who finished the race with me told me, “Congratulations on conquering Tokyo and getting your six stars!” I smiled but did not say anything for I knew that I had conquered nothing! The streets of Tokyo and my patient’s family had given me the honor and the privilege to run and I was able to keep my word and my promise. The run is not for the medal. That is only a piece of metal. But when you can keep your word and experience the race, it changes not just what that piece of metal is but also how you look at the world! We are all on a journey to our eternal home. We are not in competition but we are there to support each other. And that is why the motto of the Tokyo Marathon, “The Day We Unite.” means so much to me!

Tokyo has been a promise fulfilled, the final step in a journey of achievement and the privilege to carry the memory of a citizen of Japan in his own homeland after his earthly days were done. Truly, one of the most amazing race experiences that I have ever had!

Tokyo taught me that when you look inside of you, you see how small you really are, but when you look outside of you, you see how vast you can be! It is a journey of discovery of your own self!

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay – Mr. Subroto Bhattacharya’s story here

How did you feel when you found out you were selected?
I’m absolutely shocked that I got to run for the fourth year in a row; I never saw it coming. And I was so happy to have another chance to see my family, as I missed them during the last race.

How did you prepare for Tokyo Marathon 2026, and what were your thoughts going into the race?

What was the most memorable moment for you on race day?
Given how hard I worked to hit my personal best, I felt more pressure than I ever have! The moment that stays with me the most is meeting my grandmother on
Hibiya-dori, where we had arranged to meet!

Was there any particular moment or encounter during the 42.195km that moved you?
It was deeply touching to see my family as I missed them during the last race,
and knowing that my family, friends and special people in my life were all
cheering me on meant the world to me. I was on the verge of tears many times.

Is there a person or moment from Tokyo Marathon 2026 that left a strong impression on you?

I was on the radio! I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life! 

SWEET!! Tokyo Marathon Interview Relay No. 5. City Runner: Sushirino

Click here for the archive of her appearance. *Only in Japanese provided

How has this experience changed you?

The Tokyo Marathon taught me that small daily efforts lead to big results!

Now that you have finished, what does the Tokyo Marathon mean to you?
It really is all about love! Love for marathons, love for my loved ones, this special event has it all.

How would you describe your experience in one sentence?
I love running. I love each and every one of those who came to support me 

many times over. Thank you so much for such a precious time. It’s a treasure that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay – Sushirino’s story here

Everything started here
In the fall of 2022, I suffered a major medical emergency—I collapsed from a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery. This race was my official comeback.

For me, running the Tokyo Marathon was meant to be a “time slip” of sorts, a journey back through the areas where I spent my challenging days as a student. However, for a while after my illness, I wasn’t just worried about running; I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to return to my life in society.

Slowly, I regained the ability to walk, then eventually to run. It was at that point that I was granted the opportunity to run through the Interview Relay. 

This race became more than just a trip down memory lane; it became a symbol of my “recovery from my illness.”

As I currently serve as an elementary school principal, I shared my participation in the marathon with my students during an all-school assembly and posted a link to the Interview Relay on our school website. On race day, I stood at the starting line wearing a shirt covered in supportive messages written by the children.

Memories from the Course
Standing at the starting line, I found myself reflecting on my days spent fighting my illness. That moment alone filled me with such deep emotion. I was also delighted when someone struck up a conversation with me, saying, “You’re the principal from the article!” It seems they had read my Interview Relay story.
At the 32km mark, in front of the Nihonbashi Takashimaya—a place filled with memories from my student days—I was greeted by the cheers of my family, friends from high school and university, former students, and colleagues. Their cheers felt like they were directed not only at who I am today but also at the person I used to be. In that moment, I truly achieved my “time slip.”
And then, the finish line! My time wasn’t anything to boast about, but simply being able to finish the race without walking was a source of great hope and joy—not just for me, but for my family and friends who supported me through my recovery, my former students and for the children at the school where I serve.

What this experience taught me

This was my fifth time participating in the Tokyo Marathon. To me, this event has always been more than just a race, but this time, with the added theme of recovering from my illness, it became an even more profound and meaningful experience.

One of my former students who came to cheer for me said, “Seeing you work so hard out there actually gave me strength.”

Marathon running is a simple sport—you just keep moving toward the finish line. However, I realized that it is a sport that deeply moves the hearts of everyone involved, both those who run and those who cheer.

Beyond the Finish Line
Once again, I realized that a marathon is essentially an “act of cheering”.
It was a cheer for my younger self who struggled through my student years; a cheer for my family and me for overcoming my battle with illness; and a simple, powerful cheer for my current self and all the participants striving for the finish line. At the same time, it was a cheer from us runners back to the people supporting us along the streets and the staff who made the event possible.
Life brings many challenges, but as long as there is a “cheer” from someone, people can keep moving forward. I felt that the Tokyo Marathon is truly overflowing with that kind of supportive energy.

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay –  Mr. Shigeaki Kashiwa’s story here

“I was absolutely thrilled and couldn’t believe it at first. The moment I received the confirmation email, I immediately shared the exciting news with my wife. Tokyo holds a very special place in our hearts because I proposed to her at the Tokyo Marathon last year. We celebrated together, knowing how incredibly meaningful and emotional it is for me to return and run in the very city where we promised our future.”

“I prepared rigorously through the harsh winter, focusing on high-mileage long runs and track intervals, fueled by a burning desire to achieve a Sub-3 finish in Tokyo. Going into the race, I was full of confidence and excitement, aiming to push my physical limits and make that dream a reality on the beautiful streets of Tokyo.”

Race Experience

“The most memorable part of the race was unexpectedly battling the heat and the intense physical toll it took on me in the later stages. However, what kept me going was the changing scenery that felt like a panoramic movie. Starting from the towering skyscrapers of Shinjuku, passing by the traditional charm of Senso-ji, running through the glamorous streets of Ginza, and catching a glimpse of the iconic Tokyo Tower—pushing through that extreme exhaustion while being surrounded by these stunning landmarks is a memory I will never forget. It was a beautiful contrast between my physical struggle and the breathtaking city.”

“Around the 35km mark, when my pace started to drop significantly due to the heat and my legs felt like lead, the relentless and passionate cheering from the citizens lining the streets truly moved me. Their unwavering support gave me the mental strength to keep moving forward and cross the finish line in 3:07:33.”

Experience & Change

“The flawless organization of the event and the endless smiles of the volunteers left a profound impression on me. Even when the runners were suffering from the heat, the volunteers’ energy never faded.”

“The intense heat and the ‘wall’ I hit in Tokyo acted as the ultimate ‘vaccine’ for my running journey. It taught me true resilience and how to manage a crisis during a race. Thanks to the mental toughness I built in Tokyo, I was able to achieve my dream of a Sub-3 finish (2:59:49) at the Seoul Marathon just two weeks later. Tokyo completely transformed my mindset.”

Reflection

“To me, the Tokyo Marathon is a beautiful and demanding proving ground. It is the place that broke me down, only to build me back up stronger than I ever thought possible.”

“Tokyo broke my limits so I could break my records.”

Tokyo Marathon 2025 Interview Relay – Mr. Yoonsic Yoo’s story here