It was cold at the start but not as cold as I thought it would be. In the direct sun, it was downright warm. But any breeze or any shade made it cold enough to cut through whatever layers one had… and though I had gone for running pants I opted for a short sleeve shirt. Indeed, it was my official TravellingFit Gojira Kev Tokyo Marathon shirt so it really was a no brainer… and given the weather conditions it may have illustrated just how few if any brains I have! Still, in the sunlight, it was the right decisions…. and in the opening miles which seemed to be only in subshine, I was regretting the pants versus shorts. That quickly changed as we headed into a shady section due to skyscrapers blocking the sun. So all in all, we’ll call my gear choice a draw.
Mom was a real hero, braving the winds and crowds to come cheer me on. She stuck with Felicity Kent and the TravellingFit support crew for the majority of it. Unfortunately, as I finished she was given poor directions from several wanting-to-be-helpful-but-ultimately-NOT-being-helpful volunteers who directed her in the wrong way to get to the buses back to the hotel. She got to see some additional sights of Tokyo though!
It was great to hear her cheering me on from the sidewalk in the opening kilometers and then again somewhere around Mile 19. At that point, I ran over and snapped this great selfie with her and the sign Steve designed for me. It’s such a boost to have your own support team, so arigato Mom for making the trek and arigato Steve for the calligraphy kanji. You all are the best.
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This is going to be yet another massive photo album upload with stray comments here and there. It seems like the right way to go. So scroll along and peruse the sights of the Tokyo Marathon — no need to spend too much time on any one image, just let it wash over you. Feel the photos flow through you. Because there’s a lot of themand this is probably a kind of boring post save to me as a memory archive. But that may be true for 99.95% of runkevinrun.com.
Pre-race meetup in the lobby of the Keio Plaza Hotel. We caught up with Felicity and a few of my TravellingFit compatriots.
Heading to the Start Line.
And we’re off!
I chase you, Pickachu! I pass you, Pickachu!
I chase you, Sgt Pepper Paul — it was twenty steps ago, I passed you on the long and winding road….
I‘m not sure if this was sushi Nemo or if that was just in my head. Freaked me out either way.
On the road and on the run.
I think this is the mascot for taxes.
When Steve was on study abroad here in college, he brought me back some of his favorite drink from the area – Pocari Sweat! I never loved it but it always makes me think of him, which was a nice motivation on the road. Drinking it, it’s a sweet, sugar water vibe that once handled has the sticky sensation that somehow you’ve rolled around on the floor of a second run movie theater.
At the finish — the long march to baggage check and the tour bus back to the hotel was easily a mile. While the volunteers were enthusiastic and cheered us on, my fellow runners were like the walking dead — shuffling and silent. It was a weirdly disheartening experience. I was pretty happy with my time — it was no BQ but that was because I tried to stop and shoot some photos that I could digitally add in Godzilla to at a later date. I’m still trying to find a decent monster shot to composite in.
Mom got sent all the wrong ways and I feel awful that she trudged through the streets of Tokyo. But I’m really glad she came.
