Again, I did not make the draw (260,000 applicants for 35,000 spots), but amazingly my wife was selected again! So, again, I participated in it as a supporter to my wife.
She has ran three 10K races in her life including the first and the second Tokyo Marathon, but this was her very first time to challenge the full 42.195 km.
Since she learned that she would be running the marathon, she trained hard all winter. I ran with her on weekends - in the last two months, I ran a 20K twice and a 30K once with her to help her train. She worried a lot before the run, but when the day came, she was fantastic.
The weather was cool and damp. We did have some strong winds and rain which could have been tough, but I think overall, it was a great day for a marathon.
This was my very first time to be there for the entire length of a marathon without running it. We left home at 7:30 for the event. I parted from her around 8:40 and moved around mainly on the subway system to try to cheer her from different parts of Tokyo - from Shinjuku the gun went off, I went to Hibiya, Ginza, Asakusa-Bashi, Tsukiji, then to Odaiba where the run ended. I met up with her around 2:15 PM or so. We had lunch and came back home around 4:30 PM. This was a very long day and although I didn't run, got exhausted!
Here are some photos I took that day.
An advertisement for the marathon in a subway car.
The time keeper car ready to leave right before the starting gun went off.
And they are off! The first wave of the 35,000 runners.
The runners and supporters at around 10 km point (Hibiya).
The 35K point was around Higashi-Ginza. This is the Kabuki Theatre.
My wife says that this may be her first and last marathon, but I think we'll be running one together sometime in the near future!
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