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It’s that time again, the Tokyo Marathon is just a few weeks away, the stress is mounting, and I’m getting so many questions, especially from those of you who will be starting in one of the “later” corrals. Tokyo is a wonderful marathon, HOWEVER it has some pretty unique attributes, one of which is the rules. Every marathon has some rules, but Tokyo has a bunch. And you’d better adhere to them, because the officials certainly do, and there’s no grace. Break a rule and you’re done. Read my race day account of the Tokyo Marathon here.
Read the rule book they send you. Seriously sit down, take some time and really comb through it. This is where you’ll find the rules you’ll need to follow. In my experience, those who do not read the rule book are the ones who end up getting swept by those notorious, balloon ladies with the golden rope. If you are one second behind that rope, you’re cut. Like I said, no grace.
If you’ve read the book, you’ll know about the course cutoffs that come every 5k or so. Not a huge deal, but if you’re starting in one of the later corrals, you must realize that the clock starts at gun time when the elites go off. So your time is already ticking away before you even cross the timing mat at the start. Have I scared you?
Report to your corral on time. When I ran I had to be in my corral not before 7 and no later than 8. This is for a race that did not start until 9:10. Since I was starting in one of those dreaded late corrals, I was there bright and early to try to get myself as far forward in the corral as possible.
Use the on-course hydration. There’s speculation that some hydration vests are allowed but it’s very unclear so err on the side of caution and don’t bring anything you don’t want confiscated. Officially there are no bottles of any kind allowed, so you can’t carry your own potion. When I ran in 2019 the on-course drink was Pocari Sweat. It’s available on Amazon, so you can get some and practice with it.
Don’t throw anything on the ground. Littering results in an automatic DQ (I don’t mean Dairy Queen). Tokyo is an immaculately clean city and they want to keep it that way. There will be receptacles at the start for throwaway clothing. There will also be people holding trash bags along the course for cups, gel packets and anything else you care to toss. Use them.
Don’t stop to use the porta-potties. Seriously don’t. In 2019 every single one of them in the start area and along the course had super long lines. With the course cutoffs, getting hung up at a potty stop just isn’t worth the risk.
Run the first 10k strong. Don’t set a land speed record, but definitely move at a speed that gets you out ahead of the sweeps, then you can settle in a bit and relax….sort of. I know this is something you’d probably never plan to do in any other marathon, but here it makes sense, plus the course is crowded, so make your best effort to keep moving along and watch those course clocks, because your personal start time doesn’t matter to the sweepers.
Standing in the corral in the rain for 90 minutes isn’t a great way to start a marathon
Bring #allthegear with you to Tokyo. Weather is changeable and like Boston, pretty much anything goes. Because the rules say you must be in your corral well in advance of the start, this is where I got hung up. It was barely drizzling when I left the hotel so I left my heavier-duty rain jacket behind and went with a lighter one. But as I stood in the corral for 90+ minutes the rain/wind increased in intensity and never let up. While I brought a tall kitchen trash bag and a sweatshirt to throwaway, I was soaked and shivering before I ever crossed the starting mat. I learned my lesson about always bringing a full-length rain poncho with hood.
Have you run the Tokyo Marathon? A race with crazy rules?
What lessons have you learned “the hard way” from racing?
I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics, and the Runners’ Roundup with Mile by Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Runs with Pugs, Running on Happy, and Faux Runner
wow! Holy crazy rules!!! I don’t foresee me ever being able to do one of these kinds of marathons as I’ll never be fast enough, but its sure fun reading about how different the races can be!
I remember reading through your post last year, with a dropped jaw. It’s crazy all the rules they have…but, I’m glad they enforce them. There’s nothing worse than being the rule-follower (that would be ME), watching all the deviators NOT getting called out. The fuel would be the toughest one for me…
I love reading about how other countries organise their races. How many runners do the Tokyo race? Incredible that they don’t provide more port-a-potties to prevent the long queues. The rain poncho is a good tip!
I do remember how anxious you were before this race! I agree it’s important to know the rules of a race especially for one that has so many! Great guide for future Tokyo runners
Wow. I didn’t realize how strict they are, especially with loitering. I’m curious to see how things are in Paris since we’re, well, a lot more relaxed about rules (like anything goes kinda relaxed). Hopefully it still runs smoothly…
These are such great tips! I know so many runners that are terrified of the cut off times for this race so these would be great tips to follow.
This makes me anxious just reading it! Sounds like running the Tokyo marathon requires as much mental preparation as it does physical. Thank you for sharing this.
I wrote the exact same thing .. and boy, do I remember that race and the cutoffs!
Yup! Terrified!
These are great tips – it sounds like it definitely pays to be prepared for everything. And it also sounds a lot like the sweeping is a lot like a Disney race – except there is quite a bit of grace in a Disney race.
I don’t know that this one would be on my list. It sounds amazing, but also crazy stressful!
I just re-read all of your other Tokyo posts the other day and this is a nice wrap-up reminder! I still can’t believe you made it through given the weather and your mind being in a fog for the last miles. I’ve been using Pocari Sweat for about a month now. I like the flavor and can tolerate it just fine (though I bet I dilute it more than it will be on the course). It’s now just a matter of whether or not it serves as good fuel for me.
This will be tremendously helpful to everyone that is running Tokyo! Just the no bottles thing would probably scare me off — not to mention those cutoff times!
Wow, this has lots of good info for anyone who will be running the race! I can’t believe they will disqualify you for throwing cups on the ground!
Thanks for linking up!
Honestly, this sounds like the most stressful race ever! I bet so many who are running Tokyo is going to find this post so helpful!
One of my runners is running Tokyo. I just shared this with her. I hope it helps and doesn’t cause undue stress! 🙂
I didn’t know that Tokyo had such strict rules! It seems like some of them take the fun out of the race especially for older and/or slower runners..
I can understand being on time for your corral (sort of since it sucks to wait so long) and the littering BUT I simply cannot understand why the clocks start at gun time when you haven’t even crossed the start line. To me that makes no sense and is truly unfair. That is definitely adding so much more pressure to a runner.
I just read on CNN that only elites will be allowed to run this year. Huge bummer for everyone that has been training and had the trip planned.