Konnichiwa! (That's hello in Japanese.) I'm Jon Deaner (@jondeaner), a 17-time marathon runner living in NYC. I had an amazing experience running the 2014 Tokyo Marathon on February 23rd. Friends had been asking for details so I decided to create this blog to share highlights of the 26.2-mile (42.2K) adventure. Whether you're considering running Tokyo, want inspiration to run your first marathon, or are just curious, I hope you enjoy.In case you're wondering, why marathons for me? I ran my first in 2004 and going into it, thought it might be my only one. Well, one led to the next, and then to the next, and... now I'll admit that I'm addicted. I enjoy the discipline of training and reaching a goal, getting into shape, experiencing the pageantry and rituals with friends and family, and being able to compete on the same stage as Olympians. Oh yeah, and the ability to eat pretty much whatever I want during training.
And why Tokyo? In 2006 the World Marathon Majors were founded. It's the grand slam of the world's premier marathons for the elite runners. Though I'm clearly not an elite marathoner, by 2010 I had completed all five Majors, which were the Berlin Marathon, Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, London Marathon, and New York City Marathon and was proud of the accomplishment. That was until 2012 when they added the Tokyo Marathon to the series. I had one thing to say to that, "Konnichiwa, Japan Airlines. Reservation, please!"Well, the countdown to race day is upon us. Lace up your running shoes and let's take in some of the marathon pageantry I mentioned. (For your tour I'll be wearing my favorite kicks, the Saucony Guide 6.)
2.21.14 TWO DAYS UNTIL THE MARATHON
First stop is the marathon expo at Tokyo's Big Sight International Exhibition Center, where we'll pick up my race number, T-shirt, and take in the hoopla.
The thousands of friendly volunteers helped elevate the experience all weekend long.
Oh, and now you can meet some of my friends (l to r) Andy, Stacey, and Denise.
First expo I've seen where we could hang wishes on the wall.
Only in Japan...
The official cookie of the Tokyo Marathon.
2.22.14 ONE DAY UNTIL THE RACE
As is tradition the day before a race, I laid out my gear to make sure nothing was missing. Also, instead of wearing my name on the front of my race shirt as I usually do, in honor of the World Marathon Majors, I decided to wear something from each my previous Majors races: my Berlin shirt, Boston shirt, Chicago hat, London shorts and NYC gloves.
Then I was off to the pre-marathon pasta dinner. First time carbo loading using chop sticks!
We reviewed the course map to find locations where Sara and Ken would be watching us. The Tokyo Marathon course is mostly throughout the downtown area and is relatively flat.
2.23.14 MARATHON DAY!
I opened the shades in my hotel room and I could see the starting line right below. The excitement of running throughout Tokyo was building.
As expected, it was going to be chillier than I prefer (but thankfully there was no record snowfall like they had the prior weekend which killed 19 people). I decided to wear four layers of technical shirts for the entire race. Yes--four.
Our friends met in the hotel's lobby so we could head over to the starting area together. Left to right, that's me, Andy, Felicity, Denise, Hazel, and Owain. I'd estimate that added together, we've run a total of 150 marathons!
After arriving at the starting area and depositing my gear bag, I had time to meet some other runners. I did wonder for a moment if I was running the Disney Marathon.
And wondered if Fruit of the Loom was a sponsor.
WAIT! Before we begin the run… a stop at the all-important loos is crucial. Runners had two choices: Western style* (on the left) and traditional. I opened the traditional door since I thought you might be curious. *I don't know about you, but Western style usually connotes omelets to me.
It was now time to make my way into the corral to line up with 36,000 others and wait for the starting cannon.
This might also be a good time to mention that my only goal for this marathon was to enjoy it and take in the unique experience. Since we had record-breaking cold temps in New York, Tokyo prep included the least amount of training I'd done before a marathon. Also, I wasn't sure about possible jet lag issues, so didn't have any specific finish time expectations.
Raising money for charities to gain entry is popular since it's extremely difficult for locals to get a spot given that 300,000 entered the lottery for less than 36,000 spots.
New tradition: #startinglineselfie
Just about to cross the starting line, sporting my vintage Marathon Tours & Travel poncho.
After a blast of confetti, we were off and running!
The first few miles were especially thrilling and felt surreal since I could't believe I was finally running the Tokyo Marathon. With the excitement I needed to remember not to use up all of my energy which would be needed later in the race.
Congrats!
That's my friend Stacey with the Tokyo Tower in the background.
I ran next to Japanese Jesus for a few miles. I like to think that I was faster than him.
Check out the woman on the right... Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics and the city is already getting excited.
My friends Sara and Ken were sitting out this marathon and instead decided to support the runners.
There's Stacey leaving Batman in the dust. She has seven fingers raised since Asia makes the seventh continent on which she ran a marathon. Congrats on becoming a member of the Seven Continents Club!
One of my Fruit of the Loom friends from the starting area! 
About halfway, in the Asakusa neighborhood, Denise and I found each other and ran together for a while. This was Denise's 50th marathon!
Running past the Tokyo Skytree. Also, you'll see that the ground is virtually spotless. In other races runners can toss their garbage on the ground. But in Tokyo we had to give hand it to the volunteers.
Now through the posh neighborhood of Ginza. At this point I was feeling strong and started picking up the pace.
Past the famous Kabukisa Theatre …
The 40K mark… so just a bit more than 2K to go.
Final approach to the finish line…
I'm coming through the left side of the finish line (with arms in the air under the clock).
My best finish line photo yet! Note that the time on the clock reelects when the starting gun went off. It look me about 8 minutes to cross the starting line, so my official net time was 3:55:32.
As reflected on my Garmin Forerunner, I actually ran 26.45 miles. I was psyched with my finish time since I didn't know what to expect going into this given my sub-optimal training.
Time to pick up the hardware!
My laurel wreath ceremony! (First marathon where I've seen this done for the non-elites.)
My checked bag was waiting for me in the hands of a friendly volunteer.
A post-race tomato is always delicous. Along the course, they were also giving out tomatoes (instead of the more traditional energy gels.)
Now that I had my Tokyo medal, my World Marathon Majors outfit was complete, with all six races represented.
My post-marathon press conference. Ha!
I then hobbled back to my hotel where the marathon's winner, Dickson Chumba of Kenya was also staying. Here's a photo I took of him a few hours after his course record-breaking win of 2:05:42.
And the gang reunited at the Park Hyatt for story telling, drinks, chips, and...
…of course, SUSHI! Def worth the sprint.
I hope you enjoyed the adventure. As I'm sure you can tell, the entire experience was electrifying and I'd highly recommend this race (or a trip to Japan in general). The fine people of Tokyo certainly made this a race to remember. Sadly, it's now time to say "Sayonara, friends!"
