by
Mark Jimenez
I hit the lottery.
Twice.
The Tokyo Marathon is the hardest of the 6 world majors to get into. The London Marathon is the 2nd hardest. In the space of 8 weeks I get to run both.
Tokyo is behind me now, and London is ahead of me. All I can say is, what an amazing experience.
Tokyo is a beautiful city, full of amazing people. I was immediately struck by how crowded the city is. If you value your personal space, Tokyo isn't a place for you to go. I had some very uncomfortable experiences on elevators where I thought the elevator was full but people kept getting on. It was downright claustrophic there for a bit. It's hard to find a place to run as the sidewalks are filled with people and there isn't any space to get through. The streets are crowded at all times. I was surprised to find them crowded even as I tried to go for an early morning run at 5:00am.
That being said, Tokyo has got to be the cleanest and safest city I have ever been in. I went with a group of store owners from around the country and we were amazed at how clean the city was. What's more, there were no public trashcans! A far cry from any urban area in America where there are trashcans on every corner but trash seemingly anywhere but in the trashcan. In Tokyo I did not find a single piece of trash on the road. Amazing.
It's also safe. Three of my daughters came with me and they were able to explore the city on their own without any fear or worry whatsoever. I'm sure it was the adventure of a lifetime for them!
As far as the race itself goes, what can I say? I got to run in Tokyo! It was so well organized. We had no problem at all getting to the start. It was a bit of a warm day, about the same as we had in Las Vegas there in late February. It wasn't my best marathon by far, but I got what I trained for. Lately I've lacked the energy to put the full effort into marathon training, so I knew I wasn't going to go in and smash any records. My goal was to enjoy a World Major in a beautiful country. Goal accomplished!
If you can do the Tokyo Marathon, go do it! I miss Japan already, and I really want to go back!
My group got to spend time with the ASICS leadership in Japan and they treated us well. We got to go to an exclusive Sushi Chef in Tokyo. He prepared the sushi right in front of us as we enjoyed conversation and learned about the different kinds of fish in the area. There is no way I can explain the level of detail he gave as he prepared the food for us. There are no words to describe the flavor and contrast of the food we ate. I am in awe.
After the marathon ASICS took us to Kobe for some world famous Kobe Beef and a tour of their faciilities. I was impressed with the research that goes into each and every shoe they make. I also got to meet Kayano-San, the namesake of the Gel-Kayano shoe from ASICS. We made our own mini shoes and Kayano-San judged them. I was nowhere near close to winning. In fact, I think the actual comment was, "I would not buy this shoe," but it was fun nonetheless.
To commorate the trip to Japan one of my daughters and I found a local tattoo artist and got some ink there in Japan. We also had the best Udon I've ever had. I want to go back!
Now it's time to start training for London! It's tricky for me to run two marathons in 8 weeks as I'm not getting any younger. Again, my goal for London is to finish with a smile on my face. I get to run a marathon in London! How lucky am I? It's like the stars all aligned and I get to do two fo the most exclusive marathons in an 8 week timeframe. It's exciting, but at the same time I feel a little guilty because of how lucky I am to have this opportunity.
Go visit Japan if you have an opportunity. You won't regret it. I learned so much in the short time I was there. I'd love for some of my kids to go to school there and learn more. Maybe there is a semester abroad program, if they're interested. Japan is a wonderful, safe place. I'm honored that I was able to go.
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Every Run is a Good Run