Tokyo Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times, Event Details
Tokyo is a sprawling, labyrinthine metropolis, one of the globe's largest cities. Marathons, due to the sheer number of participants, are well-suited to sprawling cities capable of closing down a few streets to chart a winding course throughout the urban landscape.
It should be of little surprise, then, that the Tokyo Marathon, set to take place on Sunday, Feb. 22—which corresponds to Saturday evening in the United States—is fast becoming one of the premier outdoor races in the world. According to IAAF.org, the Tokyo Marathon is one of the six races that make up the World Marathon Major Series—London, Berlin, Boston, Chicago and New York make up the other five.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
As a newcomer to the ranks of top-level marathons, the Tokyo race appears to be exceedingly popular. According to Tokyo42195.org, the official race website, the marathon can handle up to a maximum of 35,500 entrants this year.
2015 will see the ninth edition of the Tokyo Marathon. Elite runners and amateur marathoners alike will take to the streets of this world-renowned Japanese city for yet another celebration of the endurance of the human body, mind and spirit.
Here's a rundown of everything you need to know to keep up with the race.
Date, Start Times, Live Stream
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22
Wheelchair Start: 9:05 a.m. local, 7:05 p.m. ET (Saturday)
Marathon and 10K Start: 9:10 a.m. local, 7:10 p.m. ET (Saturday)
Live Stream: UniversalSports.com (cable provider subscription required)
Course Map, Route
A map and movie of the course can be found at Tokyo42195.org.
Preview
While the race is meant for people from all walks of life and levels of skill to participate, serious long-distance running fans will have their eyes on the elite field of competitors. All told, 23 men and 10 women make up the elite ranks of the competition. This preeminent collection of marathoners bodes well for the race's burgeoning reputation.
Kenya's Dickson Chumba is the defending men's champion in the event. He completed the 26.2-mile route in a course-record time of two hours, five minutes and 45 seconds. Tirfi Tsegaye of Ethiopia was the first woman to cross the finish line, with a record time of 2:22:23.
Chumba will return to the course in 2015 to defend his title, and perhaps set new a course record in the process. According to a Tokyo42195.org press release, Chumba improved his personal best to 2:04:32 at the 2014 Chicago Marathon.
Per that same press release, Tsegaye will not be on hand to defend her 2014 victory due to injury.
One of Chumba's main adversaries in this race will be 25-year-old Ugandan star Stephen Kiprotich. The gold medal-winner in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics, Kiprotich is making his second attempt at conquering the Tokyo Marathon. He finished in third place in 2012.
While marathon times tick closer and closer to the two-hour mark with each passing year, Kiprotich insisted he's more concerned with racking up wins than smashing barriers.
"For me, it's more about winning races than times," he said, via the AFP (h/t Yahoo Finance).
Other top competitors in the men's division include Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai, who comes in with a blistering personal best of 2:03:02, and Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia. LetsRun.com's Jonathan Gault noted just how prestigious of a field this is at the top level:
"A year ago a Mutai (2013 NY champ), Kebede (2013 London champ), Kiprotich (2013 World Champ) match-up would have been almost as good as it gets in marathoning. Now all 3 titans have something to prove against Chumba."
The women's division appears to be a bit more open without the likes of Tsegaye in the field, but it should be no less competitive than the men's. One runner to watch is Tiki Gelana, a 27-year-old Ethiopian who, like Kiprotich, won gold at the 2012 London Olympics and perhaps has an added advantage over some of her competitors, having previously lived in Japan, per the Tokyo Marathon press release:
"So far, my training is going on well. I have very good memories of racing and life in Japan and I look forward to run for the first time in my life the Tokyo Marathon. I have heard great stories about this marathon and I'm dreaming about racing in Tokyo next month."
Ethiopia's Berhane Dibaba, Kenya's Flomena Cheyech and Japan's own Azusa Nojiri are some of the other top female runners in the field looking for a victory in Tokyo.
The Japanese are often on the cutting edge of technology, and the Tokyo Marathon will feature a truly unique wearable device at this event. According to Jun Hongo of The Wall Street Journal, Dole Japan is set to debut a health-monitoring, wearable, edible banana:
"The fruit maker said it will debut a wearable device at the Tokyo Marathon this Sunday that will be made of banana. The device can display time, heart rate and even tweets.
According to a company spokeswoman, the banana will be worn around the wrist like a watch and be connected with a cord to a separate device that will be carried by the runner....
Runners can peel the banana and eat the fruit inside after finishing the marathon, making it the first edible wearable device in the world, according to Dole Japan.
"
This just seems like an opportunity for a diabolical runner to set someone up for the old slip-on-the-banana-peel trick. Either way, this fashionable futuristic fruit will be something to look out for at the event.
The stacked lineup of elite runners and tens of thousands of participants on hand is a testament to just how quickly the Tokyo Marathon has ascended to the ranks of a premier long-distance running competitions. It helps that Tokyo is an iconic city and a destination locale; the name itself lends an air of prestige to the event that another city might find difficult to achieve. Whatever the result, look for another rousing, successful race in Japan this year.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
