Earlier this month, Pete, Coopah’s co-founder hit the streets of Tokyo and completed the Tokyo Marathon! Not only did he make it to the finish, he completed his Mum’s sixth Major Marathon.

We caught up with Pete to find out what is what like running Tokyo Marathon, attending the world’s smallest parkrun and what tips he has to share.

The Flight Over

For me, the atmosphere of a major marathon really starts to build at the airport, you start looking for runners, spotting a marathon top or bag but as my flight changed in Doha, I saw no runners on my first flight. At 2am as I boarded the plane for Tokyo though, the departure gate was full of runners from all over the world. Next to me on the plane we’re two French runners, behind me three Irish runners and to the left of me, three Italians and even some people from Argentina in there too. The buzz had started. Pre race it felt like everyone was staying in Shinjuku so you saw lots of people out on their runs and walking round which was fun.

Parkrun in Tokyo

Since becoming a big lover of the parkrun, I’ve been wanting to experience them all over the place. I got my first taste of international parkrun tourism when I was in Belfast and I loved it. What’s shocked me the most though was the fact it started at 9:30, it made me want to move there. We could all do with an extra 30 minutes in bed on a Saturday!

This made me wonder if Tokyo had a parkrun, it did, in fact it had 3! This was made even better by the fact when translated to the English alphabet it started with an M. It meant I could get a new letter too but over in Japan, they start at 8am. After being extremely jet-lagged for four days, I wasn’t sure an early wake up was worth it but it really was!

When arriving we were told that this was the world’s smallest parkrun, I think this was in terms of numbers and size of the parkrun. International runners made up around 70% of the small field and I was shocked when the Race Director said 5 laps of the park! This made it good fun though and you kept seeing people to smile and wave at. I highly recommend this if on a holiday to Tokyo! Can you guess which parkrun I did?

Once I soaked up the atmosphere at Parkrun, I decided to travel an hour out of Tokyo to watch a J-League match, I don’t recommend standing with the ultras, not perfect training when they are bouncing for 90 minutes. I think I was the only runner there!

Tokyo Marathon Race Day

On race day, the atmosphere was electric. When isn’t it!? The strangest thing for me though was the fact the crowd were in fancy dress, usually it’s Mario and Luigi overtaking me but at Tokyo Marathon they are cheering you on!

The Tokyo Marathon course took in all the sights of Tokyo however I felt like I was in a bubble for the majority of the race as I wanted to feel connected to my Mum which is why I was running but two things really stick out for me, around the 11 mile mark, you came round the corner to see an amazing view of Tokyo Tower, it felt like it was on top of you which was amazing and the 25 mile mark where you saw loads of amazing temples!

My race plan for this was very different to what I had initially planned. Thanks to the Coopah training app, I started my marathon training 24 weeks out as I was after a Sub 3:10. When I injured my foot on New Year’s Eve, I had to restart and sadly lost my streak. Luckily the app allowed me to do a shortened 8 week marathon training plan which ensured I would get round. This isn’t perfect marathon preparation but it was better than nothing. This meant my strategy changed, go easy, enjoy it and take every moment in and try and do the time Mum would have done. With that, I did exactly that and until the last mile, paced my race perfectly with even splits.

My nutrition plan for this was perfect for me. It consisted of 1 caffeine gel pre race. During the 42.2km race, I had 1 Precision Hydration gel every 6km and a small glass on Pocari Sweat every 30 mins. My nutrition strategy helped me finish the race strong. This may not be the right strategy for you, it is always recommended to try out different nutrition strategies ahead of race day. Read our blog for some of our nutrition tips.

Finishing Tokyo Marathon meant everything to me and there won’t be another marathon ever again which means so much to me. From the event being cancelled in 2020 to general entries, to getting injured in 2023 I honestly wondered if I’d ever get Mum’s six star medal but I did. I finished it and achieved my Mum’s bucket list. Words can’t explain what that meant and I’m not sure I can even explain it but it really did mean everything and it felt like Mum ran every single step with me.

Six Star Medal

As mentioned, Tokyo marathon was my Mum’s sixth marathon. Ever wondered what is different on Marathon Day if you are running your sixth major marathon?

There’s quite a few things that are different when it’s your six star, firstly you need to let Abbott world majors know, then at the expo you can hunt for your name and collect your special race bib to let everyone know and finally when you finish, you need to go to another stand to collect that all important six star medal!

Comment below if you a six star finisher or training towards running the six majors marathons.

What is one thing I wish I knew sooner?

I wish I knew I needed internet to show my covid card at the entry to the race! Always read the runners’ pre race manual!

Marathon Tip…

My biggest marathon tip is to enjoy it, run it with a smile on your face and high five everyone. It’s important though that you are ready to run so ensure you find a good marathon training plan app which is flexible and personalised to you.

Tokyo Marathon Highlights

Moments to remember from the weekend was definitely all of it but most importantly the power of running and being able to run. I did this for my mum, she’s no longer with us and I don’t know how long I’ll be around so being fortunate enough to be able to do such amazing bucket list things is something I’ll take away from the weekend. I will never forget that feeling which I cannot describe as I finished the finish line, mum was certainly crossing it with me.