Sunday 1st March

What a contrast to the Sussex trails, the bright lights 💡, buzzing crowds and electric ⚡️ atmosphere of the Tokyo Marathon delivered an unforgettable experience 🇯🇵

As one of the iconic World Marathon Majors ⭐️ Tokyo brought myself snd Andrew Moore 🏃🏽 together in one of the world’s 🌍 most vibrant and magical cities.

From the start near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, we were swept along by incredible crowd support, passing famous landmarks including Asakusa and the stunning Tokyo Tower.

The atmosphere was absolutely unreal from start to finish with 38000 runners let off at the gun at the same time 🤯, amazing support from spectators lining the entire course and the meticulous organisation from the enormous race expo 🌸 to the race finish and beyond.

Conditions were almost perfect, although the temperature ramped up 2 hours in from 6° to a very warm 🥵 18°, but water and electrolyte stations were in abundance as were the cooling sponges and questionable snacks from pickled plums, salt sweets to whipped cream cakes 🤢 😂

For myself personally this race marked a dream and milestone of completing all six of the World Marathon Majors, (London, Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo) earning the prestigious Six Star Medal alongside around 2,000 runners on the day from across the globe 🌍✨ A moment 10 years in the making, and one that I will never forget.  To run and raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Japan and UK made it even more special, thank you to everyone for their kind donations.

I feel very proud to have crossed the line in 3:33:58, despite struggling in the final two miles as the emotions got the better of me 🥲

A massive shoutout to Andrew Moore 🏃🏽, who delivered an incredible performance despite battling illness in the lead-up, a true display of his strength of character and determination 👏

He absolutely nailed it in 5:40:42 🙌 and it was wonderful to spend time with him and share some memorable experiences 🖤❤️

No story would be complete without mentioning Fluffy 🐸 , bringing the energy from the sidelines with amazing support on race day! Not only that, but thethree of us made it to a local parkrun the day before in Hikarigaoka, where Fluffy smashed out a season’s best 🔥, this particular parkrun celebrated its 6 year anniversary 🎉 and we met plenty of fellow runners from home and abroad 🇦🇺

Of course, the amazing support didn’t stop in Japan …

Huge thanks go to everyone back home who sent messages, encouragement and even stayed up through the early hours to track both our progress from afar. This support means more than you know ❤️

The Jet lag was on another level 😴 but our experience was completely out of this world 🌏✨

From neon city streets to unforgettable crowds, the Tokyo Marathon is one that will stay with us forever🔥

Tinks 🧚🏻 and Andrew 🏃🏽