This is a fairly low key race. Packet pickup is at the start line. The SWAG was a box of soba noodles, a bottle of water, and some small pain … MORE
This is a fairly low key race. Packet pickup is at the start line. The SWAG was a box of soba noodles, a bottle of water, and some small pain relief patches. The race is 1, 2, 3, or 4 laps around the palace (each lap is a 5k) with water only available at the start/stop line, as well as tea and some electrolyte tablets. There were some other races going on at the same time/place around the same course, but it wasn’t a factor. People are very nice and it is very safe. Several running clubs would simply put all of their clothing/gear down on a bench and leave it during the run with no theft. The race is on the wide sidewalk around the palace with the finish going through the picturesque Sakuradamon Gate. The race organizers were very polite / encouraging. The pre-race information was entirely in Japanese. The timing is from the start gun to when your bib / chip is hand scanned at the finish line, which made it sort of fun to see as people would run up and the race director would quickly scan their bib with his timing device. There were approximately 15 people signed up for each of the 4 distances (about 60 runners total). The longest race of 4 laps started about 10 minutes before the rest of the runners of 1, 2, and 3 laps. I would probably do this race again if I were in Tokyo when the race is held.
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Fun race around the Imperial Palace
This is a fairly low key race. Packet pickup is at the start line. The SWAG was a box of soba noodles, a bottle of water, and some small pain … MORE
This is a fairly low key race. Packet pickup is at the start line. The SWAG was a box of soba noodles, a bottle of water, and some small pain relief patches. The race is 1, 2, 3, or 4 laps around the palace (each lap is a 5k) with water only available at the start/stop line, as well as tea and some electrolyte tablets. There were some other races going on at the same time/place around the same course, but it wasn’t a factor. People are very nice and it is very safe. Several running clubs would simply put all of their clothing/gear down on a bench and leave it during the run with no theft. The race is on the wide sidewalk around the palace with the finish going through the picturesque Sakuradamon Gate. The race organizers were very polite / encouraging. The pre-race information was entirely in Japanese. The timing is from the start gun to when your bib / chip is hand scanned at the finish line, which made it sort of fun to see as people would run up and the race director would quickly scan their bib with his timing device. There were approximately 15 people signed up for each of the 4 distances (about 60 runners total). The longest race of 4 laps started about 10 minutes before the rest of the runners of 1, 2, and 3 laps. I would probably do this race again if I were in Tokyo when the race is held.