Tokyo Marathon 2014 was my first ever marathon. In fact, it was my first ever running race. I had no real idea what to expect, but I certainly hadn’t expected to enjoy myself so much. I finished in a respectable 3:16 with a big smile on my face. Since then, I have applied many times for Tokyo but have never been lucky. Just before Christmas, a message was sent out from Namban Rengo about the need for pacers, so I put my name forward. I thought there was no chance of being selected, but two weeks later I got an email asking me to be a 4-hour pacer.
I had never thought about being a pacer, but once I had accepted, it occurred to me that a lot of responsibility goes with the role. People would be coming from all over Japan and all over the world to try to run a sub-4 marathon, and it would be my job to help them achieve this. I had recently run a 1:27 half, so I wasn’t worried about the time; I would just have to keep a steady pace of 5:41 per kilometre. My confidence was short-lived as in mid-January I caught a cold which turned into pneumonia which triggered asthma. Two weeks later I rather stubbornly ran Katsuta Marathon, but I struggled awfully to finish. The last 11 kilometres were all run at over 6-minute pace, the last few around 6:30/km. Two weeks before Tokyo, things got worse when I injured my knee on a long jog. I was still determined to be a pacer, but the idea of having to drop out mortified me.
I got up at 3:30 a.m. on the day of the race full of nervous anticipation. I had prepared everything minutely to make sure I would be able to keep up with the pace. I had made a pace band [file] which I sellotaped around my wrist. I had ibuprofen to dull the pain in my knee, and I had plenty of SaltStick electrolytes to make sure I didn’t get cramp. The organisers had sent me some beautiful Asics Magic Speed 2 shoes to run in, but they were too tight, so I opted for my own Magic Speed Wide shoes. I also eschewed my usual morning coffee as I wanted to minimise the chance of needing the loo along the route.
We had had a Zoom meeting in early February to prepare us for the day. We would be running in a group of 3 with a flag fixed to a backpack. As well as shoes, Asics would provide shorts and a T-shirt emblazoned with “PACER” in pink. (What I am now going to do with this T-shirt is a mystery.) Our job would be to keep an even 5:41 pace, answer questions, and encourage the people around us to go sub-4. Luckily, we would be using “net time” which meant we would start pacing as we crossed the start line. Faster paces were on “gross time”, so their pacing would start at the gun, when they were still stationary in their start block.
I arrived at Shinjuku Station 30 minutes early, but nearly missed the 7 a.m. meeting deadline as I couldn’t find the meeting place. Fortunately, I bumped into a fellow Namban pacer, Vincent, who was in the same predicament. Finally, Vincent spotted a large number of people in identical salmon pink Asics and we rushed up to receive a lanyard with an all-areas pass. We then moved on to the luxury of a warm room in the Metropolitan Gallery, and the even greater luxury of toilets for our use. As seasoned marathoners, everyone made copious use of these facilities.
We got changed into our running wear and then went up to the street for a “warm-up” which was really a chance to practise with the backpack and flag. The flag felt fine, but the air was very cold, so we cooled down rather than warmed up very much. Still, it was fun to jog around with nearly 50 fellow pacers, and we must have looked the part, as many people were taking photos of us. As we returned to the warmth of our room, a long line of invited athletes filed past, heroes of the sport.
Unlike the 37,000 athletes lining up in the starting blocks, we didn’t have to wait out in the cold. Instead, we stayed in our warm room until 15 minutes from the start and then were taken to the head of our blocks. Immediately, people started talking to us and asking questions, mainly whether we would run even splits, and whether our time was net or gross, chip or gun. A guy from Chile told me that he had been trying for years to go under 4, and he had come all the way to finally succeed. This kind of story was repeated over and over again, and I knew this was going to be a special day.
I was so lucky with my fellow 4-hour pacers. Three had gone to the back of Block F, but I was at the front with the delightful Matsumoto-san and Ito-san. Ito-san was a veteran of pacing and he really helped and guided me through the day. He ran the whole race with a smile and periodically let out shouts of encouragement. As the start approached, he gave us lots of tips, such as running the first couple of kilometres in single file as the road is narrower and would be very crowded. Then we would run together side by side, although that was almost impossible to do for much of the race.
Around six minutes after the first runners set off, we crossed the start line, pressed the buttons on our Garmins, and were off. Here I made my first mistake. I should have noted down the exact time that we had started, as this was a common question from runners later in the race. Many had not started with us, so they wanted to know how much their time was different to ours. I soon realised it was easiest to say exactly how long I had been running, so they could work out the difference in their running time. This sounds easy, but of course I had to do this while running in a packed group, with elbows and feet flying close by. Each time I peered down at the tiny letters on my watch face, I had to be so careful not to catch another’s heels. I then had to answer in English or Japanese, often to people who spoke little of either language. All this while trying to keep an even pace of 5:41.
Keeping an even pace proved to be quite a challenge. It seems that the 4-hour pace group is the biggest. I have no idea how many people were trying for this, but it must have been hundreds, if not thousands. The course has many twists and turns, narrowings and bottlenecks, which leads to congestion in places. The aid stations were the worst, despite the numbering system used. Runners were supposed to go to the table which matched the last digit of their race number, but this didn’t seem to help very much. I tried to grab water or Pocari at each aid station, but my pace would drop below 6 minutes as people slowed or stopped or swerved. I then needed to get back to the right pace, but not too fast as that it might be problematic for those following me. As a result, I ended up skipping some aid stations so I could stick to the pace. Perhaps it would be a good idea to carry some fluid in the backpack.
Another problem was the pace on my Garmin did not match the times we were passing the kilometre markers along the course. I had set up my Garmin with four fields: lapsed time, overall average pace, lap average pace, and distance. I think this is perfect for pacing. As we settled into an even pace, the two average pace displays would converge. I would then just have to keep them roughly the same until the end. I had my homemade pace band on my wrist as a back-up. As we passed each kilometre marker, I could check the lapsed time on my watch and confirm with my pace band that we were on schedule. It soon became apparent that the GPS was way out. It said my average pace was around 5:30, but according to the kilometre markers, we were running at around 5:40 pace. It seems that all the tall buildings, together with the twists and turns, were putting the GPS way out. I am used to running by the pace on my watch, but here it was fluctuating wildly from minute to minute. The same was happening to Ito-san and Matsumoto-san, which meant we had to run by feel and then check the time at each kilometre marker.
Through all this, I also had to try to keep as close as possible to my fellow pacers. This proved almost impossible, as we kept getting pulled apart by the crowds and the congestion. At times, especially after aid stations, there would be fifty or sixty metres between us. Whenever we did get together, we compared the pace on our Garmins and the times we were passing each kilometre marker. By the halfway mark, our Garmins were two-and-a-half minutes ahead of our true pace. This didn’t just confuse us, but many of people were pacing. Time and again someone would run alongside me and ask why we were running too fast. I had to explain about the tall buildings and the need to run to the kilometre markers, not the GPS.
Somewhere around 25 km, Ito-san disappeared. It turned out that he had stopped for a comfort break which caused him to lose three minutes. He took about thirty minutes to get back to us, his smile temporarily wiped from his face. I was very glad of my coffee abstinence. At 30 km, the faces of those around us started to wear that haunted look of people trying to push themselves to a new limit. Apart from encouraging everyone to keep going, we also had to work hard to forge a path through the increasing number of slowing runners. While we were running at an even pace, most of the people ahead were slowing down. It is said that the majority of marathon finishers have a positive split, which means they run the second half of the race slower than the first half. It is also said that the best and fastest runners aim for a negative split, but according to Strava’s mass of data, only 1 to 8% of marathon finishers achieve this. So we were somewhere in the middle. Runners on a good day were overtaking us, but most people were gradually slowing down. Add to this the lure of the 4-hour marathon, and we found ourselves trying to keep an even pace while politely trying to pass huge numbers of people running jammed together, slowing down, and even stopping suddenly. There were a lot of sorries and sumimasens.
Thirty kilometres was also where I allowed myself two more ibuprofens. I would never normally take painkillers, but for me this was not a race. I had a job to do, and by now I knew it was more than just a job – I had a responsibility to keep going. My knee was hurting like mad, but it never got out of control. The painkillers must have helped, but I like to think my body knew that it had to keep going. Inevitably we passed many people stopped by the side of the road, and some receiving medical treatment, so for me it was such a relief to get to the 5 km to go mark and know that I would make it. There was even someone there with a “One more Parkrun to go” sign!
The conditions for the race were perfect, with low winds, mild temperatures, and lovely sunshine. All was not completely perfect for the pacers, though, as the flags proved a little uncomfortable to carry. Every few moments, the flag pole would tap the back of my head. It was barely noticeable at first, but after four hours of this, it was becoming aggravating. This was not helped by the occasional blast of wind coming around a tall building which pushed the flag one way and then the next. The flags are a new thing, and they are certainly very visible for other runners, so hopefully they can work out a way to carry them without braining the pacers.
Another thing that made the whole experience a joy was the support along the way. The course has changed since I did it in 2014, and I think everyone agrees it is much better. It used to go out to Tokyo Big Site, but now it finishes by Tokyo Station, which means it winds through the heart of Tokyo. The crowds were enormous the whole way, with big groups of people waving flags from all over the world and cheering us on in multiple languages. Ito-san said he had never seen so much support, especially people from other countries. The last few kilometres were amazing. As our 4:00 PACERS flags approached, people cheered us on and shouted out “sub-4”. It was very moving. The last kilometre was on another level. We turned left on to a stone-flagged avenue lined deep with waving and cheering spectators. We were about 45 seconds ahead of our target time, so the three of us slowed a little and ran side by side, lapping up the moment.
We got to the finish and only just managed to get across the line before being stopped by those ahead. My Garmin read 43.20 km, but our time was 3:59:36 – just 12 seconds ahead of 5:41 pace, and nearly 2 hours behind winner Benson Kipruto. Announcers were desperately trying to get people to move forward so others could get across the finish line. We could barely move for the hundreds of people crowding around us to celebrate their sub-4 marathons and thank us for our help. This I was not ready for. We spent about thirty minutes shaking hands and having photos taken with jubilant runners, many who were clearly very emotional. I don’t think I have ever been thanked so much by so many people, and all this for doing something I just love to do. Through the crowds, a familiar face emerged. It was a student of mine, Kiyoshi, from 8 or 9 years who was also doing his first marathon and had run the whole way behind me. It seems I taught him well!
After the race, we had a long, slow, chilly walk to Tokyo Forum to pick up our stuff and get changed. By the time we reached the building, we were all very cold and grateful to have another room designated for pacers. We changed, warmed up, and shared the pleasure of a memorable experience. Who would have thought that running around Tokyo with a flag on your back could turn into such a joyful thing?
hayama3tri 
