Update: I ran the 2019 Tokyo Marathon on a charity bib; read my race report here!
Interested in running the Tokyo Marathon 2020?
Whether it’s a race you’ve had your eye on or you’re aiming to be an Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher, the Tokyo Marathon is one of the hardest races in which to secure a place.
It’s possible you’re here because you’re an experienced semi-professional marathon lottery enterer, like me, and looking for tips on how to secure a place – or perhaps you’re just curious about the race itself.
Why is the race so popular?
In addition to being a world class city, Tokyo is home to its namesake marathon and a race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. For those not familiar, there are six World Marathon Majors; of course, elite runners like current series champions Eliud Kipchoge, Mary Keitany, Manuela Schär, and Marcel Hug compete to break world records.
However, everyday runners, like me, can complete the series and earn a Six Star Finisher Medal in addition to traveling the world and running the best marathons in it.
Hundreds of thousands of runners will enter the lottery and apply for charity places. And notably, Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, so interest in the race is higher than ever.
So how can you secure a place for the 2020 race? Clearly, the demand is too great to sign up for a World Marathon Major race on a whim.
The key is to:
- know the ways to enter
- track key dates, and
- make your game plan.
I’ve broken down the ways your can enter and key dates, but I’ve also created an easy way for you to keep track.
Key dates for Tokyo Marathon 2020
Tracking Abbott World Marathon Major dates
I’ve created a public Google calendar that you can subscribe to; the calendar includes the key dates for this year’s Tokyo Marathon* race.
[Google support]Subscribe to The Sarah Challenge’s Abbott World Marathon Majors Key Dates Calendar
TSCAWMMKDC Disclaimer: Please note I’ll do my best to keep the calendar up to date, but key information, dates, and times can change. This calendar is intended to be a helpful resource to the running community and fill a void I found when planning my six star journey; however, the individual marathons’ official websites or the World Marathon Majors official website should be consulted for the most up-to-date information!
*I’ll aim add future series races and key dates as they’re announced; this is a way for me to give back to an amazing running community while I continue on my Abbott World Marathon journey.
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Key Dates
Race Day
- Sunday, 1 March 2020 at 9:10am JST
Getting in
The entry requirements have changed slightly since 2019, when I wrote my 2019 post about how to run the race and when I ran the 2019 race. I’ve done my best to mark the new requirements.
One of the positive changes is this helpful graphic on their website, which I am including to help illustrate the different paths.
- Charity applications open on Monday, 2 July 2019 at 10am JST
- One Tokyo Premium Members applications open on Sunday, 2 July 2019
- RUN as ONE (Overseas Semi-Elite) [NOT PICTURED ABOVE?] applications are open from Tuesday, 9 July 2019 to Wednesday, 31 July 2019
- Tokyo Resident [NEW FOR 2020] on Monday, 22 July 2019 through 31 July 2020
- General lottery opens Thursday, 1 August 2019 at 10am JST and closes Friday, 30 August 2019 at 5pm JST
Race entry fees
- Japan residents: 16,200 Yen (roughly $150/£122)
- Overseas: 18,200 Yen (roughly $170/£140)
Ways to secure a spot
Lottery
You had about a 12% chance to secure a place based on 2018’s numbers.
For the 2018 Tokyo Marathon, there were 319,777 lottery entries for 26,370 places (excluding charity).
There were 27,500 places available for the 2019 Tokyo Marathon and I couldn’t find any information on how many entries there were to calculate the 2019 race chances. However, I was able to find that, in general, the number of lottery entries through the years has increased proportionally, but the places offered have usually increased as well.
Your chances in the 2020 lottery should likely still be around 12%.
HOWEVER.
The 2020 Tokyo Marathon will have 37,500 places – ten thousand more than 2019 – so that’s quite an increase in bibs! I’d be very curious to see the application rates for 2019 and 2020 and will update here if I find them.
[source]RUN as ONE entries
aka “semi-elite” aka qualifying times for overseas athletes
Are you fast? Then this may be an option for you. The website currently lists 300 tentative places allocated to RUN as ONE entries.
I was also unable to find how many RUN as ONE applications there were from previous years, but this is likely to be a limited option for most looking to run in Tokyo.
How do you qualify? Run these times in a qualifying race:
・Men: under 2:45:00
・Women: under 3:30:00
Charity
There are several different types of charity places for the Tokyo Marathon. I have broken them all down for you with the hopes this will make the experience easier!
Charity (non-crowdfunding)
Charity places are increasing year on year and appears to be the most sure way to secure a place if you’re prepared to commit to raising money and plan ahead.
Non-crowdfunding charity spaces are allocated as below.
2018 numbers show there were 4,000 places (including 100 active charity runners) for 3,900 entries. Based on these numbers, it appears the demand for charity places is quite equal to available places.
However, my experience with last years’ charity window was the site was overloaded and spaces filled up in a matter of days (like less than two days). I would not chance things by waiting to apply if you really want to run the race. Be prepared for when the window opens.
A charity place comes with the additional money-raising agreement between the sponsoring charity and runner (in addition to the race entry fee, travel costs, and potentially an application fee).
- Charity: 100,000 Yen (roughly 700 GBP or 910 USD)
- Entry: 12,800 Yen for overseas runners (90 GBP or 115 USD)
Edit: The Tokyo Marathon charity programme appears to operate slightly different than the other world major charity runner programmes, where you pledge to raise money for the charity and they allocate spots based on those pledges. Generally, other programmes guarantee your bib from the acceptance of your application and then you have several months to raise funds.
The Tokyo Marathon runs differently.
In order to secure a place in the Tokyo Marathon, you must:
- apply as a charity runner to your chosen Tokyo Marathon charity (note: application alone DOES NOT guarantee you a place)
- as soon as you raise 100,000 Yen you will then secure a charity spot
- you can email friends and family to start fundraising
- you can “self-fund” the 100,000 Yen
- if you choose this route, you go to your charity page that was just set up and select “donate individually”
- as soon as you raise 100,000 Yen, you need to pay your entry fee
- once the entry fee is paid, you will receive email confirmation of your charity place
The 2019 Tokyo Marathon had up to 4,700 places (with 300 active charity runners).
[source]Charity (crowdfunding)
Charity crowdfunding, as the Tokyo Marathon calls it, is basically a fundraising competition. The top 300 people to secure a spot. Application and fundraising beings at 10:00 am JST on Monday, 22 July 2019 and ends at 5:00 pm JST on Friday, 13 September 2019.
Crowdfunding entrants will find out in September if they are successful.
[source]Charity (active)
1000 spots are allocated to active charity donations.
Active charity donations are where the charity programme independently secures funds from either individuals or corporations; it runs similar to the non-crowdfunding above.
This means first come, first serve places as soon as you hit the 200,000 Yen threshold – until the 1000 spots are filled.
However, you need to contact the charities directly to donate and secure your place.
[source]Travel partners/Tour Operators (ITP)
Of course, if you’ve missed the key dates or struck out in the lottery and charity applications, there are always tour operators; these are travel organisations who can provide you with race entry, flights, and hotels, all arranged from your home country.
Each marathon major has official travel partners or tour operators, so it’s best to research the partners and offerings to see if any of the packages work for you. I would encourage you to stick with official marathon tour operators to avoid any potential fraud.
Usually, travel partners located in the same country as the race are unable to provide entry and travel arrangements (for instance, a UK travel partner cannot provide a travel package to a UK resident wanting to run the London Marathon).
In 2019, I wasn’t able to locate a Tokyo Marathon ITP programme or webpage; however, for the 2020 race, I was able to locate a new Tokyo Marathon Official Travel Partners (Tour Operators) page, though it does appear they are just starting the ITP programme.
The New York Marathon has a straightforward list of Tour Operators by country and so does the London Marathon. Most of the tour operators are official partners for multiple World Marathon Majors, as I found for the UK and European operators.
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My plans
Having run the 2019 Tokyo Marathon and sitting with five of six stars on my way to being a Six Star Finisher, I don’t plan to apply for a place in the 2020 Tokyo Marathon.
I want to focus my efforts fully on securing a bib for Boston 2020; as both races are the Spring, I’m opting for that six star. I may be back in 2021!
2020 Tokyo Marathon Resources
- Website: https://www.marathon.tokyo/en/
- Twitter: @tokyo42195_org (Tokyo Marathon) and @WMMajors (World Marathon Majors)
Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII Races (2018 & 2019)
Interested in running other races? Here are the dates! I anticipate the next series will be released as soon as the 2019 Berlin Marathon takes place.
- BMW-BERLIN MARATHON
Sunday, 16 September 2018 - Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Sunday, 7 October 2018 - TCS New York City Marathon
Sunday, 4 November 2018 - Tokyo Marathon
Sunday, 3 March 2019 - Boston Marathon
Monday, 15 April 2019 - Virgin Money London Marathon
Sunday, 28 April 2019 - BMW-BERLIN MARATHON
Sunday, 29 September 2019
Hotels Near Start
Booking.comHotels Near Finish
Booking.comYour plans
If you’re planning to run the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, what’s your strategy? Are you going with the luck of the draw, a QT, raising money for a good cause, or a search for a tour operator?
If you have run the Tokyo Marathon, what are your thoughts/advice/experiences on the entry process and how was the race? Let me know in the comments!
Whatever route you decide, good luck and, as always, happy running!
I’m a Chicagoan living and working in London who loves running and currently training for my 14th marathon. I’m a keen bargain hunter, slow-cooker enthusiast, and DIYer who blogs about the meeting the challenges I set for myself.
