Tokyo Marathon

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The Marathon is an annual event in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It is an IAAF Gold Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. Unlike the other five marathons in the World Marathon Majors, the Tokyo Marathon started as a massive race from its first year. Over 25,000 runners finished the Tokyo Marathon in its inaugural year of 2007. Five years later, in 2012, nearly 36,000 runners started the race which travels through the main tourist attractions of Tokyo. Historically, Japan is known for its elite marathon races with very strict qualifying standards. Many mass races are also held throughout the nation. These are separate races that cater to different types of runners. At the present time, no other mass marathon in Japan, with the exception of the Tokyo Marathon, has an extensive elite field, and no other elite marathon has such a huge participatory field like the Tokyo Marathon. Thus, the Tokyo Marathon is a very unique marathon in Japan; it is the only marathon in Japan that matches both the elite field depth and mass participation base of the other major marathons in the world.

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