This year the Tokyo Marathon www.marathon.tokyo/en/ will take place on 3rd March 2019. This will be my eighth marathon and my fourth Abbot World Marathon Majors. The Abbot World Marathon Majors is a series of the six of the largest and most renewed marathons in the world: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon. www.worldmarathonmajors.com
I began my Abbot World Marathon Majors quest in 2016 after I completed the TCS New York City Marathon. I attended a post marathon party hosted by my good friend Alex Brennan in an Irish bar in downtown New York. One of the runners Michael McLaughlin was wearing a six-race finishers medal and was telling stories about all the six major races he had completed and the cities he had visited and fellow runners he had met along the way, he was a great storyteller and it inspired me. As I had already qualified for the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon by ballot I decided I'd try and complete the Abbot World Marathon Majors by the time I hit my 50th birthday.
In April 2017 I completed my second major race the Virgin Money London Marathon with an injury, I still managed a personal best time and raised much need funds for Cancer Research.
In October 2018 I completed my third major race the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with a personal best time (4:27). I obtained the race entry via Sports Tours International, as I was unsuccessful with my ballot entry. I travelled with them for my New York Marathon in 2016 and I can highly recommend them. www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk
It is 8 weeks until my fourth major race the Tokyo Marathon. I luckily obtained a spot via the ballot and it will be first visit to Tokyo and Japan. Unfortunately my training is a bit behind schedule. Since I completed the Chicago marathon I took a break from training. I started a new job and spent 8 weeks traveling to New York and Dubai. I managed a few runs in Central Park, New York but the heat in Dubai was tough and only completed a few runs on the treadmill in the hotel gym. The Christmas and New Year festive break was a write off as I returned to the UK and spent time catching up with family and friends and enjoyed a too much of the festive cheer.
My Tokyo Marathon journal over the next 8 weeks will cover my training plan, running gear, diet and tips of my journey to the finish line. This will be very interesting as I am heading back to Dubai this week and will be based there until race day. I look forward to training in the desert heat!
Happy running everyone!
Chrissy x
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