Gambatte Kudasai!

Gambatte kudasai! Heard this over a thousand times during my six hours on the Tokyo Marathon course in less than ideal weather conditions. The phrase and the people thus inspired make this marathon especially memorable. To truly enjoy the Tokyo experience, one does not race for oneself, for a personal best, for a medal (although everyone who finishes gets one), or a gold star in your running log. This is a unique chance to enjoy immersion into a profound and inspiring culture, and its incredibly friendly and enthusiastic people.

Gambatte kudasai, means something like "Good luck," "Don't give up", "Hang in there," or most fundamentally, "Try your best!" The Japanese believe that the effort is more important than the result. The joy of running this marathon, regardless of result, is in being pulled along the course by 30,000+ nihonjin of all ages and physiques and abilities, each one giving his or her best effort to achieve a goal known only to the individual runner. These photos gathered along the way capture only a small segment of the totality of that splendid manifestation of this culture and its people, who truly do believe in the honor of doing your best: