This weekend, the first major marathon of the year, the Tokyo Marathon, is set to take place. The men’s and women’s elite field will include some of the biggest names in the sport, including Eliud Kipchoge, Sifan Hassan, Benson Kipruto, and American Betsy Saina.
The race is scheduled for the morning of Sunday, March 3 local time, but because Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, viewers in the U.S. can catch the action the evening of Saturday, March 2.
The weather forecast is calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s, which should be conducive to fast times. The Tokyo course has very few hills and is known as being PR-friendly. (We recently ranked it the third-easiest of all the six World Marathon Majors.)
Here’s what you need to know about this year’s race.
How to watch the 2024 Tokyo Marathon
In the U.S. and Canada, FloTrack will stream the Tokyo Marathon starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 2. The men’s and women’s elite fields will start racing at 7:10 p.m. ET and are expected to start finishing just after 9:10 p.m. ET. The wheelchair races will begin at 7:05 p.m. ET.
You can purchase a FloSports subscription for $29.99 a month or $150.00 a year.
For broadcast information in other countries, visit this link.
Race preview
The 2024 edition of the Tokyo Marathon is highlighted by two household names: Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
In the men’s race, Kipchoge, 39, will look to replicate his 2021 performance, where he won the race in a course record of 2:02:40. This will be his second attempt at the race but his third time at a high-level marathon in Japan—he won the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in the marathon, which was held in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo.
The former world record holder in the event has said he will be using the race to prepare for the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics in August, but he’ll face stiff competition from his countrymen. Benson Kipruto, the winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon and 2022 Chicago Marathon, as well Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich (2:03:13 PR) and Timothy Kiplagat (2:03:50 PR) are some of the top seeds.
Sifan Hassan leads the charge in the women’s race. The 31-year-old has arguably the best range in the world. Last April, she won the London Marathon in her 26.2 debut and then ran a staggering 2:13:44 to win the Chicago Marathon in October.
But Hassan is still in prime shape on the track. At the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August, Hassan made it to the finals of three events, taking 11th in the 10,000 meters, bronze in the 1500 meters, and silver in the 5,000 meters.
It’s tough to see anyone upsetting Hassan if she’s on her A-game, but there are a few women who could potentially beat her. Amane Beriso Shankule of Ethiopia won the world championship in the marathon in Budapest and finished as runner-up at the Boston Marathon last year. There’s also Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, who has been a force on the circuit for years, winning Tokyo in 2020 in a PR of 2:17:45. And you can’t forget the defending champion: Rosemary Wanjiru.
The lone American in the men’s or women’s elite fields is 35-year-old Betsy Saina. She was one of the favorites to make the Olympic team at the U.S. Marathon Trials on February 3, but she dropped out at mile 22 after hanging with the lead pack for much of the race. She’ll look to rebound with a strong run in Tokyo. Who knows? Emily Sisson’s American record of 2:18:29 could be in her wheelhouse on the right day.
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
