Keep on running

April 2026

A heroic late spurt by the FCCJ team meant ignominy was avoided at the Marunouchi Ekiden

“It's the taking part that counts,” Number 1 Shimbun editor Justin McCurry told me when I asked if he would run a short piece about the Marunouchi Ekiden, even though the FCCJ team had finished in second-to-last place.

At the suggestion of Club president Dan Sloan, the “Last Friday” run around the imperial palace began in October 2024. The palace run has since developed into a small but dedicated group of members and staff who run, jog, or walk around the 5-kilometer course at their own pace, for health, fitness and camaraderie (or perhaps just for the post-run hydration) on the last Friday evening of every month.

So when advertising began for the Marunouchi Ekiden, it seemed only natural to enter a team. The event, now in its 16th year, is restricted to staff who work for businesses with offices in the Marunouchi, Otemachi and Yurakucho districts, and is limited to 100 teams. It is so popular that entrants are chosen by lottery. Beginner's luck struck and the Club team of Yoshiyuki Hirado (accounting), Michiyo Kobayashi (reception), Akiko Saikawa (PAC), Norio Muroi (library) and yours truly (Wayne Hunter), were accepted. We were now committed to run.

Race day was February 28, and with 99 teams participating, plus support from their colleagues and friends, Marunouchi Naka-dori street was a hive of activity. The 600-meter course between Kajibashi street and Gyoko street was closed to traffic for the afternoon, and with the looming threat of rain gone (although the infamous biru kaze wind was in full force) participants were able to run an enjoyable four laps each on the “main street” of Tokyo in front of the thousands of supporters and shoppers. Given that the course is also the final stretch of the Tokyo Marathon, which was due to take place the following day, plenty of marathon runners had turned up to check out the end of the course.

It’s no exaggeration to say that our team had the highest average age. Please keep this in mind when I say that we were in last place for the entire race … until the last lap. Sporting our new FCCJ running/exercise T-shirt (available at the FCCJ reception) with the slogan Running Tokyo Since 1945, our slow time ensured both the maximum amount of visual publicity and audio exposure in the form of the race commentator, who cheered on “last-placed FCCJ” at every opportunity.

Our race plan was to start slow and finish fast – and it worked. Our final runner passed one person on the last lap and the FCCJ finished 97th out of 98 teams. In addition to prizes for the top five finishers, there were other prizes, with the FCCJ team taking home one of the coveted booby prizes.

For most teams, including ours, the ekiden is a bit of fun, the aim being to foster deeper connections among work colleagues. Others, though, take it more seriously. They include the operators of the “running stations” that provide locker and shower facilities for palace runners, and staff working for sportswear brands with a presence in the Marunouchi area. But in a final twist to the event, the fastest team was later disqualified after it was determined that one of their runners had completed only three of the four laps – even though a subsequent competitor had made up for the mistake by running an extra lap.

The next "Last Friday" run around the palace will be held on April 24. Come and join us!

Wayne Hunter is general manager of the FCCJ.