MARATHON WOMEN – An Insider’s Guide
Our newest writer and evangelical runner, Ella Manning, gives us the lowdown on what to look out for at the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this weekend.
With the athletics championship marathon looming on Sunday, eyes will be turning to Tokyo to watch the most talented distance runners take the stage – but for us laypeople back home, how can we take their tenacity to fuel our own love of running.
Driven by TikTok, running has become the trend of 2025. Marathon sign-ups have reached a record high in the UK, with over a million people signing up for the 2026 race in London.
Social media inspired me to get involved, seeing remarkable women online conquering half-marathons, ultras and ironmen events in front of our eyes, who can blame us for joining the masses?
I’ve now got two half-marathons under my belt, and if training has taught me anything, it’s that running is so much more than putting on a pair of Lulu Lemon shorts and updating Strava. You can become part an amazing community that not only builds confidence, but also drives passion.
It does, however, take an almost insurmountable amount of perseverance.
There is no way I could have appreciated this until taking on a race myself; it involves grit and dedication. Even when it’s pouring down with rain and you hurt, you still have to show up and train. But so far nothing has topped the feeling of running towards the finish line, having your friends and family supporting you – there simply isn’t anything like it.
But for me, its role models that carry the torch to keep me going, and the women running in Tokyo’s World Athletics Championships Marathon will highlight some of the greatest.
The race itself:
This year’s marathon field includes multiple title defenders. Tigist Assefa (above), former world record holder from Ethiopia, stands as the predicted winner. Assefa took home the title in this year’s London Marathon – setting a new course record, tackling the race in just 2:15:50.
The 28-year-old also secured back-to-back golds in Berlin’s 2022 and 2023 26.2-mile event. She is believed to be striving for the win following a narrow second at the Paris Olympics last year.
Fellow Ethiopian, Sutume Asefa Kebede (below) is set to be her greatest competitor and has taken home the Tokyo Marathon title for the past two years – defending her win in the March race in a time of 2:16:29.
Kick-off for Sunday is now at 7:30 am local time (23:30 BST), with the original time being changed due to the highs of 35-degree temperatures forecast.
The route:
The course itself will see competitors run through some of Tokyo’s phenomenal sights. The 77 competitors will start at Japan’s National Stadium, passing famous landmarks such as Tokyo Dome on the way into the city.
Other significant sites include the Manseibashi Bridge and Akihabara Station – by the 10-kilometre mark. Runners will then make their way towards Jimbocho, and from here is where they must tackle a 13-kilometre route twice.
Athletes will then pass through the Otemon and Hirakawa-mon gate, which is near the Imperial Palace. They will go past the palace twice, then head back to Jimbocho, to start the second lap.
After returning to Jimbocho for a third time, they’ll head back to the stadium to complete the race. However, what was a downhill stretch at the start of the race becomes a climb to the finish – a pain all too familiar to runners.
What will be phenomenal to see is how the athletes combat the extreme heat they will face. Concern has been raised over the soaring temperatures of the weekend.
According to the BBC, Japan is currently seeing its hottest summer since 1898 – a staggering 2.36 degrees above the average. However, World Athletics have said that they are placing athlete safety at the “highest priority.”
The heat will make that final uphill battle that much more challenging and even bitter. I ran my London half in 22 degrees – and that was hot enough.
This weekend will display the best of the best, but what can we, as amateur level runners take away from their incredible dedication?
It’s witnessing reliance and watching athletes handle defeat with grace and victories with unparalleled joy – I cannot wait to see what Sunday’s race holds.
Photos: World Athletics
