Spectator guide to supporting a runner friend or family member at the Marathon Expo. Required: a phone (for pictures) and remember how many major marathons they’ve run.

It’s the day before the marathon, I run 4 loops around the Imperial Garden, just because “long run” was in my training plan and I’m not running the marathon. The running pathway was packed with masochists runners dressed in t-shirts and jackets they bought at other major marathons, running in groups and talking about running while sporting the latest carbon plate shoes.

18kms later, I accompany my sister to the marathon expo because she must take the standard “I collected my marathon bib” picture, and I really wanted to experience all the hype I heard about at the Tokyo Marathon Expo. As she collected her bib at the area only designated for marathon runners, I hang out with the non marathoners around what I think was the marathon expo and was totally bemused. So, I queue to buy the metro map on a tea towel because they ran out of marathon merch and I wanted a souvenir. Something about the “expo” vibe wasn’t right.

On our way out, we notice people rushing into another exhibition hall buzzing with activity, music, and every running related paraphernalia you can think of which “improves” run times. I fell for a few things because it was colorful and looked funky like the “GOODR Sunglasses” which were really cheap. I wanted to buy two but controlled my shopping addiction and bought one. I wore it once while running on the beach one day, everything looked grey so it triggered an anxiety attack about my sensitive retina and as a result I couldn’t run any faster. So, I decided to stick to the Oakleys I’ve had for years. I thought of buying the latest ASICS cheater carbon flys, but since I stopped racing and run for fun, I don’t need to be pounding the pavement slowly (the carbon flys make a special noise) and risking another muscle cramp in my calf. We queued for the real marathon merch. In fact, they did run out of t-shirts and jackets for females, so I bought a Tokyo Marathon zipper wrist wallet instead. I’ve never used one in my life.

We spent hours at the expo. We meet some friends for an early dinner. Put the burger thoughts away, it should be rice, pasta or potatoes. We call it an early night because runners have to preserve their energy for the big day by resting in bed and engaging in a never ending scroll down social media feeds.