Tokyo Marathon Costumes

This year’s Tokyo Marathon was the first that I have seen but certainly not the last. One thing I knew was coming was the costumes, the dress ups of some of the runners! I had heard about it but it was so many more than I could have imagined, and some really elaborate costumes! Unfortunately, as you can see, it was really hard to get the runners in focus, as I only had a split second to select a runner, get a focus and press the trigger. The road they ran on was so wide and it was so crowded I could barely shoot one tenth of the runners I wanted to! But I lucked out when it came to the best costume of the race, Jesus and his cross! I can think of few costumes that would be better for a marathon than this one, it was just a few degrees over freezing outside and this man ran a full marathon barefoot, in a loincloth while carrying a huge cross. That’s some real fighting spirit! Other great examples were the pink Hello Kitty Ninja lady, the men in suits with briefcases (I missed all but one, the man with the tiger mask), and any number of Mario and Luigi! Next year I’ll be better prepared and get a spot in a slight curve so that I can catch them running straight towards me. Shooting runners at an angle is pure pain. Enjoy!