For the children. I run for children who face difficulties in accessing education.
I run to raise funds for the UK-based charity Street Child.
Street Child believes that every child deserves the opportunity to go to school and to learn. Today, around the world, 125 million school-aged children are not receiving an education. Millions more attend school but are still unable to learn properly.
Street Child believes that achieving universal basic education is the single greatest step we can take to end global poverty.
I run the world’s major marathons barefoot while carrying a cross. This is my way of doing charity through running.
This year marks my 11th year and my 14th race as a charity runner.
In 2010, I ran the Tokyo Marathon for the first time dressed as Jesus Christ. After that, I participated for five consecutive years as an official charity runner. I then went on to run the New York City Marathon and the Berlin Marathon, and since 2015, I have been running the London Marathon. This year will be my 7th consecutive London Marathon, and my 7th time running it.
The London Marathon is the largest charity marathon in the world. Approximately three-quarters of all runners participate as charity runners. According to a press release on the official website, the total amount of donations raised at the 2018 event reached £63.7 million. Converted into Japanese yen (at £1 = ¥146), this equals approximately 9.3 billion yen. This is the highest total amount ever raised by a one-day charity event in the world, about 30 times the amount raised by the Tokyo Marathon.
Thanks to the generous support of many people, I was able to donate £1,700 in 2015, £1,700 in 2016, £1,800 in 2017, £2,000 in 2018, and £1,900 in 2019.
Through the support of people both in Japan and overseas, I have been able to continue my charitable donation activities for many years.
In the 2018 London Marathon, I ran to raise funds for the charity Children in Crisis, which works to provide education, care, and protection for forgotten children, as well as support for refugees and war orphans. Thanks to a portion of the donations from everyone, an elementary school was built. I am truly grateful and very happy about this.
前回のチャレンジ2019年ロンドンマラソンはSt.John Ambulanceという救命救急の団体から出走枠をいただきました。何故この団体にオファーをしたかというと2018年のロンドンマラソンはとても暑く、2名のランナーの方が亡くなりました。私も完走出来ませんでした。21km地点で身体が痺れていうことをきかなくなって倒れこみ嘔吐しました。貧血、熱中症?低体温?難しい英語だったのでよくわかりませんが、救急チームの素早い対応で事なきを得、無事帰国することができました。その時、助けてくれたのが2017年のホストチャリティ団体でもありました救命救急のSt John Ambulanceでした。今回は恩返しの意味も込めてのチャリティーです。St John Ambulanceは世界中で救命救急の普及活動をしている団体です。寄付金額は1906ポンド、日本円で約28万3,000円寄付することができました。
For my previous challenge, the 2019 London Marathon, I was given a charity entry by St John Ambulance, an emergency medical and first aid organization.
The reason I chose to support this organization goes back to the 2018 London Marathon, which was held in extremely hot conditions. Tragically, two runners lost their lives, and I was unable to finish the race.
At the 21 km mark, my body went numb and stopped responding. I collapsed and began vomiting. I was diagnosed with anemia, heat exhaustion, hypothermia—or something similar. The medical explanation was given in difficult English, so I did not fully understand the details. However, thanks to the quick and professional response of the emergency medical team, my condition did not worsen, and I was able to return safely to Japan.
The team that saved me that day was St John Ambulance, which had also been my host charity in 2017.
This time, my charity run was a way of giving back and expressing my gratitude.
St John Ambulance is an organization dedicated to promoting emergency medical care and first aid education around the world. Through this challenge, I was able to donate £1,906, which is approximately ¥283,000.
The 2020 London Marathon was originally scheduled to take place on April 26, but it was postponed to October 4 and eventually limited to elite runners only.
However, charity runners were given the opportunity to take part in a remote virtual run, allowing us to participate from anywhere in the world. As a result, I ran in Japan in support of Street Child, the charity that had granted me my entry for this year.
STREET CHILD
We are Street Child. We believe every child deserves the chance to go to school and learn.
Currently, 125 million school-aged children are out of education worldwide. Millions more children are in school but failing to learn.
Street Child believes that achieving universal basic education is the single greatest step that can be taken towards the elimination of global poverty.
2010 Tokyo Marathon
2011 Tokyo Marathon
2012 Tokyo Marathon
2013 Tokyo Marathon
2013 New York City Marathon
2014 Tokyo Marathon
2014 Berlin Marathon
2015 London Marathon
2016 London Marathon
2017 London Marathon
2018 London Marathon
2019 London Marathon
Next challenge … 2020 London Marathon 4th october 2020