6°
Cloudy, around 6 C with 40 percent humidity, cool conditions that helped the fast times
2018 Ballot results
The datasheet
Tokyo Marathon 2018 ballot: 319,777 applications
The 2018 Tokyo Marathon drew 319,777 general lottery applicants chasing 26,370 marathon places, roughly a one in twelve draw, on a cool day that produced the deepest Japanese marathon field ever.
Applications
319,777
Ballot acceptance
8.2%
26,370 of 319,777 accepted
Field size
34,542
Total finishers
Results date
Sep 25
2017
Race day
Feb 25
2018
Ballot open
Aug 1
2017
Ballot close
Aug 31
2017
Semi-elite
M2:21 W2:52
Open category (18–34)
Race day weather
What runners faced on the course
Context
What made 2018 notable
The general lottery drew 319,777 marathon applicants for 26,370 places, roughly a one in twelve draw, with another 1,017 chasing the 10km. The combined total of 320,794 was published by the organiser as of August 31, 2017, which is why coverage rounded it to more than 300,000. Cool, cloudy weather near 6 degrees produced the deepest Japanese marathon field ever: five men broke 2:07 and ten broke 2:09. Dickson Chumba retained for a second Tokyo title in 2:05:30 and Birhane Dibaba did the same in 2:19:51. The headline belonged to Yuta Shitara, whose 2:06:11 broke a Japanese record that had stood since 2002 and triggered a 100 million yen Project Exceed bonus, about 936,000 US dollars.
Year over year
Applications over time
Applications · 2018 → 2025
320K330K300K
'18'19'25
FAQ
Questions about the 2018 ballot
When did the 2018 Tokyo lottery window run?
General entry opened 1 August 2017 at 10:00 JST and closed 31 August 2017 at 17:00 JST. Lottery results were notified by email from around 25 September 2017.
How hard was it to get into Tokyo 2018?
The general lottery drew 319,777 marathon applicants for 26,370 places, about a one in twelve draw, or roughly 8 percent accepted.
What was the 2018 Tokyo finisher count?
35,911 marathon runners started and 34,542 finished, on a cool, cloudy day near 6 degrees Celsius.
Who won Tokyo 2018?
Dickson Chumba (KEN) won the men's race in 2:05:30 and Birhane Dibaba (ETH) the women's in 2:19:51, both second Tokyo titles. Yuta Shitara ran 2:06:11 for a Japanese national record.
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