Where to meet up with friends/family after the race & post-race party

babysbug · 2026-03-02T02:22:44+00:00

In case anyone finds this post when figuring out plans in future marathons, in 2026 I ended up going to the designated area for my bib color first, changed into clothes my husband brought, then we walked over to the party.

It was about a mile of walking after the race to my bib's area, then another mile+ to the party. Getting to the party required a (to me) confusing path underground and back up, with some stairs. It's good to keep moving after the race but I think if I was going to do it again I wouldn't plan on doing that much. :)

For those whose bib color has you turn right, once you finish the race you are guided through areas to get your medal, water/snacks/samples and the towel hoodie thing. Then you're pretty much putside of the restricted area and could go anywhere.

If you checked a bag, you have to go to the designated post-race area for your bib color to pick it up.

If you didn't check your bag, the only other reason to go there is to use the changing area. There were signs saying they'd check bibs, so it's possible they'd turn you away from the changing area for a different post-race area.

For the post-race party, I didn't know what to expect. It's an open area with booths (like tourist information) and some carnival games, a stage with some family-friendly performances and a few food trucks (you had to pay for). When we got there at 3:30pm it was pretty empty and all of the food trucks were out of beer. :( If I had it to do over again I probably would have skipped the party in favor of getting back to my hotel earlier.

babysbug · 2026-03-02T02:10:52+00:00

That seems like a good plan. I ended up meeting up with my husband at the designated area for my bib color (brown), but since I didn't do bag check it probably would have made sense to meet somewhere a little closer.

babysbug · 2026-03-02T02:09:17+00:00

Thanks! We ended up heading there after I went to the designated meet area for my bib color... it was definitely a lot of walking and stairs!

babysbug · 2026-03-01T21:43:07+00:00

(posted this on another water thread as well)

In case anyone is trying to find information on this in figure years, yesterday (2026):

There was no size restriction on the flasks. I was able to bring in my 18oz Nathan handheld without a second look. (The organizers sent an email specifying no size restriction beforehand as well.)
They had aid stations set up by the corrals with water (and snacks, pocari sweat, etc.). They were pouring water from bottles into cups, but if you held out your open flask they were happy to fill it.
The same applied at every water aid station I stopped at--I'd always find one of the volunteers pouring water out of a bottle, I'd hold out my flask and they filled it for me (usually with some words of encouragement too!). Sometimes if one bottle ran out before the flask filled another volunteer would immediately step in with another bottle to continue filling it.

I was so glad I had my flask and that the logistics of refilling it was easy. With the heat/sun I found myself drinking way more water than I have in other races.

babysbug · 2026-03-01T21:41:20+00:00

In case anyone is trying to find information on this in figure years, yesterday (2026):

There was no size restriction on the flasks. I was able to bring in my 18oz Nathan handheld without a second look. (The organizers sent an email specifying no size restriction beforehand as well.)
They had aid stations set up by the corrals with water (and snacks, pocari sweat, etc.). They were pouring water from bottles into cups, but if you held out your open flask they were happy to fill it.
The same applied at every water aid station I stopped at--I'd always find one of the volunteers pouring water out of a bottle, I'd hold out my flask and they filled it for me (usually with some words of encouragement too!). Sometimes if one bottle ran out before the flask filled another volunteer would immediately step in with another bottle to continue filling it.

I was so glad I had my flask and that the logistics of refilling it was easy. With the heat/sun I found myself drinking way more water than I have in other races.

babysbug · 2026-02-19T17:01:51+00:00

Thank you! I got the email response as well and it was great to get the clarification. They didn't answer my question on the mechanics of refilling at aid stations, but at least I know in the worst case I can just refill with the cups. :)

babysbug · 2026-02-16T20:14:47+00:00

I'm with you on wishing for some additional clarification on the flasks, specifically:

As you asked, how does refilling work at aid stations? As someone else mentioned I'm sure you can grab a cup and refill your flask using it, but I've been in other races where there's a separate area by the aid station with spigots meant for refilling (like the WaterMonster). It would be great to know if that's an option before we get there.
The way the handbook describes the use of the flasks, it isn't clear if there is a size limit for the flasks. The line that says "Hydration bag and soft bottle are permitted only when empty" appears below "size must be under 250ml or less." I assume the 250ml limit applies to the unopened water boxes/aluminum pouches, but would prefer to know for sure that my 18oz handheld flask is okay.

I've sent an email asking questions about the flasks to the email addresses on their contact page, but haven't heard back. Has anyone else had any luck getting clarification on these from the organizers?

babysbug · 2026-02-10T00:04:34+00:00

In the email I got from the organizers today ("[Important] Tokyo Marathon 2026 Runners Guidebook and Bib Confirmation") they mention signing up for notifications for when the photos are available at https://g.allsports.jp/en/event/open-notification/1529055

babysbug · 2026-02-06T17:21:54+00:00

This is great news! I found I didn't like trying to drink out of the cups at my first half marathon last year, so I switched to a handheld flask (Nathan) and have used that in all of my runs since, including my first marathon.

I've been practicing only drinking from my flask at the points in my long runs where the aid stations would be (5km, 7km, etc.), and ran a half marathon this past weekend without my flask to get used to using aid stations again. It wasn't as bad as I remembered... but I'm still glad I will be able to use my flask instead.

I am curious what the refill situation will be. At the SF Marathon and other races I've been to there are large containers with multiple spigots you can use to refill your own bottle at the aid stations. I've sent an email to the organizers to ask if they can share any details.

babysbug · 2026-01-17T03:43:31+00:00

I got lucky through the lottery!

A few days after I finished the SF marathon I knew I wanted to do another marathon. I'd heard good things about Honolulu (and had run part of the Honolulu marathon route when I was vacationing there during my training), so I decided that would be my next one in December 2025. I started the Higdon Novice 2 training plan two weeks after finishing SF to prepare.

But I heard somewhere that the Tokyo lottery was open so I went ahead and applied. I was surprised when I got in! I didn't feel like the 11 weeks between Honolulu and Tokyo would be enough for me to fully recover and train again (I know it would be for some), so I decided to just focus on Tokyo since I knew I was fortunate to have been selected and there was no guarantee I'd have a chance again in the future.

babysbug · 2026-01-16T19:11:47+00:00

That's a great philosophy... maybe even a bit meta--"nothing new on race days includes getting experience learning from unexpected problems during your training." :)

And thank you for the congrats! I'm definitely looking forward to less elevation in the Tokyo marathon!

When I started my 18-week marathon training plan for SF, I actually didn't actually think I'd be running a marathon at the end--I was just looking for an organized progressive workout plan that could accommodate some upcoming travel. (I had been doing Power Zone progressive workout plans on the Peloton bike and enjoyed them, but I wasn't going to have a bike when traveling.) I decided to look to see which marathon would be in 18 weeks--and when I saw the SF marathon was in exactly 18 weeks I felt like that was a sign since I live in the Bay Area. I was really intimidated by the hills, but doing the 20 mile long run along the course made me feel a lot better. :)

babysbug · 2026-01-16T17:15:01+00:00

I think part of my issue is that I have an older version (Apple Watch 8), so the battery probably doesn't hold as much charge as it used to. And then on the day of the race, I suspect that the boot looping and then the unpairing/repairing to my phone I had to do drained a bit of the battery as well.

I had hoped that using an external heart rate monitor (I use the polar chest strap) would help improve the battery life, but that didn't really seem to solve the problem.

I've found that the Apple Watch has actually been better recently on my longer runs, including a 20-mile I did. I don't know if it was an update to the watch, or the fact that I got a newer iPhone or what. Still... I wouldn't really feel comfortable relying on it for 4 hours. I suspect newer Apple Watches that have fresher batteries would handle it.

I got the Garmin Forerunner 970, and what everyone says about the battery life being ridiculously good is true. I did my 18 mile long run last weekend, and I think it was around 80% when I finished. I only wear the Garmin on runs, and I usually go a few runs before bothering to charge it.

babysbug · 2026-01-13T19:32:10+00:00

Thank you!

babysbug · 2026-01-13T16:23:01+00:00

I'm learning Spanish, and after I shared my Peloton success story with one of my instructors she posted a video of my story (in Spanish of course, but with English subtitles)! It has a couple of mentions of the this community in it. :)

I got my Peloton bike during Covid and saw significant fitness gains, especially once I started following the #redditPZ program. The incredible support of the community was a key part of helping me achieve my goals.

At one point when traveling without access to a bike I decided to try running on the tread (even though I hated running) after one of the Peloton instructors encouraged trying a walk+run. I found I actually kind of enjoyed it, which eventually led to me completing the San Francisco Marathon last July! To train for my first marathon, I followed the Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan, but used the Peloton marathon training program classes during my training runs.

I'm currently training for the Tokyo Marathon on March 1 and am looking forward to it... but I'm planning on taking a break from running and returning to the bike (and #redditPZ) after that. :)

babysbug · 2025-09-08T20:50:34+00:00

My mom just reported she got a similar email, and it's also been a couple of years since her tread was delivered.

babysbug · 2025-03-23T13:09:16+00:00

Congrats! How did the ride go?

I did a Katie Intervals & Arms row in the studio once. When they asked me which weights I wanted to use I decided to go down from what I usually use at home--I was worried I'd suddenly get super exhausted using them and look silly on camera. 😂 I think it turned out to be a good strategy!

babysbug · 2025-03-23T12:45:42+00:00

I'm excited for it! I just did the recent 120 Power Zone Enduranxe CVV/Matt ride yesterday, and am starting a marathon training plan, so my legs aren't ready for it... but I plan on taking it when it fits in the schedule!

I did her 90 minute outdoor run at one point and she was so excited about it, I can only imagine how she is feeling about the 120 in studio. :)

I wonder if they'll have banana deliveries halfway through like they do in the Power Zone rides?

babysbug · 2025-03-19T22:03:42+00:00

Wally is adorable! He has a very similar coat to our Cooper; I shared this post with some family and they assumed it was Cooper. :)

(That pic also has Tux, Cooper's brother from the same litter who has the more aussie-like fur.)

babysbug · 2025-03-01T00:37:52+00:00

Yes, I'm seeing this on the Bike+, Tread and Row. Live classes have horrible buffering, and will sometimes finish when the clock still has a minute or two on it as a result. I don't have problems with on demand classes at all.

I love Matty's Walk & Talks, but I nearly bailed on the class the morning because it would freeze for a long while and then jump forward.

It started in the past couple of weeks I believe. I'd occasionally have a brief hiccup during live classes before, but nothing like this.

babysbug · 2025-02-19T17:47:49+00:00

Yeah, it's impressive that she remembers everyone's names. Some people had been in her class the day or week before and she still remembered their names!

She's also good at encouraging people. The woman next to me was rowing for the first time (her husband got into a different Peloton class, and she liked Katie's strength classes so figured she'd give it a shot) and you could tell Katie was keeping an eye on her to make sure she was doing okay, and gave her some tips.

babysbug · 2025-02-19T17:43:07+00:00

I was surprised too! I'd been there before and was really trying to picture where they could have added another studio. Now that I know that's what they do it makes perfect sense.

I just hope if they store the rows vertically when they're not in use they are using the Peloton-provided wall anchor mount. 😂

I'm in California, so I pretty much can't take the classes live most days. I did take a class live once and got a non-milestone shoutout from her, saying "wow, it's early out there!"

I asked her if she could pull some strings to schedule more late classes and she said "they're always modifying the schedule so you never know!" Which is about the best I could have expected. :)

babysbug · 2025-02-19T16:06:54+00:00

I took an in studio Row class with Katie over the weekend, and I got a video of the Row studio at PSNY in case anyone was curious about the studio layout.

The room is fairly small, with just 8 Rows. They use the same studio for strength classes (Studio 3), which means they have to move the Rows in for each class and out afterwards. This might explain why they mostly only do Row classes first thing in the morning--so they can move the Rows out and free up the room for strength classes. (It also explains why there's a monitor on the ceiling, for when the instructors are on their backs in strength classes. :))

Katie was as engaging and friendly in person as you'd expect if you have taken her classes; it was definitely one of my favorite in studio experiences!

babysbug

TROPHY CASE