How to watch the Tokyo Marathon 2024 on a live stream including free options

How to watch the Tokyo Marathon 2024 on a live stream, including free options.

This year's Tokyo Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, 3 March 2024, will be an exciting one. Not only fan-favourite Eliud Kipchoge will make a return to 'The Big Mikan' in top form, but we'll also get to witness Sifan Hassan, winner of the London Marathon and the Chicago Marathon, run Tokyo for the first time.

Weather is expected to be sunny and mild, around 6-7° Celcius (approx. 43-44° F). By the time the elite has finished, the temperature would have climbed to 10° Celsius (~ 50° F), which might be a bit on the warm side. The wind is set to relatively calm, which we're sure most athletes running the course will appreciate.

For those who get inspired by watching the Tokyo Marathon, we'd recommend gearing up with T3's running buying guides, including best running watches, best running shoes (unisex and men's options) and best women's running shoes roundups.

If you want to watch the Tokyo Marathon 2024, there are various free options; if you can't access them the usual way, you can use a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions.

How to watch the Tokyo Marathon 2024

What time does the Tokyo Marathon 2024 start?

The Tokyo Marathon 2024 takes place on Sunday, 3 March 2024, and the starting times are as follows:

Due to time zone differences, people in the US will be able to enjoy the Tokyo Marathon 2024 a day before the rest of the world, on Saturday, 2 March.

Unlike, let's say, then London Marathon, Tokyo doesn't do staggered start times for different categories for the elite race, which often results in some congestion at the beginning of the race.

The cut-ff time for the marathon seven hours (4:10 PM Tokyo time), and two hours for the 10.7km race 11:10 AM Tokyo time).

How to watch the Tokyo Marathon 2024

You'll find a full list of international broadcast options on the Tokyo Marathon's website.

Nippon TV is broadcasting the event in Japan from 9 AM Tokyo time (7 PM EST/ 4 PM PST/ Midnight GMT/ 1 AM CET). 

International broadcasters include Eurosport, Canal+ and ESPN International. Flo Sports is the best option for folks in the US and Canada. Great Sports Media is covering the event in China.

Unless you're in an area where the event can be watched for free, your best bet is to use the best VPN around to get past those geo-restrictions. A streaming VPN is a very handy thing, as it means you can hop on a server within the US, UK or anywhere else, and it will switch your IP address to make it appear as if you're browsing right from the comfort of your own home.

• VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
• As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
• Most VPNs offer a list of locations where their servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
• When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for Mac and even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
• Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means of using a VPN, sign up and install it. 
• To livestream the Tokyo Marathon 2024, all you need to do is select a UK server from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over those geo-restrictions, with the likes of BBC iPlayer opening its online gates to you.
• We also want to ensure your money is well spent, so we would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk-free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

• New to VPN? Find out how to use a VPN to unblock geo-restrictions