Move over Eliud Kipchoge!: Recreational runner David Thuo chalks up sixth Major in Tokyo!

Two things are well known about the raucous Tokyo district of Shinjuku: It’s commercial and administrative activities on one hand, and free-flowing, vibrant nightlife on the other.

Shinjuku is also famous for its tourist hotels, and one of its guests this weekend is David Thuo, a recreational runner from Nairobi who checked in for Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon.

Thuo may be a recreational runner, but he -- inside only seven years -- has achieved what even the elite athletes crave for: running in all races of the Abbot World Marathon Majors series.

Not even double Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has completed all six “Majors.”

Kipchoge will be the marquee runner in Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon where he is aiming to lower his course record of two hours, two minutes and 40 seconds in  the Japanese capital. 

Thuo’s amazing journey has seen him complete the Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York and London Marathons, and on Sunday, aged 43 years, he will be at the starting line of the Tokyo Marathon to cap an enviable, six-race circuit.

The Abbot Marathon Majors series comprises the six big city races in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York, London and Tokyo.

Thuo’s “six-star” journey started in 2017.

“But it was delayed a bit due to the Comrades Marathon and Covid-19,” reflects Thuo, in reference to his appearance at the famous Comrades.

Marathon, South Africa’s flagship ultra-marathon, 90-kilometres race which was founded in 1921 and whose apt tagline is “the ultimate human race.” 

“I needed to do the Comrades to celebrate my 40th birthday and was also planning to finish the Tokyo Marathon in 2020, and then Covid happened,” Thuo narrated to Nation Sport from Tokyo, the excitement evident in his voice as he prepared for today’s race that starts outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, snaking its way around the capital to the finish at Tokyo Station/Gyoko-dori Avenue.

In his other life, the father of three is an aircraft engineer by profession and Managing Director of Aero Atlas Technologies Limited, an aircraft component overhaul company based at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport.

Perhaps that also partly explains his frequent flights to major cities for marathon races, although his love for running is incredible.

In between completing the other five majors, Thuo did a lot of running, including featuring in many Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon races.

He has also run numerous Kilimanjaro marathons alongside marathons in Vienna, Valencia, Dubai, Ras Al -Khaima, Two Oceans besides two more appearances at the Comrades Marathon.

“I am going to do the fifth Comrades in June,” he adds.

“I have also been booked to Sidney Marathon in September this year, due to my age seeding. The Sidney Marathon is scheduled to be the next Abbott World Marathon Majors Race, the sevens,” he reveals.

A man clearly head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Speaking yesterday before he hit the sack early at his Shinjuku hotel, Thuo looked forward to the big day on Sunday: “Tomorrow (Sunday) is a big day for me as I take the final steps to complete a journey that started seven years ago, to conquer the series of the world’s greatest races -- the World Marathon Majors.

“Like they say, everyone takes a different path in life. There are some who started before me and are done. My journey delayed a bit because I opted to run the Comrades 90-kilometre marathon when I turned 40 years young, and went on to repeat it back-to-back in 2018, which meant that I had to focus on those at that time.

“I was then to finish Tokyo in 2020 then Covid happened. Tokyo Marathon in 2021 was an elite-only event then in 2022, I missed a final confirmation email that went into the junk folder!

“This, I believe is God’s appointed time. Running for me is a metaphor for life with many lessons. In the case of the World Marathon Majors, the lesson has been: ‘What’s your attitude as you sit in the wait list’ and that ‘delayed is not denied.’ I have done so much else as I waited.”

Thuo, whose personal best time in the marathon is two hours, 38 minutes, sees running as a source of self-discipline.

“Running also helps me to be true to the commitments I set for myself way before I can meet the commitments I set to meet for and, or, with others.

“I am my first point of accountability. When I set to train at 3am, as some days call for, I hold myself accountable to that commitment. These for me are the greatest daily wins in life, way before we race up for the medals and the other things we gain from whatever we do.”

His impressions of Tokyo on race eve and parting shot?: “Tokyo is currently abuzz with people from all corners of the world. We are expecting a fairly cool and good weather and are trusting for some awesome experience tomorrow (Sunday)… See you on the other side of the six-star.  It’s coming home.”

Indeed, when Kenya wakes up on Sunday,  Thuo, who also writes a running blog “Fitness with David”, will have ticked another important box in his marathon journey, that of having run in and completed all six Abbot World Marathon Majors races!