The Tokyo Tower Climb: An exclusive report by ex-pat runner Paul Stroud.

*Pictured above - Paul Stroud and his son Leo are shown in the Tower race.

The Tokyo Tower Climb: A distinct and unique challenge!

Introduction by Don Hale. This report includes a unique and exclusive account of how ex-pat and enthusiastic veteran runner and language teacher Paul Stroud, tackled the famous Tokyo Tower Climb in Japan last December - and is now all set to do it all again with his son and daughter in June!

Ex-pat Paul Stroud is a prolific author and an excellent language teacher who originally hails from Brighton in the UK. He is also an enthusiastic runner, and a keen football fan, and now lives and works in the thriving Japanese city of Tokyo. 

Paul moved to San Francisco when he was just 22, then relocated to Tokyo when he hit 40. He worked in a typical language school from 2000-2008 before going his own way and eventually opened the current family-owned language school with his wife Marie. 

In August this year, they will celebrate 17-years in business. Paul says his wife is unbelievably supportive, and that he loves her to bits, adding that she is also his soccer buddy and always goes with him to matches in Japan. 

Next month he will again compete in the famous Tokyo Tower Climb, which is an exhausting annual stair-climbing race, primarily organised to raise funds for mental health initiatives and to support suicide prevention efforts. 

Participants climb approximately 600 steps to reach the Main Deck, which is 150 meters above the ground. The race is open to individuals, corporate teams, and community groups, with various options for participation, including sprinting, jogging, or walking.

This is Paul's personal story:

This past February I turned 69 but, despite my advancing years, I still consider myself pretty fit. After all, I have been running marathons for many years at various distances. And, although I am far from exceptional, most runners of a mature age would probably agree that running a 10-kilometer race in under an hour is a reasonable feat.     

Therefore, when I heard about an out-of-the-ordinary race that involves running 600 steps up the Tokyo Tower, I didn’t think twice about entering. After all, I live only 40 minutes by train from this iconic structure and, these days, prefer shorter duration runs. Besides that, since the event is open to foreign residents, I thought it might be fun to meet some other ex-pats living in the area.

But nothing had prepared me for the shock such a race would have on my system. Of the 500 people that entered, I was placed at about the halfway starting-point. The way the race is organized, participants are staggered at 6-second intervals to begin their ascent to the first stage of the tower. Consequently, before running, I could see how most people nonchalantly negotiated the first 50 steps, or so, before they disappeared from view around the corners of the staircase.  

However, when it came to my turn, the usual tactic of running a slow, even pace very quickly went out the window. It was simply astonishing to me that by the time I reached the 350-step mark I was done! 

I could barely put one foot in front of the other. What an embarrassment this was turning out to be with my wife waiting at the top to take pictures of me crossing the finish line. Not only that my son was also participating in the event. 

What kept me going was the fact I could see how many others, even younger than me, were badly struggling to complete the final 250 steps. 

In fact, the only strategy left by now was to put two hands on the railing and pull my body up a couple of steps at a time. Then, when I approached the finish line, since I was still out of sight, I could a take a very deep breath and run a few seconds for the pictures that would show I was able to accomplish the task. Obviously, this is not an event for the faint hearted!

As it happens, an elite marathon runner finished first, completing the climb in 02:25. My son Leo, who is 18 and active in sports, managed a time of 03:44.

For my part, I came in at 05:29. Obviously, we are talking minutes here, not hours as would be the case in a full marathon. Even so, my chest felt heavy after, and my legs were still stiff a day or two beyond this unusual event. 

My son, too, looked like death warmed up immediately after he completed the task. But this is not meant to put anybody off. At the end of the day, it was an amazing challenge at a wonderful venue, so I would encourage anybody intrigued by this race to give it a try if they are ever in this part of the world. Ganbatte! 

*The aftermath of the Tower challenge with an exhausted Leo (above left), with Paul.

*Footnote from Paul: Both my son Leo (18), and my daughter Emily (16), will join me on 22nd June 2025 for another Tokyo Tower Climb race. The event is twice a year. Btw, last time, competitors had to descend the Tower after the race on foot, as the lift wasn't in use due to the event being early before opening time, and I seem to recall that Marie had to use a service lift, or something like that with other non-participants to access the 1st stage off hours.

*This is a link to the Tokyo Tower event: http://tokyotower-kaidan.com/