Room to Read Japan participated as a beneficiary organization in the Tokyo Marathon 2025, which took place on March 2nd (Sunday)! The Tokyo Marathon, captivating runners worldwide as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, saw approximately 38,000 participants. Among them, 164 individuals from 21 countries resonated with Room to Read’s mission and designated it as their charity of choice, participating as charity runners.
During the Tokyo Marathon 2025 EXPO (February 27th to March 1st) and on the day of the event, we were grateful to receive support from employees of multiple sponsoring companies. Alongside a team of 47 volunteer supporters, we warmly welcomed charity runners and cheered them on with loud voices. Under clear skies, the race commenced at 9:10 a.m. from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, with runners embarking on the 42.195km journey, each step filled with their own aspirations.
In this charity run, participants engaged in various fundraising methods, including direct donations, matching contributions from corporations, and utilizing Room to Read’s crowdfunding system, all directed towards supporting education for children in low-income communities. As a result, we exceeded our initial goal of funding educaiton for 8,000 children, collecting donations equivalent to supporting education for over 10,000 children! We extend our heartfelt gratitude for everyone’s support.
東京マラソン2025 チャリティEXPOの様子（2月27日～3月1日） Tokyo Marathon 2025 Charity EXPO held from Feb. 27 – Mar. 1
ランナー登録、アスリートビブスの受け取りのために訪れたランナーのほか、一般来場者を含めて多くの来場者をチャリティブースでお迎えしました。
In addition to runners who came to register and pick up their bibs, more than 60,000 people, including general visitors, came to the event! We welcomed them at our charity booth.
3月1日（金）皇居ラン / March 1st (Fri.) Imperial Palace Run
アライアンスパートナー企業様のマラソンチームのリードで、皇居ラン！歓迎のスピーチにランナーは感激、ランの後は交流もしたそうです！
Under the leadership of our alliance partner companies’ marathon team, we embarked on a run around the Imperial Palace! The runners were deeply moved by the welcome speech and enjoyed interacting after the run.
3月2日（日）沿道応援の様子 / March 2nd (Sun.) Cheering on the way
Tokyo Marathon Foundation
ランナーにとって一番苦しいといわれる、両国～田町（27Km～37Km）地点、そしてフィニッシュエリアで、ボランティアサポーターが応援にかけつけました！
応援の声にたくさんのランナーが応え、ハイタッチも！
Volunteer supporters came to cheer the runners on at the Ryogoku – Tamachi (27Km – 37Km) point, which is said to be the most challenging section for the runners, and of course, at the finish area! Many runners responded to the cheers, exchanging high-fives!
走行後のチャリティランナーをお迎えしました！今回は、ご家族やご友人が集まるミートポイントとしても活用され、多くの方々がランナーのゴールを祝福しました。
On Sunday, March 2, we welcomed charity runners after their race at the Charity Lounge in Tokyo International Forum! This time, the lounge also served as a meeting point for family and friends, bringing together many people to celebrate the runners’ finish.
世界中のチャリティランナーの皆様、ありがとうございました！
Thank you very much for your wonderful run!
Room to Read Japan will continue to participate as a beneficiary organization for the Tokyo Marathon 2026 Charity, scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 1, 2026! For any inquiries or questions regarding this, please feel free to contact Room to Read Japan at japan@roomtoread.org.
（日本語版はこちら） Ricardo Ernst is a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is also one of Room to Read’s most significant fundraisers for the Tokyo Marathon. An avid runner, he initially joined the marathon to complete the six Abbott World Marathon Majors. This led him to explore possible charity organizations to run for, and Room to Read captured his attention immediately as one that resonated with him. As a longtime professor, he strongly believes in the importance of education and teaching children to read. Professor Ernst officially joined our cause last year; he raised the donation equivalent to literacy education for 200 children for the 2024 marathon and is in the process of doing so again this year. We recently asked him to share his thoughts on his running and fundraising success.
How did you become so passionate about running?
I began running later in life after I moved to the United States from Venezuela and saw everyone around me going on runs. “Running is a challenge to yourself with yourself.” I slowly built my way up to trying out international marathons, and now I have run 19 marathons in total and have finished 5 of the 6 Abbott Marathons.
That’s great! Do you have any advice for those new to running/marathons?
Running is all mental and about endurance. You need to set personal targets and challenge yourself. My advice is to push yourself to go for the run in the moment. It’s so easy to put it off for another day, but you’ll come back from the run feeling great. To me, “running is an incredible personal reward.” It’sa great way of staying healthy and exploring new places and countries!
As one of our best fundraisers, can you discuss what your fundraising experience was like last year?
“First, I believe it is important to have…passion for what you do.” It was easy for me to write messages to people since I believeso deeply in using education to help people. And when I put the messages up on LinkedIn and Facebook, random people commented, and the money started pouring in. I knewa lot of people from teaching at Georgetown for 37 years; I taught more than 80,000 students! I then began targeting those I knew could donate larger amounts (by sharing more about my passion for what Room to Read does) and was able to convince more and morepeople.
Prof. Ernest’s campaign page. Click to see his progress and support his challenge!
Amazing! What do you see as the key tactics behind your success?
Conviction. “To convince, you need conviction.” You need to have passion for the cause, because your message needs to reach donors “in a very genuine way.” It’s also important to use media outlets. And then, you need to insist. Many people will claim they will support and not follow through, and you can’t let them off the hook. But instead of making the donors feel guilty, you should make them feel happy, so that “they are giving because they feel they’re doing something good…for the world.” Finally, it’s important to set a target. Having a clear goal both motivates you and makes it easier to convince others to contribute.
Although he only recently joined our organization last year, Professor Ernst is deeply committed. Hear about his passion for fundraising for Room to Read in his own words in the video below! Interviewer: Claire Ozeki is an undergraduate student at Georgetown University and an intern at Room to Read Japan.
Your donation to Ricardo Ernst’ page will be an investment in children’s futures. Thank you for your support!
