“SOCIAL_MARATHON in KYOTO”

First link your Facebook or Twitter account to a RFID chip through a special register site before the race. Enter your hopeful aiming goal time, which was automatically posted onto the runners’ linked SNS spreading the new platform.

Then all you had to do was just attach the RFID behind the bib and run.

Without using any smartphone to log in, the runners’ split time was automatically posted on to their SNS every 10km, from start to goal. Calculating how fast or slow you were against your hopeful goal time too.

The runners’ families and friends saw the real-time post through SNS.

Whether they were by the marathon course, or at home, or even abroad, wherever they were, they could cheer for the runner through SNS. And also through a special cheering site for the few who wanted to cheer but didn’t have a SNS account.

All of the SNS cheers were linked and collected to the iPads of Japanese calligraphy school teams in Kyoto city.

Then re-written by them into a 2,000 year old traditional way.

Onto Japanese handmade paper and ink.

The hand written cheers were posted on to Kyoto’s historical shrines, temples and walls along the course, thousands of years old never before used as a media. And also held by people who were cheering by the road side.

All cheers could be seen from the runners, giving a huge boost to cross the finish line.

Marathon is no longer a solitary individual sport, but a fun social team sport.

1,837 runners participated.

8,522 digital SNS messages gathered, transforming into traditional but new cheers, filling the ancient Kyoto city with beautiful powerful calligraphy.

Many cheered from far away cities like Tokyo and Hiroshima. Some cheers even came from abroad, like Taipei, Hawaii and New York.

Many messages included “Emoticons”, a typical Japanese text messaging expression. This was the first time internet vocabulary was turned into traditional Japanese calligraphy.

All in real time. Creating a completely new way of running a marathon.

All runners were amazed with the new running experience, and wanted to try again.

Raving comments were posted on both Facebook and Twitter, from both the runners and the cheering family and friends, and even from other city marathon enthusiasts, creating a strong and new marathon experience to all.

Not only was the Kyoto city government fascinated with the outcome, but all Japanese cities holding city marathons are considering implementing the same solution in the next race.

Many new clients are already interested in supporting the next “SOCIAL_MARATHON”.