TOKIO member Kokubun Taichi (36) finished the 42.195km Tokyo Marathon yesterday with a time of 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 41 seconds. Before the race, he had confidently stated that he would shave his head if he didn’t finish the marathon, and by finishing the race in style, he avoided having to become bald.

This marks the first time that Kokubun has finished a marathon, and before the race, he intensely trained three days a week for a total of about three months. The night before the race, he received a call from Shounentai’s Higashiyama Noriyuki (44), who said, “When it gets rough, think of me!” Also, at the 40km mark, fellow TOKIO member Yamaguchi Tastuya (39) made a surprise appearance to cheer him on.

After the race, Kokubun commented, “I was very happy with all the encouragement and cheering. If there will be a second time,  I think I would do it again.” During the race, he spotted a fan with a sign saying, “I don’t want to see you bald.” He responded to the sign later, saying, “I don’t think it would look cool at a live concert when I try to do a hair-whip and there’s nothing to whip,” showing some relief in his expression.

Kokubun is currently in a relationship with a woman three years younger than him, and it was reported a while back that this woman left her job at a television station in preparation for getting married. When the media asked him if this would lead into a crossing of a finish line in his personal life, he said, “That sounds great! I’ll think about it.”

Congratulations to Kokubun Taichi and all the other finishers at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon!

Source: Sponichi