We had previously reported that AKB48 Team K member Akimoto Sayaka was preparing to run the "Tokyo Marathon". She claimed she was running the marathon to show she could re-start in 2011 after her scandal back in October.

Akimoto completed the marathon on February 27th and finished in 6 hours, 50 minutes, and 6 seconds. Many members of AKB were watching and supporting her; three were even in the studio rooting her on: Miyazawa Sae (Team K), Umeda Ayaka (Team K), and Masuda Yuka (Team B).

We are extremely proud of Sayaka for completing the marathon, as it was through this that she has reclaimed her position as Team K's captain!

Check out some comments from fellow members below!

Katayama Haruka (Team A):

Sayaka-chan, good work on the Tokyo Marathon. It�s really great that you made it to the finish line~ Sayaka-chan�s power is unbelievable. �And Akimoto-sensei announced she would be captain again. It�s the words I�ve been waiting to hear!!! You guys have too, right? From now on, all of Team AKB�s captains are here ? Sayaka-chan, congratulations on finishing the race & returning as captain!!!

Uchida Mayumi (Team K):

Fujiecchi, Sakiko, Rumi and I watched TV together. We saw Sayaka-chan safely cross the finish line in the Tokyo Marathon and now she�s going to return as Team K�s captain. For us, only Sayaka-chan can be our captain, so we�re really glad. Let�s do our best together again!

Oshima Yuko (Team K):

Sayaka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations on completing the Tokyo Marathon (�T?T`)!!!!!!!! And you�re returning as our captain!!!!!!!!!! Really really, congratulations. Of course Akimoto can do it.

Nakatsuka Tomomi (Team K):

Sayaka-chan, congratulations on finishing the Tokyo Marathon (???)/ <3 Oh my gosh, I�m so happy. I was glued to the TV to make sure you finished safely (^O^)/ I was so moved. As expected of TeamK�s captain. I should really follow in your footsteps! Sayaka-chan, congratulations!

Fujie Reina (Team K):

Ucchii, Sacchan, Reina and Yone-chan were together watching TV (*�??*) We got so excited when Sayaka-chan safely finished the Tokyo Marathon (*�??*) The 4 of us were SO happy <3 <3 I was so happy that I even took a picture of the TV �(?><)?After the race, Akimoto-sensei sent a mail to Sayaka-chan asking if she wanted to be Team K�s captain again and it got everyone so excited (^?^)? <3 <3 Naturally, Team K�s captain is Sayaka-chan (???) Or rather, it can only be Sayaka-chan! (�????) Reinyan is so happy <3 <3

Yonezawa Rumi (Team K):

Sayaka made it to the goal line in the Tokyo Marathon!!! Only Sayaka-chan can be Team K�s captain ; - ; <3 I�m so glad!!!

Oku Manami (Team B):

Sayaka finished~!!!! I couldn�t watch it until the end, but I really believed that she would reach her goal, since she�s Sayaka!! ^^ <3 It also seems she�s returning as captain, that�s great~ ^^

Kashiwagi Yuki (Team B Captain):

Sayaka-chan! Congratulations on completing the Tokyo Marathon (;_;) At our handshake event the fans kept letting us know how you were doing �She�s at OO km right now!� and �Sayaka is doing her best!� And you�re the captain again, everyone has been waiting for that! I admire and want to learn a lot from Captain Sayaka-chan. So, I would be happy if I can learn various things from you and if we can help each other out. Really, great job today(^^)/

Kobayashi Kana (Team B):

Sayaka finished it ; - ; <3 Kana has been sitting in front of the TV since this morning cheering her on. Sayaka congratulations on being captain!!

Suzuki Mariya (Team B):

Sayaka-chan finished the Tokyo Marathon! ^^ <3 Congratulations~ Sayaka-chan is amazing <3 <3 <3 You�re just like a captain, you�re hard working, you�re kind, you have a strong sense of justice and everyone puts their faith in you ^^ You really kept your word! Sayaka-chan, good work today. You�re so amazing *_* Sayaka-chan congratulaaaations ^^ <3

Masuda Yuka (Team B):

Akimoto completely finished the race! As soon as she finished she immediately ate a rice ball ^^ I was so moved today that I wanted to cry. I didn�t think I would cry at the broadcast station. That�s how hard Akimoto tried. Thank you so much for teaching me lots of things. I was most happy to hear from Akimoto-sensei that Sayaka would be returning as captain! Truly, congratulations! From tomorrow, be just like Sayaka and do your best as Team K�s captain <3

And we leave you with a message from the runner herself!

Akimoto Sayaka (Team K Captain):

Today I ran in the Tokyo Marathon. It was beautiful seeing the backs of everybody who was doing their best. I was able to receive encouragement from people on the sidelines of the route, the other runners, the AKB members and fans. If it wasn�t for them, I don�t think I would have been able to run 42.195 kilometers. �The orchestra even played �Aitakatta� and �Heavy Rotation�. They�re songs that we generally sing and now they were used to cheer me on, it made me cry. Everyone was so kind. It was like Japan in the olden days� Something that the current Japan has lost� You could really see the relationships between so many people today. Sae, Yuka, Ume-chan, and all of the members�thank you so much. Thank you to everyone who gave me support and to my fans. I was able to finish this because of you all. I�m sorry for always troubling you guys.In the end, I got an e-mail from Akimoto-sensei telling me I was Team K�s captain again. I was so surprised� I�m a bit anxious, but I will do my very best to be a great captain from scratch. To all of the fans who I�ve worried and to the members, Akimoto Sayaka, will do her best from scratch. Thank you so much. I�ve learned more about myself through running the marathon. I�ve started to like marathons now (^O^) Running is fun!! I�d like to run it again� Runners, volunteers, everyone involved in the Tokyo Marathon!! Good work today!! We made it to the goal!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrbA1OEnghs

Source: Various AKB48 Member Blogs

Tip for the video : joe.oppa