The project goes live, here, on Sunday 27th Feb 8am JST (Saturday 26th Feb 11pm GMT / Saturday 26th Feb 6pm EST) Follow me @tamegoeswild for project updates.

Following on from the success of last year’s Tokyo Marathon broadcast project, this year I’m upping the ante, by running the entire 42km/26 mile course whilst operating the iRun, the world’s most advanced mobile social media machine that will allow me to share this epic challenge with the world in a way that has never been attempted before.

(Special thanks to Jonathan for putting this video together)

The iRun – something I have no doubt Apple will be interested in buying the blueprints for – is a hugely complex device constructed from two IKAN Recoils. The modification process, carried out in my dad’s greenhouse when visiting the UK at Christmas, saw these joined together with composite rods to form a rig that can be worn without danger of it flying off when travelling at high speeds (or low speeds, as is more likely to be the case). Further additions have been made to rig since returning to Tokyo, with many hours spent in my local DIY shop.

It features four iPhones on rotatable mounts, an iPad, an Android handset, three mobile wifi routers, a wind turbine (ok, so it’s a kid’s fan that turns around…), a 4-in-one atmospheric monitor, a heart monitor, a plastic doughnut and of course the very important satellite dish for high-speed data connectivity (cunningly crafted from a bird-feeding dish).

This technology will allow me to broadcast live video on two cameras (using either skype or FaceTime to a local studio for re-broadcast), send live location/pace/heart rate data via Runkeeper on the iPhone, transmit temperature, COx/humidity/noise levels via a custom-made Android app created by www.ecomobilecitizen.com – and do all of this while looking incredibly cool.

The project has sparked a considerable amount of interest in the press – for example, I was invited to introduce the project recently on TOKYO MX TV (Japanese only, sorry)



Whilst the project is being funded out of my own pocket, I have received in-kind support from a number of companies whom I would like to thank: Nike Japan have provided my clothing, Wahoo Fitness the heart monitor/ANT+ iPhone case, CableJive the dockStubz charging adapters.

On the day of the marathon we’ll have a team of about 15 volunteers broadcasting live from various points along the marathon route – these will stream back to our makeshift studio where they will be mixed and rebroadcast via Ustream. My sincere thanks to all team members who are helping make this possible – the most incredible citizen broadcast the world has yet seen.

Be sure to tune in to www.tm2011.com on February 27th – follow me on Twitter @tamegoeswild for updates!

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