Trackside at MDC — A Festival of Fast Feet and Japanese Matsuri Energy

This past Saturday, Okura Sports Park in Tokyo's leafy Setagaya Ward hosted the MDC GP supported by On, a mid-summer meet that combined top-level middle-distance racing with the spirit of a Japanese matsuri (festival).

With TWOLAPS, the Tokyo-based track and event production team, leading the charge, and On returning as a key supporter, MDC (Middle Distance Circuit) brought together serious competition and something more: a celebration of running shaped by local culture.

Inspired by the feel of a traditional summer festival, the grounds were lined with Japanese junk food stalls, and the trackside experience was rich with atmosphere: pounding taiko drums, traditional instruments, and the crack of a rocket firework as athletes were welcomed onto the track. It gave the meet a distinctly Japanese character.

Runners squeeze onto benches for their pre-race briefing

Day: A Slow-Build Kind of Energy

After a week of ferocious heat, race day brought some light relief. A slightly overcast sky helped keep temperatures manageable, still warm, but far from brutal.

The early schedule included a procession of 800 m and 1500 m races, mixing combative university runners going all guns blazing with more seasoned runners competing to be a better version of themselves, drawing big cheers as they pushed through the final meters.

On your marks...

The final bend

An inclusive event where the only requirement is to show up and try to be a better you

Perhaps the most essential element to running: Enjoyment

One TWOLAPS team member was keen to point out that this year's MDC was a more stripped-back version than last year’s On Track Nights event, but it didn't feel undercooked.

And also, they had a secret weapon.

More on that later.

A small but significant detail was that the infield was open to the public. In Japan’s world of tightly controlled event operations, this kind of access is rare. One TWOLAPS rep told me they try to “needle at the edges” each year, to gently push the boundaries so that what was once difficult becomes standard the next time. "It’s happening. It just takes time."

Like many festivals, the start was a little slow. But by late afternoon, the energy was shifting. The stands were filling up, and queues at the food trucks were getting longer.

(While there were plenty of classic matsuri-style bites on offer, I enjoyed a beautiful hand-drip coffee from Costa Rica, courtesy of Nozy Coffee. The mix — like the meet itself — felt thoughtful and evolving.)

Bringing Japanese matsuri energy to the track

The pace continued to build, with a now-crowded infield pressed up against the rails. A race featuring YouTubers and influencers, some of them former Hakone Ekiden runners, injected a jolt of energy, and standout performances began to stack up. By the time the sun dipped and the floodlights came on, the event had fully hit its stride.

Night: Full Speed, Full Atmosphere

The competition heats up as night falls (Image: Me!)

With the lights on and the crowd in full voice, the evening program stepped things up. The taiko drums hit harder, and rocket fireworks lit the sky as each athlete was introduced, adding a theatrical touch to the start-line rituals. The infield became a crush of bodies lining the rails, the stands filled out, and whether it was the momentum of the schedule or the MDC special-edition beer from local brewery Beer Brain, the energy was unmistakably rising.

Power pounding on the taiko drums (Image: Me!)

That beer took center stage in the Beer Mile, a regular feature overseas but still new territory for Japan. The format was simple: drink a beer, run a lap, repeat four times. It started with laughter and swagger, but by lap three, the runners looked visibly less comfortable. Still, the final sprint finish was surprisingly sharp.

Before: Setting up for the Beer Mile (Image: Jin Fukuma, Beer Brain)

After: The result of four beers, four laps and a fierce sprint finish (Image: Me!)

As the beer mile wrapped, something very different was brewing on the track. Word had quietly spread that Nozomi Tanaka, Japan’s middle-distance star and a standout name on the global Grand Slam Track circuit, would attempt to improve on her own national 1500 m record. After a "disappointing" (her words!) run at the National Championships the week before, she felt there was more to give.

The crowd leaned in. It’s rare to be so close to an athlete of Nozomi’s calibre, and her presence brought a new level of attention to the meet. She dominated from the gun, crushing the field, but fell short of the time she was chasing.

With little competition to push her, this may not have been the ideal setup, but afterward, she told the crowd it had been a new kind of experience, and that she’d been lifted by the energetic atmosphere.

"Energy" captures the heart of MDC. And if someone like Nozomi walks away feeling something different, something real, then TWOLAPS is clearly onto something.

Nozomi Tanaka: Too fast for my iPhone

More Than a Meet: TWOLAPS' Vision for MDC

Masato Yokota, the meet director and driving force behind TWOLAPS, makes it clear that MDC was never just about putting on a track meet.

“From the very beginning, our goal has been to create an event where everyone involved in the sport — athletes, spectators, volunteers, and sponsors — can play an active role,” he explains. “That philosophy shaped every part of the day, from how the venue is set up to the decision to embrace matsuri-style elements.”

Yokota hopes MDC will grow into something the local community can truly claim as its own — not just a one-off competition, but a familiar fixture on the calendar, a track and field event that feels like a festival the city welcomes back each year.

"Looking ahead, TWOLAPS also wants to see athletes connect more deeply with the people and places around the sport, taking interest not only in their own performance, but in the broader ecosystem of fans, young runners, and local culture." That, he says, is how the value of track and field really starts to grow."

Making Its Own Mark

This wasn’t the biggest meet of the year, but it might be the one people talk about the longest. While events like Highgate’s Night of the 10,000m PBs have set the global benchmark for atmosphere and all-in community energy, MDC isn’t trying to copy that. It’s carving out its own lane, rooted in Japanese culture and shaped by the people who show up.

With taiko drums, beer brewed just for the occasion, and world-class athletes sharing the stage with amateurs and influencers, it’s not trying to be the loudest or the flashiest. It’s just trying to be itself, and that might be exactly why it works.

Text: Jeremy Kuhles

Images: Danny Easton (unless otherwise specified)