From the Forest to the Finish Line

19 hours ago

3 min read

When you cross the finish line at Tokyo Yamathon 2026, a medal with its own story will be waiting for you. Made from natural wood and prepared with the care of volunteers, it will be a keepsake that belongs to you alone.

No two medals are alike. Each has its own grain, growth rings, shape and texture. You and your teammates will share the same achievement, but each of you will take home a unique piece of a forest that your participation helps maintain and protect.

Your medal is being created by Tochigi Conservation Corps, one of our Community Impact Partners. It brings together the forest conservation work Yamathon supports, wood recovered from that work, and the people who help turn it into a keepsake.

Caring for the forest

A healthy forest needs more than new trees. It also needs care as those trees grow. In planted forests, trees can become crowded, competing for sunlight, water and space. When too little light reaches the forest floor, smaller plants struggle to grow beneath them.

Tochigi Conservation Corps carries out forest thinning, carefully selecting and removing some trees so the remaining trees have room to grow. Opening up the canopy allows more sunlight to reach the ground, helping create conditions where plants and young trees can grow and a wider variety of life can thrive. Our support helps make this ongoing forest care possible. The medals grow out of that work: we support the conservation activities, and wood recovered through those activities becomes something participants can take home.

A medal as individual as your journey

The medals are made from hinoki, or Japanese cypress, removed during thinning. The makers explain that this wood would otherwise have been left at the forest site. Creating medals gives it a useful new purpose.

The logs are brought back, dried and cut into discs. Each piece is dried further and sanded smooth before a local business laser engraves the Yamathon design. An attachment is then fitted for the medal strap. No paint or preservatives are used. The wood keeps its natural character, including the patterns formed as the tree grew. Take a moment to look closely when you receive yours: the rings and grain are part of its history, and no other participant will have exactly the same piece. The Yamathon design brings the medals together. The wood makes every one individual.

Planting for the future

Tochigi Conservation Corps also plants new trees through its wider forest projects. International Volunteer Group–Japan (IVG–Japan), the organizer of Tokyo Yamathon, has joined these activities and provided opportunities for volunteers to plant trees, learn about conservation and take part in caring for our forests.

Together, caring for existing forests and planting for the future are part of our shared commitment to healthier forests and supporting biodiversity—the variety of plants and animals that live there. The medal connects you with that broader work.

Brought to life by volunteers

Behind every finished medal is time generously given by Tochigi Conservation Corps volunteers and Yamathon volunteers. The Corps' team helps prepare the wooden medals, while Yamathon volunteers attach the straps and help get them ready for the finish line.

From sanding the wood to putting on the straps, the preparation takes care and patience. A local business adds the laser-engraved Yamathon design, bringing the wider community into the process too. Each medal reaches you through many helping hands.

Young people who have experienced social withdrawal also join in, through activities that support community participation and steps toward employment. Working alongside others on the medals offers a shared purpose and the satisfaction of seeing something they helped create take shape.

The makers describe these sessions as an enjoyable time together. When you receive your medal, you will be holding the result of that shared effort: a piece of wood that people have helped turn into a celebration of your achievement.

A message from Tochigi Conservation Corps

"Being a Community Impact Partner of Tokyo Yamathon helps us continue caring for forests in our community and working toward a healthier environment where a variety of plants and animals can thrive. We've enjoyed making these medals together and giving wood from our conservation work a new purpose. It is wonderful to think that each piece will go home with someone as a reminder of what they achieved at the Yamathon. We look forward to seeing you at the event. Please stop by our event booth to learn more!"

— Tatsuya Tsukamoto, Representative Director, Tochigi Conservation Corps

Your achievement and a shared impact

On October 17, your medal will celebrate the distance you have walked and the effort your team has shared. It will also carry a connection to the forests being cared for, the trees being planted and the people making that work possible.

We look forward to presenting your unique medal to you as you cross the Tokyo Yamathon 2026 finish line.