Start With the Expo's Closing Time ยท Ian
"Flight Delayed, Missed the Expo": Can Someone Else Pick Up Your Bib?
If a delayed flight makes you miss the expo, who can pick up your bib for you? Official guidance from Osaka, Tokyo, New York, Honolulu, London, Taipei, Rotterdam, and Stockholm on proxy pickup and race-day pickup.
"We landed last night at about half past 6, Friday evening." That's what the runner behind the YouTube channel Maisie runs said on the way to the expo the day before the 2025 Tokyo Marathon.
It was the runner's sixth marathon and fourth World Marathon Major. Working out the subway lines took a while, so they got to Tokyo Big Sight later than planned, but the bib was in hand around noon on Saturday.
How was the expo? "Very organized, quite nice and quiet."
Under the 2027 rules, Saturday pickup closes at 5:30 p.m.
, which works out to a cushion of five and a half hours. Had that same flight slipped to Saturday evening, the counter would have been closedโand Tokyo doesn't hand out bibs on race day.
So if a delayed flight makes you miss the expo, who can pick up your bib for you? Line up the official guidance from eight races and the answers fall into three groups.
Osaka, New York, and Honolulu state flatly that only the runner can collect, and Tokyo only describes in-person check-in. London and Taipei allow proxy pickup with conditions, and Rotterdam and Stockholm went further, opening their counters on race morning as well.
Even among races that say proxy pickup is fine, what the proxy has to bring ranges from a signed letter to a single phone screen.
Osaka, Japan
1Osaka Marathon: No proxies even with a letter, and no exceptions for transit delays
No race answers this question more firmly than Osaka. The 2026 runner guide says it does not accept check-in by anyone other than the runner, adding in parentheses that a letter of authorization won't work either. There's no race-day check-in at all, and one line even says that once the set hours have passed, you won't be accepted even if public transit was delayed.
If the counter won't make allowances for late trains, it's hard to expect a late flight to count as an excuse. The 2027 Osaka Marathon is on Sunday, February 28, and the expo runs for two days, the Friday and Saturday before, at INTEX Osaka. As of 2026, check-in hours were 11 a.
m. to 7 p.m.
Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.
m. Saturday. At the counter you present your bib exchange voucher and identification; a passport or driver's license works on its own, while other documents have to be paired.
If you lose the voucher, you can get it again from the verification page using your registered email address and date of birth. A runner who visited the expo in 2026 (YouTube channel RunBry) put it plainly: "Expo is only open two days, Friday and Saturday." The runner also explained that each bib has a color and that you find your name, surname first, on a list posted on the wall.
With a two-day window and no letters of authorization, the only person who can collect a bib in Osaka is the runner, standing at INTEX during those hours.
Osaka Marathon 2027Sun, February 28, 2027 ยท D-137 ยท Osaka, JapanSee race details
2Tokyo Marathon: The last window closes at 5:30 p.m. Saturday
Bib pickup for the 2027 Tokyo Marathon (Sunday, March 7) is in the South Halls at Tokyo Big Sight, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.
m. on Thursday, March 4, and Friday, March 5, and from 10 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 6.
The official FAQ says there's no check-in or bib pickup on race day. Proxy pickup isn't mentioned in the FAQ at all. But it does say runners must complete check-in themselves within the set period, and it allows neither someone else running in your place nor handing your entry to another person.
If you're coming from overseas, pack your passport first. The FAQ notes that you may be asked to prove you live outside Japan, and the bib exchange voucher isn't sent separately by email. A runner who filmed pickup in 2026 (YouTube channel Kryzza) showed a QR code and then handed over a passport.
The staff member's reply was brief: "That's fine. โฆ This is the bio page." Another runner at that year's race (YouTube channel RunBry) said it wasn't too crowded around 1 to 2 p.
m., but that showing up at 10 a.m.
on the first day could mean big crowds. The lines said to run a couple of hours were outside the ASICS store, not at the bib counter. Since the race refunds neither entry fees nor donations if you drop out for personal reasons, that one timeโ5:30 p.
m. Saturdayโdecides whether your whole entry fee pays off.
TOKYO MARATHON 2027Sun, March 7, 2027 ยท D-144 ยท Tokyo, JapanSee race details
3New York City Marathon: No proxy pickup, and the Saturday bib counter closes at 4:30 p.m.
The New York Road Runners (NYRR) help article says it in the title: "No Proxy Pickup at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo." Registered runners have to come to the expo in person with photo ID and proof of entry to collect their materials. The 2026 race is on Sunday, November 1, and the expo at the Jacob K.
Javits Convention Center is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.
m. on Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, and 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 31.
You can choose a pickup time slot in your NYRR account until 4 p.m. on October 31.
Boston and Chicago are runner-only, too. Boston's official guidance says each participant must pick up their own bib, and pickup happens only during expo hours. Chicago says you can't pick up materials on someone else's behalf, and there's no race-day pickup or mailing.
Berlin's 2024 guidance likewise required runners to collect in person at the expo with their start card and ID, and Sydney said in 2026 that marathon participants must collect in person, with no Sunday-morning pickup and no mailing. A runner who ran a first marathon in New York in 2024 (YouTube channel RunningBastards) looked at the long lines and said it made them "feel like I'm at the JFK Airport about to travel somewhere." Still, the line moved pretty well, and though the runner expected a barcode scan, showing the number and ID was enough to finish the check.
But in New York, there's another time to memorize. The bib counter closes 30 minutes before the expo does: 7:30 p.m.
on Thursday and Friday, and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
TCS New York City MarathonSun, November 1, 2026 ยท D-18 ยท New York City, United StatesSee race details
4Honolulu Marathon: The race starts 12 hours after the expo closes
The 2026 JAL Honolulu Marathon starts at 5 a.m. on Sunday, December 13.
Bibs are handed out only at the Hawai'i Convention Center, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.
m. on Thursday, December 10; 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m. on Friday, December 11; and 9 a.
m. to 5 p.m.
on Saturday, December 12. The official guidance makes the same point twice: "Race bibs cannot be picked up by someone else on your behalf." And: "There is no race day pick up service."
You need two things: valid ID and your bib number, which arrives by email during race week. If you can't find that email, you can look up the number again on monitors at the expo. In those 12 hours, not a single counter hands out bibs.
JAL Honolulu MarathonSun, December 13, 2026 ยท D-60 ยท Honolulu, United StatesSee race details
5London Marathon: Leave a letter, QR code, and copy of your ID, and a friend can collect
Of the seven Majors covered here, London is the only one that allows proxy pickup. Under "Can't attend in person?" in the 2026 event guide, participants can nominate someone else to collect their event pack.
The proxy needs four things: the participant's QR code, a letter of authorization written and signed by the participant that names the proxy, a copy of the participant's ID showing their name and signature, and the proxy's own photo ID. The 2026 Running Show was held at ExCeL London from Wednesday, April 22, through Saturday, April 25, with pickup closing at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday. The 2027 Running Show guidance keeps the same line: if you can't come in person, someone else can collect for you. A runner who ran a first marathon in London in 2025 (YouTube channel DansRunningAdventure) left a short reminder: "Don't forget your ID.
I almost forgot that." Another runner (YouTube channel Bella Runs) recommended going early in the week because weekends get extremely busy, adding that once you're inside, bib pickup takes just a few minutes. If your group has three or more people, do the math ahead of time.
Each person can collect only one other runner's pack in addition to their own.
TCS London MarathonSat, April 24, 2027 ยท D-192 ยท London, United KingdomSee race details
6Taipei Marathon: No letter needed, just two IDs on a phone screen
Taipei is generous about proxy pickup. The 2026 race rules say that if you can't come in person, you can have a family member or friend collect your materials. The proxy shows the IDs of both "the proxy and the participant" (a national ID card, National Health Insurance card, driver's license, or passport), as originals or copies, and images on a phone are accepted.
Then the proxy signs legibly and leaves contact information, and that's it. No letter of authorization is required. The 2026 Taipei Marathon is on Sunday, December 20, and materials are handed out at the Taipei Expo Dome (่ฑๅ็ญ่ฑ้คจ), where the marathon expo is held, from 1 to 8 p.
m. on Thursday, December 17, and Friday, December 18, and from 11 a.m.
to 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 19.
There's no on-site check-in or materials pickup on race day. With an address in Taiwan, you can pay NT$140 when you register and have everything delivered, but nothing ships to addresses overseas. The door may be wide, but missing it costs you.
If you didn't collect in person, didn't name a proxy, and couldn't race as a result, nothing is reissued; leftover materials can only be picked up December 21โ24 at the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association office. Here's how the rules put it: "Runners who have not completed materials pickup will automatically lose their eligibility and may not enter the race course."
TAIPEI MARATHONSun, December 20, 2026 ยท D-67 ยท Taipei, TaiwanSee race details
7Rotterdam Marathon: The bib counter was open at 7 a.m. on Sunday
One race let you make the start line even if your flight landed Saturday night. In 2026, the Rotterdam Marathon opened its Marathon Sports Expo from 7 to 10 a.m.
on race day, Sunday, April 12, for bib pickup only. The venue was the Postillion convention center at WTC Rotterdam, which was also open 10 a.m.
to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.
m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday. The 2027 race is on Sunday, April 11. Whether the race-day counter opens again will have to be confirmed in the 2027 guidance.
Even when you go yourself, you need physical ID, such as a passport, ID card, or driver's license, plus the e-ticket that arrives one week before the race. Bibs are personal and can't be transferred to anyone else. In Rotterdam, the key to proxy pickup is the bib owner's physical ID.
No letter of authorization is needed, but copies and photos aren't accepted either.
NN Rotterdam MarathonSun, April 11, 2027 ยท D-179 ยท Rotterdam, NetherlandsSee race details
8Stockholm Marathon: Your friend's start certificate on a screen is all it takes
The Stockholm Marathon is run on a Saturday. The 2026 race was on Saturday, May 30, and bibs were handed out at the Lejonhallen expo at รstermalms IP from noon to 7 p.m.
on Thursday, May 28; 10 a.m. to 8 p.
m. on Friday, May 29; and 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
on race day, Saturday, May 30. Bibs are printed on the spot, and only during expo hours. All you need is your start certificate on your phone.
Photo ID isn't required. To pick up a friend's bib, you just show that friend's start certificate, which makes Stockholm the easiest of the eight races in this story for proxy pickup. What's prohibited is handing your bib to another runner.
Stockholm has two emergency exits. As of 2026, even if your Friday-night flight was delayed, the race-day counter was open until 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, and if even that was too tight, someone in your group who arrived first could collect your bib with a single certificate screen.
Stockholm MarathonSat, May 29, 2027 ยท D-227 ยท Stockholm, SwedenSee race details
Editor's pick
Before you pick a flight, look at when bib pickup closes on the final day of the expo. For runner-only races like Osaka, Tokyo, New York, and Honolulu, the default is a flight that lands by the evening before that final day, not the morning of. If the flight gets pushed back once, you still have the whole last day.
But that buffer costs you a night in a hotel. Don't want to pay for the extra night? If someone in your group is arriving first, you can turn to a race that allows proxy pickup instead.
At London and Taipei, where proxy pickup is allowed, the prep is done before you leave home. For London, hand a signed letter and a copy of your ID to the friend arriving first; for Taipei, an image of your ID. If your schedule is truly tight, look at the two races that had race-day pickup as of 2026: Rotterdam, which opened at 7 a.
m. on Sunday, and Stockholm, which printed bibs right up to the morning of its Saturday race. Just confirm in each race's guidance that the race-day counter will open again in 2027 before you book.
Entry period ยท Accommodation
| Races | Itinerary | Entry period | INFO. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka Marathon 2027 | Sun, February 28, 2027 | Tue, July 28, 2026 ~ Fri, August 28, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| TOKYO MARATHON 2027 | Sun, March 7, 2027 | Fri, August 14, 2026 ~ Fri, August 28, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| TCS New York City Marathon | Sun, November 1, 2026 | Wed, February 4, 2026 ~ Wed, February 25, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| JAL Honolulu Marathon | Sun, December 13, 2026 | Fri, May 22, 2026 ~ Thu, December 3, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| TCS London Marathon | Sat, April 24, 2027 | Fri, April 24, 2026 ~ Fri, May 1, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| TAIPEI MARATHON | Sun, December 20, 2026 | Fri, July 3, 2026 ~ Wed, July 15, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| NN Rotterdam Marathon | Sun, April 11, 2027 | Wed, September 9, 2026 ~ Tue, September 22, 2026 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
| Stockholm Marathon | Sat, May 29, 2027 | Mon, August 24, 2026 ~ Sat, May 29, 2027 | Accommodation ยท See race details |
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