More Than a Finish Line: Meet Yuta Tanaka
Yuta Tanaka grew up in Japan surrounded by sports, watching his father, Manabu Tanaka, build a life around running. Manabu was one of the founders of the Tokyo Marathon and led race operations as General Manager from its first edition in 2007 through 2013. Throughout his career, he often joked that “a marathon isn’t something you run, it’s something you make.”
Manabu traveled extensively, determined to improve the race experience for athletes worldwide. After his retirement, he did something that surprised even himself: laced up his shoes and started distance running. He ran his first marathon at age 65 in Honolulu, and by 73 he had completed all six World Marathon Majors: Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago, London, New York City and Boston.
Following His Father’s Path
Yuta has been inspired by his dad since his earliest memories, including pursuing a similar career path. Yuta came to the United States in 2013 to earn a Master’s degree in Sport Management at the University of San Francisco, and has since had an illustrious career in sports, including his time at Google Japan, where he and his team negotiated the company’s first Olympic and Paralympic sponsorship for the Tokyo Games.
Today, Yuta holds both FIFA football agent and World Athletics agent licenses, one of only several people to hold both credentials, fulfilling a promise he made to his father in their final months together.
A Life-Changing Phone Call
In June 2023, Yuta woke up to a phone full of missed calls and texts. His father had collapsed. Soon after, a doctor told the family that Manabu had an aggressive form of cancer with minimal treatment options and had only about three months to live. “Obviously, we were devastated,” Yuta said. “Then the hospital called back. Another doctor wanted to try a specific treatment. At least we had hope.” The treatment gave the family more time to spend with Manabu, talk with him, and make plans. “That small difference in time made a huge difference for us and for my father.”
Even as tumors in his brain affected Manabu’s speech and movement, his love of running persevered. When Yuta showed him his Six Star Medal, Manabu’s eyes lit up: ‘That’s my six major marathon finisher medal!’ Yuta recalls. “I could not see the impact of the disease at all [in that moment], and I felt 100% like I was talking with my father as normal.”
Months later, after respiratory problems had limited his speech, the family asked whether running a marathon or what he was facing now was harder. He spoke one word: “Marathon.” Despite his cancer, Yuta recalls the strength his father showed and how he never gave up, just like an athlete.
“I respect him so much and miss him every day.”
One Step, A Million Times
Manabu passed away on December 21, 2023. Yuta remembers that period as a time when it was hard to gain motivation for anything at all – until he remembered how hard his father had fought. “I wanted to challenge myself with something to change my life, my motivation, my energy, anything that could make a positive impact on my life, to thrive like my father.”
In July 2024, his friend Tatsu invited him to try a triathlon. Yuta was brand new to the sport but left the race feeling good about what he’d accomplished to get to that point.
Through training, he found a renewed passion for both the community and the challenge. “No matter what background you have, your income or your ethnicity, the distance is the same. It’s going to be hard. So that’s part of the beauty of the sport you can share and enjoy with others.”
By November, he took on the Formosa Trail 50K in the mountains of Taiwan. In September 2025, he became an Ironman in South Hokkaido, Japan.
“If I focus only on the next step, I can do it,” he said. “You just need to take that step a million times or more.” During his Ironman, he frequently reminded himself that he chose to train and race, and this was a way of celebrating his father’s spirit.
Connecting with the V Foundation
Yuta first learned about the V Foundation’s mission through Rosa M. Gatti, V Foundation Board Member Emeritus, at the United States Olympic Committee’s FLAME Program in 2014. As he started exploring the organization’s history, Jim Valvano’s words “Don’t Give Up . . . Don’t Ever Give Up!” stayed with him for years to come. During his family’s hardest days, Yuta would re-watch the famed ESPY speeches of Jim Valvano and Stuart Scott. “I believe those words are not just for the patient, but also for the family and people fighting with them.”
Deciding to share his family’s private story to help raise money for the V Foundation wasn’t an easy decision, especially in Japan, where fundraising is not a common practice. But Yuta hoped his story might help others the way those inspirational videos helped him.
“These kinds of experiences should be shared,” said Yuta. And he soon learned others felt the same. Colleagues, friends, and even classmates from decades ago have reached out to offer their gratitude for telling his family’s story, donated to the V Foundation, and shared their own personal connections to the disease.
A Race with New Meaning – Joining Team V
On November 21, 2026, Yuta is taking on his newest challenge – the IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi in Malaysia, with a goal of increasing awareness for the V Foundation and advancing innovative research. Yuta joined Team V, the V Foundation’s endurance sports program, as a “Choose Your Own Race” participant, using his training and upcoming race in Malaysia as an opportunity to fundraise for the organization. With 100% of direct donations going to top scientists pushing the boundaries of research, he knows that every dollar can bring us one step closer to Victory Over Cancer.
Through his own experiences, Yuta has become a strong voice for funding research at its earliest stage. “For patients and families – we’re willing to do anything it takes, we don’t want to give up. Having options changed not only our daily life, but my father’s entire life. Those three months of treatment made a difference,” said Yuta. “But we cannot suddenly make options. Research is what creates options for those patients, and investing in research is crucial.”
Racing and fundraising are both new territory for Yuta within the last few years, but he’s not doing it alone. He’ll be racing alongside Tatsu, the friend who invited him to participate in his first triathlon and Yuta’s co-host on their podcast SLOW STARTERS, whose name says it all: it is never too late to try something new.
“Once you share your story and your courage, somebody will be inspired by it,” he said.
With more than $6,200 – and counting – raised before even stepping up to the start line, he credits that quiet courage for the impact he’s making for cancer research. Every dollar raised and every mile trained is a way to honor his father and create a brighter future for generations to come.
