Alfred Debono gestures during the Tokyo Marathon.

Alfred Debono’s exploits in long distance running knows no boundaries as a few weeks ago he made his debut in the Tokyo Marathon to complete full participation of the top six majors in the international athletics calendar.

Debono, 65, was on the starting line in Shinjuku, along with 36,000 other runners for a marathon that became a reality in 2007 as before many had thought a race in Metropolitan Tokyo was an unrealisable dream.

Crowds of 1.7 million cheered athletes along the route for an event that requires the assistance of 10,000 volunteers to see that the organisation runs smoothly.

The attractively designed route passes several of Tokyo’s main tourist spots, including the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Asakusa and Ginza before the finish line at the Big Sight in Odaiba.

Debono, who completed the demanding Honolulu Marathon in December, had already ran the marathons in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York.

The race in Tokyo was the missing link in the Żurrieq Wolves veteran’s impressive repertoire of sporting exploits. He covered the distance in 3:53.21.

Remarkably, his desire for long-distance running did not stop with the race in the Japanese capital.

In fact, on his way back he stopped in the Middle East to run the Dubai Half Marathon, coming home first in his age group.

So far, Debono has participated in 28 full marathons and 40 in the half distance in 20 different countries.

He is planning to increase the numbers even further before marking his 20th year since he took up the sport in June.

The major sponsors backing Debono are Tumas Group, Health Aid, Medcoms and GasanMamo Insurance.