PR Professionals on the Run: SUNNY SIDE UP RUNNING CLUB | Club Activity Report

Hello. I am Mio Fujimura, captain of the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP running club.

SUNNY SIDE UP handles public relations and PR communications for many running and marathon-related projects, including major marathon events in Tokyo, global athletics competitions, sports brands, and running shoe brands.

I personally handle various running and marathon-related clients on a daily basis. Precisely because I have many opportunities to engage with running through my work, I want to be someone who can speak about its appeal in my own words.

“You can’t talk about the appeal of running without running yourself!”

With that thought in mind, I continue the activities of the Running Club. Furthermore, before conveying the appeal of running to the world, I have a somewhat self-imposed sense of mission to first let our own internal members—the people closest to me—know how fun it is (laughs).

What are SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s “Club Activities”?

The “Club Activity Support” program is one of the unique employee benefits included in SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s “32 Benefits.” With the goal of promoting communication among members and enhancing group synergy, it supports the establishment and continuation of club activities that match members’ various hobbies and interests, regardless of whether they are outdoor or indoor activities.

However, as PR professionals, our mission extends to information dissemination. As demonstrated in this article, members of each club activity freely share their activities on SUNNY DAYS, our group’s owned media platform.

Daily Activities and a Look Back at Fiscal Year 2025

Our main activity involves gathering at the office entrance every other Thursday at 7:30 PM for a night run of about 5 to 10 km.

Sometimes we take detours and toast with beer while consuming more calories than we burned during the run. The time spent running while discussing recent updates and the projects we are handling has become a valuable communication space that transcends departments and job titles.

On the day we ran a course of about 10 km—from the Japan National Stadium to the Gaien Ginkgo Avenue, Omotesando, Harajuku, and back to the National Stadium—we even committed the reckless act of heading to Hope-ken to pour back fat down our dry throats. We were enveloped in a sense of guilt and happiness that didn’t feel like it belonged after exercise, but as a trade-off, I couldn’t sleep that night due to an upset stomach (laughs).

Additionally, once a year, 10 to 15 club members go on a marathon expedition under the theme of “Running x Tourism.”

As the main event approaches, we gather on weekend mornings for “morning activity” runs, preparing both casually and seriously like an adult school club. After running, it’s a set routine to stop by a nearby cafe to “grab” a coffee. It has become a tradition for our plans for the expedition to flourish there.

Furthermore, when there is a running event for which SUNNY SIDE UP is in charge of PR, we make it a point to actively reach out to members outside the club and have them actually experience it.

PR is the job of “conveying,” but before that, “experiencing” is also important. What we feel as participants is utilized in our proposals to clients and in our communication design.

Last October, we participated in the “TOKYO Night Relay in National Stadium,” an event held two days before the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2025, organized by the Tokyo Marathon Foundation.

From first-year new graduates to mid-career hires, members formed teams across years and departments to sprint through the National Stadium. Seeing members who usually only meet in conference rooms passing the baton to one another was a sight unique to the Running Club.

After the run, conversation naturally flowed, and many voices said, “I want to participate again!” It was an event where we once again felt the moment when internal connections expand through running.

In addition to internal activities, we also participate in evening running community events and sometimes host joint runs by inviting people from other companies.

Running is a mysterious communication tool that naturally shortens the distance between people just by running together. New connections are being born that cross the boundaries of departments and companies.

If any companies reading this article are interested in joint practice sessions or running exchange events, please feel free to contact us.

Let’s keep the work talk to a minimum and just run together first!