by Brett Larner
The 2008-2009 university men`s ekiden season officially began on June 22nd with the 40th annual All-Japan University Ekiden Kanto Regional Qualifying Meet at Tokyo`s Oda Field. The top six teams at last year`s All-Japan were seeded for the 2008 ekiden. Chuo Gakuin University was also awarded a seeded spot on the strength of its unprecedented third place finish at this year`s Hakone Ekiden. Additional teams would be selected from the different parts of Japan on the strength of their performances in the regional qualifying meets.
For the Kanto Regional Qualifying Meet, any university in the region could submit names and personal bests of eight team members. The fastest twenty teams based on aggregate time would be eligible to run in the qualifier. Each team`s eight runners were split evenly between four 10000 m track races, roughly seeded so that runners of similar ability would compete against each other. The eight runners` total times in the four races were then added and the five fastest teams named to compete in the All-Japan University Ekiden.
Pre-race favorites included last year`s meet winner Josai University along with 2007 Hakone Ekiden winner Juntendo University, 2006 Hakone winner Asia University, and perennial contenders Nihon University. Toyo University was considered an outside contender on the strength of its star first-year recruit Ryuji Kashiwabara, the top Japanese finisher in last month`s Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships 10000 m.
Heavy, driving rain greeted the competitors and spectators alike. The meet`s first two heats were slow, tactical pack races. The relatively weak Meiji University surprised the crowd by having runners take both heats, with first-year Tetsuya Yoroizaka winning the first heat in 29:56.89 and junior Masamichi Yasuda running an impressive last lap to take the second heat in 29:56.42. Kanagawa University, Tokyo Nogyo University, Teikyo University and Toyo University, none generally considered powerful, also had strong showings in the first two heats.
The third heat delivered the first true excitement of the evening. One of Toyo`s ace senior identical twins, Tomoya Onishi, set the pace through the first kilometer with Toyo first-year Ryuji Kashiwabara on his shoulder. After the pack hit the first kilometer mark Kashiwabara tired of the conservative pace and shot away from all other contenders. As the weather worsened he continued to push at 2:55 / km pace, opening a gap of over 100 m on the rest of the field. His win was never in doubt despite slowing in the final kilometer, Kashiwabara was first home in 29:24.48 while behind him Onishi sparred with the other leaders in the pack, running an aggressive final kilometer to narrow the gap to his teammate and finish second in 29:35.98. Teikyo continued its excellent showing with Keita Baba and Tomonao Nishimura third and fourth in 29:36.42 and 29:37.20.
At the end of the third heat Kanagawa University led the way, followed by Meiji, Tokyo Nogyo and Teikyo. Toyo rounded out the top five going into the final. The fourth heat featured most of the top runners in the field, with several of the most powerful schools fielding ringers capable of making a significant change to the rankings. To the surprise of none, Nihon University`s Kenyan exchange student Daniel Gitau, second in the Kanto Track Championships in 27:59.05, set an early lead into the heavy rain, driven now by increasing winds. Tailing Gitau was Juntendo`s star runner Hiroyuki Ono, memorable for his collapse from sheer fatigue at this year`s Hakone Ekiden. The two rivals went through the first kilometer in 2:45 with a small pack of five runners shortly behind and a larger pack further back. Ono soon relaxed his pace and fell into the middle of the faster chase pack as Gitau continued on 2:45 pace through three kilometers.
Like Kashiwabara in the third heat, Gitau soon had a lead of over 100 m, but his high early pace while fighting the wind and rain began to take a toll. By six kilometers his pace had dropped to 2:59 / km, slower than any of Kashiwabara`s splits. Behind him, the chase pack thinned as Juntendo`s Atsushi Yamazaki dropped precipitously, soon overtaken by the larger pack and destined to finish 32nd in 30:08.03. The other remaining members of the chase pack included two runners from Meiji and individual runners from Toyo and Tokyo Nogyo. It became clear as time elapsed and its runners held on that barring an accident Meiji would win the overall competition.
At eight kilometers things began to change. Gitau`s lead had noticeably narrowed as he continued to drop off pace and the chase pack began to move in response to Ono taking the front position for the first time. With one kilometer to go Gitau`s pace had increased again, but his lead had nearly halved and a faint glimmer of something dramatic became evident. Ono continued to accelerate, dropping people from the pack one by one. With 400 m to go he was still 50 m behind Gitau, but Ono was relentless and unleashed a kick worthy of a 400 m runner. He tore up the distance separating him from the now-kicking Kenyan. As first Gitau then Ono rounded the last corner it looked like a miracle might happen in the home stretch, but Gitau was just far enough away to be out of reach. He crossed the line first in 28:47.59 with Ono second in 28:48.99. A split on Ono`s final lap was unavailable, but it was surely under 60 seconds. Meiji`s runners Kodai Matsumoto and Takuya Ishikawa were third and fourth in 28:54.02 and 28:54.82, sealing Meiji`s victory.
Behind Meiji, Toyo finished in the runner-up position. Also making the top five to qualify for the All-Japan University Ekiden were Teikyo, Tokyo Nogyo and, thanks in large part to Gitau, Nihon University. Last year`s meet winners Josai University had a bad day, finishing just out of the placings in sixth. Third-round leaders Kanagawa finished a disappointing seventh, with Asia eighth. The biggest shock was Juntendo`s twelfth-place finish. Juntendo has long been one of the strongest distance schools in Japan, dominating in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. It lost most of its star runners to graduation in 2007 and is in a rebuilding phase, but such a weak showing even this early in the season calls into question Juntendo`s chances of qualifying for Hakone, something nearly unthinkable. Coupled with the rise of several smaller schools within the last few years, most notably Chuo Gakuin University, the current shakiness of several of the historically strong schools looks as though it will make for an unpredictable ekiden season.
Overall Results (top five qualify for All-Japan University Ekiden)
1. Meiji University: 3:58:00.60
2. Toyo University: 3:58:19.77
3. Teikyo University: 3:59:02.27
4. Tokyo Nogyo University: 3:59:25.66
5. Nihon University: 4:00:07.56
6. Josai University: 4:00:10.13
7. Kanagawa University: 4:00:16.51
8. Asia University: 4:00:23.54
9. Takushoku University: 4:00:53.51
10. Senshu University: 4:01:04.49
11. Kokushikan University: 4:01:23.34
12. Juntendo University: 4:02:13.56
13. Aoyama Gakuin University: 4:03:04.80
14. Daito Bunka University: 4:03:09.69
15. Jobu University: 4:05:31.58
16. Hosei University: 4:06:15.30
17. Koku Gakuin University: 4:07:46.97
18. Reitaku University: 4:08:59.19
19. Kanto Gakuin University: 4:09:07.70
20. Heisei Kokusai University: 4:12:16.46
Top Individual Results
First Heat
1. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (frosh, Meiji Univ.): 29:56.89
2. Kenta Matsubara (frosh, Tokyo Nogyo Univ.): 29:59.05
3. Kenichiro Koide (junior, Kanagawa Univ.): 30:03.11
4. Yuki Yamaguchi (junior, Toyo Univ.): 30:05.12
5. Ryota Nakamura (sophomore, Teikyo Univ.): 30:06.02
Second Heat
1. Masamichi Yasuda (junior, Meiji Univ.): 29:56.42
2. Shintaro Kosugi (sophomore, Kanagawa, Univ.): 30:01.61
3. Yasuyuki Mitsuya (senior, Kanagawa Univ.): 30:03.65
4. Shigeki Kimura (senior, Daito Bunka Univ.): 30:04.00
5. Tatsumi Shinohara (senior, Josai Univ.): 30:04.06
Third Heat
1. Ryuji Kashiwabara (frosh, Toyo Univ.): 29:24.48
2. Tomoya Onishi (senior, Toyo Univ.): 29:35.98
3. Keita Baba (senior, Teikyo Univ.): 29:36.42
4. Tomonao Nishimura (sophomore, Teikyo Univ.): 29:37.20
5. Takahiro Yamanaka (senior, Kokushikan Univ.): 29:38.59
Fourth Heat
1. Daniel Gitau (junior, Nihon Univ.): 28:47.59
2. Hiroyuki Ono (senior, Juntendo Univ.): 28:48.99
3. Kodai Matsumoto (junior, Meiji Univ.): 28:54.02
4. Takuya Ishikawa (junior, Meiji Univ.): 28:54.82
5. Hiroyuki Yamamoto (senior, Toyo Univ.): 28:55.75
© 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
The 2008-2009 university men`s ekiden season officially began on June 22nd with the 40th annual All-Japan University Ekiden Kanto Regional Qualifying Meet at Tokyo`s Oda Field. The top six teams at last year`s All-Japan were seeded for the 2008 ekiden. Chuo Gakuin University was also awarded a seeded spot on the strength of its unprecedented third place finish at this year`s Hakone Ekiden. Additional teams would be selected from the different parts of Japan on the strength of their performances in the regional qualifying meets.
For the Kanto Regional Qualifying Meet, any university in the region could submit names and personal bests of eight team members. The fastest twenty teams based on aggregate time would be eligible to run in the qualifier. Each team`s eight runners were split evenly between four 10000 m track races, roughly seeded so that runners of similar ability would compete against each other. The eight runners` total times in the four races were then added and the five fastest teams named to compete in the All-Japan University Ekiden.
Pre-race favorites included last year`s meet winner Josai University along with 2007 Hakone Ekiden winner Juntendo University, 2006 Hakone winner Asia University, and perennial contenders Nihon University. Toyo University was considered an outside contender on the strength of its star first-year recruit Ryuji Kashiwabara, the top Japanese finisher in last month`s Kanto Regional University Track & Field Championships 10000 m.
Heavy, driving rain greeted the competitors and spectators alike. The meet`s first two heats were slow, tactical pack races. The relatively weak Meiji University surprised the crowd by having runners take both heats, with first-year Tetsuya Yoroizaka winning the first heat in 29:56.89 and junior Masamichi Yasuda running an impressive last lap to take the second heat in 29:56.42. Kanagawa University, Tokyo Nogyo University, Teikyo University and Toyo University, none generally considered powerful, also had strong showings in the first two heats.
The third heat delivered the first true excitement of the evening. One of Toyo`s ace senior identical twins, Tomoya Onishi, set the pace through the first kilometer with Toyo first-year Ryuji Kashiwabara on his shoulder. After the pack hit the first kilometer mark Kashiwabara tired of the conservative pace and shot away from all other contenders. As the weather worsened he continued to push at 2:55 / km pace, opening a gap of over 100 m on the rest of the field. His win was never in doubt despite slowing in the final kilometer, Kashiwabara was first home in 29:24.48 while behind him Onishi sparred with the other leaders in the pack, running an aggressive final kilometer to narrow the gap to his teammate and finish second in 29:35.98. Teikyo continued its excellent showing with Keita Baba and Tomonao Nishimura third and fourth in 29:36.42 and 29:37.20.
At the end of the third heat Kanagawa University led the way, followed by Meiji, Tokyo Nogyo and Teikyo. Toyo rounded out the top five going into the final. The fourth heat featured most of the top runners in the field, with several of the most powerful schools fielding ringers capable of making a significant change to the rankings. To the surprise of none, Nihon University`s Kenyan exchange student Daniel Gitau, second in the Kanto Track Championships in 27:59.05, set an early lead into the heavy rain, driven now by increasing winds. Tailing Gitau was Juntendo`s star runner Hiroyuki Ono, memorable for his collapse from sheer fatigue at this year`s Hakone Ekiden. The two rivals went through the first kilometer in 2:45 with a small pack of five runners shortly behind and a larger pack further back. Ono soon relaxed his pace and fell into the middle of the faster chase pack as Gitau continued on 2:45 pace through three kilometers.
Like Kashiwabara in the third heat, Gitau soon had a lead of over 100 m, but his high early pace while fighting the wind and rain began to take a toll. By six kilometers his pace had dropped to 2:59 / km, slower than any of Kashiwabara`s splits. Behind him, the chase pack thinned as Juntendo`s Atsushi Yamazaki dropped precipitously, soon overtaken by the larger pack and destined to finish 32nd in 30:08.03. The other remaining members of the chase pack included two runners from Meiji and individual runners from Toyo and Tokyo Nogyo. It became clear as time elapsed and its runners held on that barring an accident Meiji would win the overall competition.
At eight kilometers things began to change. Gitau`s lead had noticeably narrowed as he continued to drop off pace and the chase pack began to move in response to Ono taking the front position for the first time. With one kilometer to go Gitau`s pace had increased again, but his lead had nearly halved and a faint glimmer of something dramatic became evident. Ono continued to accelerate, dropping people from the pack one by one. With 400 m to go he was still 50 m behind Gitau, but Ono was relentless and unleashed a kick worthy of a 400 m runner. He tore up the distance separating him from the now-kicking Kenyan. As first Gitau then Ono rounded the last corner it looked like a miracle might happen in the home stretch, but Gitau was just far enough away to be out of reach. He crossed the line first in 28:47.59 with Ono second in 28:48.99. A split on Ono`s final lap was unavailable, but it was surely under 60 seconds. Meiji`s runners Kodai Matsumoto and Takuya Ishikawa were third and fourth in 28:54.02 and 28:54.82, sealing Meiji`s victory.
Behind Meiji, Toyo finished in the runner-up position. Also making the top five to qualify for the All-Japan University Ekiden were Teikyo, Tokyo Nogyo and, thanks in large part to Gitau, Nihon University. Last year`s meet winners Josai University had a bad day, finishing just out of the placings in sixth. Third-round leaders Kanagawa finished a disappointing seventh, with Asia eighth. The biggest shock was Juntendo`s twelfth-place finish. Juntendo has long been one of the strongest distance schools in Japan, dominating in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. It lost most of its star runners to graduation in 2007 and is in a rebuilding phase, but such a weak showing even this early in the season calls into question Juntendo`s chances of qualifying for Hakone, something nearly unthinkable. Coupled with the rise of several smaller schools within the last few years, most notably Chuo Gakuin University, the current shakiness of several of the historically strong schools looks as though it will make for an unpredictable ekiden season.
Overall Results (top five qualify for All-Japan University Ekiden)
1. Meiji University: 3:58:00.60
2. Toyo University: 3:58:19.77
3. Teikyo University: 3:59:02.27
4. Tokyo Nogyo University: 3:59:25.66
5. Nihon University: 4:00:07.56
6. Josai University: 4:00:10.13
7. Kanagawa University: 4:00:16.51
8. Asia University: 4:00:23.54
9. Takushoku University: 4:00:53.51
10. Senshu University: 4:01:04.49
11. Kokushikan University: 4:01:23.34
12. Juntendo University: 4:02:13.56
13. Aoyama Gakuin University: 4:03:04.80
14. Daito Bunka University: 4:03:09.69
15. Jobu University: 4:05:31.58
16. Hosei University: 4:06:15.30
17. Koku Gakuin University: 4:07:46.97
18. Reitaku University: 4:08:59.19
19. Kanto Gakuin University: 4:09:07.70
20. Heisei Kokusai University: 4:12:16.46
Top Individual Results
First Heat
1. Tetsuya Yoroizaka (frosh, Meiji Univ.): 29:56.89
2. Kenta Matsubara (frosh, Tokyo Nogyo Univ.): 29:59.05
3. Kenichiro Koide (junior, Kanagawa Univ.): 30:03.11
4. Yuki Yamaguchi (junior, Toyo Univ.): 30:05.12
5. Ryota Nakamura (sophomore, Teikyo Univ.): 30:06.02
Second Heat
1. Masamichi Yasuda (junior, Meiji Univ.): 29:56.42
2. Shintaro Kosugi (sophomore, Kanagawa, Univ.): 30:01.61
3. Yasuyuki Mitsuya (senior, Kanagawa Univ.): 30:03.65
4. Shigeki Kimura (senior, Daito Bunka Univ.): 30:04.00
5. Tatsumi Shinohara (senior, Josai Univ.): 30:04.06
Third Heat
1. Ryuji Kashiwabara (frosh, Toyo Univ.): 29:24.48
2. Tomoya Onishi (senior, Toyo Univ.): 29:35.98
3. Keita Baba (senior, Teikyo Univ.): 29:36.42
4. Tomonao Nishimura (sophomore, Teikyo Univ.): 29:37.20
5. Takahiro Yamanaka (senior, Kokushikan Univ.): 29:38.59
Fourth Heat
1. Daniel Gitau (junior, Nihon Univ.): 28:47.59
2. Hiroyuki Ono (senior, Juntendo Univ.): 28:48.99
3. Kodai Matsumoto (junior, Meiji Univ.): 28:54.02
4. Takuya Ishikawa (junior, Meiji Univ.): 28:54.82
5. Hiroyuki Yamamoto (senior, Toyo Univ.): 28:55.75
© 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
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