Overseas viewers should be able to watch the 2009 Hakone Ekiden live online through this site. The race will be broadcast on NTV beginning at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on both Jan. 2 and 3. Each day will begin with a 1-hour preview show with the race starting at 8:00 a.m.
30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
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I read on NHK that Yuki Yagi is in the "backup" group for Waseda...is he hurt?
Glad to hear it. Kashiwabara was something else.....
I haven't heard that Yagi is injured. Schools often don't include their big stars in the initial start list in order to hide their strategy. Yuki Sato, for example, wasn't listed until they announced the changes this morning. Waseda will probably announce Yagi as a replacement tomorrow morning.