Will Wanjiru's Record Fall? Watch the National High School Ekiden Championships Live

The 2011 National High School Ekiden Championships take place Dec. 25 in Kyoto. Both the girls' and boys' races will be broadcast live and commercial-free on NHK. Overseas viewers should be able to watch live online via Keyhole TV using the password, which should be the same as the name of the broadcasting network. The girls' race will be broadcast from 10:05 to 11:54 a.m. Japan time, with boys' race taking place from 12:15 to 2:52 p.m.

My apologies for the lack of a full preview article, but getting all the material for the Japan in Wanjiru series together this week has really taken a lot out of me. If for no other reason, this year's Nationals are worth watching because Kenyan Charles Ndirangu of Sera H.S. has an excellent chance of breaking Samuel Wanjiru's record on the Third Stage if the weather holds. Ndirangu missed Wanjiru's historic 2004 mark by one second last year and since then has set the Japanese high school 5000 m record. Tune in to see if it happens. If I have the energy I will do live commentary via Twitter @JRNLive.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays.

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