The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
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I have just seen the news in The Guardian and I thought... OK Brett should have written something about it!
I think it is, finally, a sensible decision by the organisation, but it seems a mess to decide it now. What was the point of doing the Trials in the original course, then? And if volunteers and spectators have already arranged trips and accommodation mainly or even just to see the marathon? This is outrageous!!!
And there many other outdoor endurance events which will be dangerous because of heat and humidity. Are they going to move all of them to Sapporo? Ridiculous...
Anyway, neither Tokyo or Sapporo reaches the over 40C heat and the high humidity that the runners faced in Doha.
I was planning to visit Tokyo during the summer Olympics because even though I cannot afford tickets to other events I thought I could participate in cheering on the athletes in the marathon. With the marathon moving to Sapporo, I have cancelled my trip to Japan.
Hokkaido 2020 is better for doped athletes
because the harsh climatic conditions are more favorable for athletes "clean"