The thing about dynasties is that sooner or later they're going to end. From 2003 to 2016 Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University won the Morinomiyako National University Women's Ekiden ten times and took 2nd the four times they didn't. But in 2017 Nagoya's Meijo University arrived on the scene and has won every year since then, its current streak of six national titles longer than Ritsumeikan's longest uninterrupted streak. Meijo holds the overall record of 2:02:57 for the 6-stage, 38.1 km course, slightly edited to 38.0 km this year, and its runners hold four of the six individual stage records. It keeps graduating top talent, most recently joint Third Stage CR record holders Narumi Kobayashi and Yuma Yamamoto, but head coach Katsuro Yoneda just keeps finding the top talent and helping it develop.
But this season Meijo has been looking a little shaky. Out of last year's lineup, Fourth Stage CR breaker Nanase Tanimoto was 7th in last month's National University Track and Field Championships 10000 m in 34:18.15, with Sixth Stage CR breaker Yuka Masubuchi a DNF in the same race. Second Stage winner Asuka Ishimatsu ran only 4:30.44 in the 1500 m heats and didn't make the final, going on to take 14th in the 5000 m in 16:37.84 where First Stage winner Nanaka Yonezawa was a DNS. A lot can change in six weeks, but that wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Meijo's chances, especially with the need to fill Kobayashi and Yamamoto's shoes. Saki Harada did take 5th in the 10000 m at Nationals, but even if she steps up in the ekiden they need one more.
If Meijo shows up to Morinomiyako in the same kind of condition as last month then the door's wide open, but if they're up to potential who could beat them? Saitama's Daito Bunka University, alma mater of Olympic marathon trials winner Yuka Suzuki, has been 2nd eight times since 2013, with only a 5th-place finish in 2016 and a 4th last year to break up their streak. The addition of Kenyan recruit Sarah Wanjiru to their lineup gives DBU a serious boost, Wanjiru having dominated at May's Kanto Regionals and taking the National University 10000 m title and a 2nd in the 5000 m. Yui Yoshida was 2nd in the 1500 m final and newcomer Mariya Noda 3rd in the 5000 m behind Wanjiru, so there's the core of a great team there.
2nd last year, Ritsumeikan had low representation at Nationals last month, where its best performance was a 4th-place finish in the 10000 m from Fuka Fukunaga in 34:11.76. That was counterbalanced by last year's Third Stage runner-up Tomo Muramatsu finishing only 10th in the 10000 m in 34:40.27 and 17th in the 5000 m in 16:49.21, and First Stage runner-up Yu Muramatsu being a DNS in the 1500 m heats.
Despite a 6th-place finish last year Kanagawa's Nittai University has been a fairly consistent top 5 placer the last few years, led by Nationals 5000 m winner Risa Yamazaki. One person can't carry an entire team, but if Meijo is as much of a mess as they looked last month then Nittai could be up in it. Likewise for last year's 3rd-placer Osaka Gakuin University.
One team that won't be a factor is Tokyo's Takushoku University, home of collegiate 10000 m NR holder Seira Fuwa. Takushoku took 3rd in 2021 thanks mostly to Fuwa making one of the most incredible debuts we've ever seen, but when she was unable to get through her first season without a serious injury the team's chances fell. Last year they were 5th, Fuwa pulling it together well enough to run again and win the 9.2 km Fifth Stage, even if 1:39 slower than her debut a year earlier, but this year she's absent from Takushoku's entry roster. Combine that with the graduation of others like First Stage 4th-placer Kae Gyu and it'll be a major surprise to see Takushoku back on the eight-deep podium.
The Morinomiyako Ekiden starts at 12:00 p.m. Sunday local time in Sendai, with NTV's broadcast kicking off at 11:45. TVer will be streaming the broadcast, and if you don't have a VPN you can take your chances with mov3.co. JRN will cover the race on @JRNLive. Live results will be here.
The complete field for this year's race:
1. Meijo University - 25th appearance, 25th-straight appearance
2. Ritsumeikan University - 34th appearance, 34th-straight appearance
3. Osaka Gakuin University - 30th appearance, 15th-straight appearance
4. Daito Bunka University - 13th appearance, 13th-straight appearance
5. Takushoku University - 6th appearance, 6th-straight appearance
6. Nittai University - 35th appearance, 12th-straight appearance
7. Josai University - 30th appearance, 29th-straight appearance
8. Kansai University - 16th appearance, 16th-straight appearance
9. Sapporo Gakuin University - 7th appearance, 7th-straight appearance
10. Tohoku Fukushi University - 21th appearance, 17th-straight appearance
11. Tamagawa University - 21st appearance, 2nd-straight appearance
12. Chuo University - 32nd appearance, 5th-straight appearance
13. Juntendo University - 30th appearance, 4th-straight appearance
14. Niigata Iryo Fukushi University - 12th appearance, 12th-straight appearance
15. Chukyo Gakuin University - 5th appearance, 5th-straight appearance
16. Osaka Geijutsu University - 11th appearance, 8th-straight appearance
17. Kansai Gaikokgo University - 9th appearance, 4th-straight appearance
18. Kyoto Koka Joshi University - 6th appearance, 2nd-straight appearance
19. Kantaiheiyo University - 6th appearance, 5th-straight appearance
20. Fukuoka University - 35th appearance, 14th-straight appearance
21. Tokyo Nogyo University - 29th appearance, 2nd-straight appearance
22. Tsukuba University - 27th appearance, 3rd-straight appearance
23. Asia University - 9th appearance, 2nd-straight appearance
24. Josai Kokusai University - 11th appearance, first appearance since 2011
25. Toyo University - 10th appearance, 2nd-straight appearance
26. Tohoku Region Select Team - 18th appearance, 3rd-straight appearance
© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Comments