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Chinese Influencer Intrudes on Hakone Ekiden Fifth Stage to Shoot Video of Himself Running with AGU's Wakabayashi

A Chinese influencer ignored restrictions and race officials' directions and ran on the Hakone Ekiden course to shoot video during the race's uphill Fifth Stage on Jan. 2. He later apologized.

The influencer, Shen Haoze, posts about running and marathons, and on the Chinese social media site Weibo has nearly 5 million followers. A clip of him running on the closed road course of the Hakone Ekiden's Fifth Stage alongside course record setter Hiroki Wakabayashi of defending champion Aoyama Gakuin University and shooting video went viral on social media. Race officials can be heard warning him to get off the course due to the danger to the competing athletes, but Shen ignored them, setting off a firestorm of criticism from users in both Japan and China. Comments included, "These athletes are putting their whole lives into the race. What the hell does he think he's doing?" and "He has no regard for the danger to them."

Shen later posted an apology on TikTok, saying, "I want to apologize to all my running friends. We watched the race without following the official Hakone Ekiden guidelines for spectators. Sorry. I'll try to do better in the future, so thanks for your guidance and support."

The official Hakone Ekiden spectator guidelines include instructions like, "Cheering on the road is dangerous. Only cheer from the sidewalk," and, "It is dangerous to reach out your hands of lean your body over the road to cheer."

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