Nagano Higashi Girls Make It Two In a Row at National High School Ekiden

The Nagano Higashi H.S. girls pulled off a perfect repetition of their start-to-finish win at last year's National High School Ekiden, taking the lead on the first leg again this time and never letting go. Opening runner Nami Kawakami won the 6.0 km First Stage by 2 seconds in 19:06, 2nd runner Haruna Tabata extended it to 12 seconds, and 3rd runner Airi Mashiba added another 30 seconds to the lead with a massive 9:06 CR for the 3.0 km leg, beating every Kenyan on the stage and everyone who had run it before.

Nagano Higashi's last 2 runners Yui Honda and Rena Imai both lost some ground, but with both of them still running the 3rd-fastest times on their stages there wasn't really any risk of anyone catching them. Imai brought Nagano Higashi home in 1:06:30 for the 21.0975 km course, just missing the overall CR by 4 seconds but still a dominant performance from an all-Japanese lineup.

3rd last year, Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. got off to a slow start but spend the rest of the race in 2nd, ultimately finishing 33 seconds behind Nagano Higashi in 1:07:03. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. and Sendai Ikuei H.S. ruled for 3rd for most of the way, Ritsumeikan Uji ultimately getting there 9 seconds ahead of Sendai Ikuei, 1:07:29 to 1:07:38.

Saitama Sakae H.S. and Kurashiki H.S. were 5th and 6th, Saitama Sakae getting there 2 seconds ahead on 1:08:08 despite an amazing 8:32 CR on the 3.0 km Fourth Stage from Kurashiki's Janet Jepkoech. 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo, 3rd on her stage in 13:02 for 4.0975 km, helping Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. get onto the 8-deep podium at 7th in 1:08:24, with Suma Gakuen H.S. 8th in 1:09:01.

37th National High School Girls Ekiden

Kyoto, 21 Dec. 2025

57 teams, 5 stages, 21.0975 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (6.0 km)

1. Nami Kawakami (2nd yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 19:06

2. Nodoka Ashida (3rd yr., Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 19:08

3. Yua Nagamori (1st yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 19:09

Second Stage (4.0975 km)

1. Rio Kawamura (3rd yr., Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 12:45

2. Haruna Tabata (3rd yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 12:54

3. Rin Kubo (3rd yr., Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S.) - 13:02

Third Stage (3.0 km)

1. Airi Mashiba (3rd yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 9:06 - CR

2. Mirriam Njeri (2nd yr., Sendai Ikuei H.S.) - 9:16

3. Mary Muthoni (1st yr., Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 9:30

Fourth Stage (3.0 km)

1. Janet Jepkoech (3rd yr., Kurashiki H.S.) - 8:32 - CR

2. Rei Taya (2nd yr., Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 9:14

3. Yui Honda (1st yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 9:22

Fifth Stage (5.0 km)

1. Miyu Kobayashi (3rd yr., Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 15:50

2. Mai Fukumoto (2nd yr., Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) - 16:01

3. Rena Imai (2nd yr., Nagano Higashi H.S.) - 16:02

Top Team Performances

1. Nagano Higashi H.S. - 1:06:30

2. Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. - 1:07:03

3. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 1:07:29

4. Sendai Ikuei H.S. - 1:07:38

5. Saitama Sakae H.S. - 1:08:08

6. Kurashiki H.S. - 1:08:10

7. Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. - 1:08:24

8. Suma Gakuen H.S. - 1:09:01

9. Saikyo H.S. - 1:09:14

10. Kamimura Gakuen H.S. - 1:09:17

Updates on Transfers

April 1 is the start of Japan's new academic and fiscal year, and there's always a wave of transfer announcements to go with it. Some notable ones yesterday: 800 m NR holder Rin Kubo skipped university to go straight to 2023 Queens Ekiden national champion Sekisui Kagaku after her graduation from Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. Multiple NR holder Nozomi Tanaka rejoined the Toyota Jidoshokki women's team after having left it to pursue a solo pro career as a New Balance athlete. Already on the team for this fall's Nagoya Asian Games in the 10000 m, Ririka Hironaka announced a switch from her longtime home at Japan Post to the Uniqlo women's team. Collegiate marathon record holder Asahi Kuroda joined the 2026 national champion GMO corporate team after graduating from 2026 Hakone Ekiden champ Aoyama Gakuin University last week. Hakone Ekdien First Stage CR holder Rui Aoki joins the Sumitomo Denko corporate team after running his final race for 2025 Izumo Ekiden w...

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