Oita Fire Department on Trying to Become First FD Team to Make the New Year Ekiden: "This is Our Big Chance"
http://www.oita-press.co.jp/1010000000/2017/04/11/JD0055648052
translated by Brett Larner
The Oita Fire Department ekiden team is targeting the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships. Thanks to the Miyazaki-based Asahi Kasei team's win at the 2017 New Year Ekiden, the number of spots available at the 2018 race to Kyushu region teams will increase by one to eight teams. "This is our big chance," said OFD head coach Masakazu Mishiro, 40. Police Department and Self-Defense Force teams have made the New Year Ekiden in the past, but to date no Fire Department team has ever qualified.
To make it to the biggest stage in Japan it's a constant struggle to balance a busy work schedule and training. The OFD team has around 20 members, half of them full-on serious runners who competed in university, and with the addition of three new members at the start of the fiscal year in April its strength has only grown. Forming the team's core are star …
translated by Brett Larner
The Oita Fire Department ekiden team is targeting the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships. Thanks to the Miyazaki-based Asahi Kasei team's win at the 2017 New Year Ekiden, the number of spots available at the 2018 race to Kyushu region teams will increase by one to eight teams. "This is our big chance," said OFD head coach Masakazu Mishiro, 40. Police Department and Self-Defense Force teams have made the New Year Ekiden in the past, but to date no Fire Department team has ever qualified.
To make it to the biggest stage in Japan it's a constant struggle to balance a busy work schedule and training. The OFD team has around 20 members, half of them full-on serious runners who competed in university, and with the addition of three new members at the start of the fiscal year in April its strength has only grown. Forming the team's core are star …