by Brett Larner
The team from Tokyo's western suburb of Hachioji showed the value of solid teamwork, winning the 61st Tokyo Tomin Ekiden on Mar. 23 in Tokyo's Komazawa Park without the benefit of an ace runner. Professional, university and talented amateur runners alike competed as 24 teams representing Tokyo's wards and suburbs faced off in the annual metropolitan championship. Each of the six runners on a team covered two laps of a rolling 2.6 km course beginning and ending in Komazawa Stadium. Several days of rain ended just in time for the race to take place under warm, sunny skies free of the cedar pollen which blankets Tokyo each spring.
1st Stage
Leading the pack from the start was Shibuya's Yuhei Tomioka, a former Josai University runner who ran the 9th stage of the 2004 Hakone Ekiden. After the first lap the lead pack had whittled down to three, with Tomioka trailed by fellow Hakone alumnus Keishi Nomura of Fuchu and Hachioji's Sadakazu Saito. Tomioka and No…
The team from Tokyo's western suburb of Hachioji showed the value of solid teamwork, winning the 61st Tokyo Tomin Ekiden on Mar. 23 in Tokyo's Komazawa Park without the benefit of an ace runner. Professional, university and talented amateur runners alike competed as 24 teams representing Tokyo's wards and suburbs faced off in the annual metropolitan championship. Each of the six runners on a team covered two laps of a rolling 2.6 km course beginning and ending in Komazawa Stadium. Several days of rain ended just in time for the race to take place under warm, sunny skies free of the cedar pollen which blankets Tokyo each spring.
1st Stage
Leading the pack from the start was Shibuya's Yuhei Tomioka, a former Josai University runner who ran the 9th stage of the 2004 Hakone Ekiden. After the first lap the lead pack had whittled down to three, with Tomioka trailed by fellow Hakone alumnus Keishi Nomura of Fuchu and Hachioji's Sadakazu Saito. Tomioka and No…