by Brett Larner
Click here for a video digest of Day Two and individual stage highlights.
Toyo University celebrates its first-ever Hakone Ekiden win. Click photo for additional pictures courtesy of Sanspo.com.
On Day Two of the 2009 Hakone Ekiden Toyo University defied the odds, hanging on to its slim lead over pre-race favorite Waseda University to come up victorious for the first time in the school’s 67 Hakone appearances. Riding on the momentum of Toyo’s first day victory, the team’s 6th, 7th and 8th stage runners ran impeccably, dueling with Day One runner-up Waseda at every turn before 9th leg runner Shogo Otsu dealt Waseda’s hopes of its first win in sixteen years a death blow with a tactical masterstroke. Waseda anchor Itaru Sando tried his best to close the gap Otsu opened but could get no closer than 41 seconds, leaving Waseda in 2nd place once again. Toyo’s time of 5:35:50 for the 109.9 km Day Two course was also the fastest in the field, giving it a rare triple crown with Day…
Click here for a video digest of Day Two and individual stage highlights.
Toyo University celebrates its first-ever Hakone Ekiden win. Click photo for additional pictures courtesy of Sanspo.com.
On Day Two of the 2009 Hakone Ekiden Toyo University defied the odds, hanging on to its slim lead over pre-race favorite Waseda University to come up victorious for the first time in the school’s 67 Hakone appearances. Riding on the momentum of Toyo’s first day victory, the team’s 6th, 7th and 8th stage runners ran impeccably, dueling with Day One runner-up Waseda at every turn before 9th leg runner Shogo Otsu dealt Waseda’s hopes of its first win in sixteen years a death blow with a tactical masterstroke. Waseda anchor Itaru Sando tried his best to close the gap Otsu opened but could get no closer than 41 seconds, leaving Waseda in 2nd place once again. Toyo’s time of 5:35:50 for the 109.9 km Day Two course was also the fastest in the field, giving it a rare triple crown with Day…