Course Records at Chunichi Hamanako Ekiden

by Brett Larner

In what was really and truly probably the last noteworthy ekiden of the season, course records fell Feb. 17 in two of the three divisions at the 37th Chunichi Hamanako Isshu Ekiden at Lake Hamana in Shizuoka. Despite the absence of aces Martin Mathathi and Yusei Nakao, the Suzuki Hamamatsu AC team had no trouble winning the 53.5 km men's race, clocking 2:42:49 to runner-up Teikyo University's 2:44:15. Suzuki men took three of the five stages, with 2010-11 steeplechase national champion Tsuyoshi Takeda setting a course record of 29:12 for the 9.6 km Fourth Stage.

In the six-stage, 42.0 km high school boys' race, 2012 National High School Ekiden runner-up Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. ran 2:07:38 to set a new overall course record thanks to four of its runners scoring stage bests. Fourth man Yuki Hirota, running the same 9.6 km course as Takeda in the men's race, set a new high school division record of 28:44, almost 30 seconds better than Takeda's mark. Toyokawa Kogyo H.S., in the midst of a corporal punishment scandal, managed 2nd overall in 2:09:58.

The Suzuki Hamamatsu AC women took four of five stages in the 20.6 km women's race to set a new overall course record of 1:07:02. Behind them, 2012 National High School Ekiden champion Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. and runner-up Toyokawa H.S. went 2-3 in 1:08:02 and 1:09:46. Ritsumeikan Uji's Nanami Aoki was the only runner to beat one of the Suzuki women, taking the 4.6 km Second Stage in 15:37.

37th Chunichi Hamanako Isshu Ekiden
Lake Hamana, Shizuoka, 2/17/13

Men
10 teams, 5 stages, 53.5 km
click here for complete results

1. Suzuki Hamamatsu AC - 2:42:49
2. Teikyo Univ. A - 2:44:15
3. Teikyo Univ. C - 2:45:07
4. Yamanashi Gakuin Univ. A - 2:48:05
5. Meiji Univ. - 2:48:26

First Stage - 11.5 km - Kazuma Tashiro (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ. A) - 35:18
Second Stage - 8.4 km - Yasuyuki Nakamura (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 26:09
Third Stage - 13.0 km - Taiga Ito (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 38:46
Fourth Stage - 9.6 km - Tsuyoshi Takeda (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 29:12 - CR
Fifth Stage - 11.0 km - Tsukasa Koyama (Teikyo Univ. A) - 33:00

High School Boys
37 teams, 6 stages, 42.0 km
click here for complete results

1. Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S. - 2:07:38 - CR
2. Toyokawa Kogyo H.S. - 2:09:58
3. Aichi H.S. A - 2:10:34
4. Sera H.S. - 2:11:10
5. Tokyo Nogyo Prep #3 H.S. - 2:12:09

First Stage - 8.4 km - Kazuki Takeshita (Tokyo Nogyo Prep #3 H.S.) - 26:39

Second Stage - 3.9 km - Keisuke Nakatani (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 11:09

Third Stage - 9.1 km - Seiji Makiura (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 27:20

Fourth Stage - 9.6 km - Yuki Hirota (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 28:44 - CR

Fifth Stage - 4.0 km - Hiroshi Matsuura (Aichi H.S. A) - 12:13

Sixth Stage - 7.0 km - Tatsuya Taniike (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) - 21:26

Women

28 teams, 5 stages, 20.6 km

click here for complete results

1. Suzuki Hamamatsu AC - 1:07:02 - CR

2. Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 1:08:02

3. Toyokawa H.S. - 1:09:46

4. Bukkyo Univ. A - 1:09:57

5. Tokoha Kikugawa H.S. - 1:10:13

First Stage - 5.0 km - Miki Sakakibara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 15:44

Second Stage - 8.4 km - Nanami Aoki (Ritsumeikan Uji H.S.) - 15:37

Third Stage - 4.0 km - Mao Kiyota (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 13:00

Fourth Stage - 3.0 km - Yuki Sakata (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 9:58

Fifth Stage - 4.0 km - Misaki Sango (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 12:34

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