Skip to main content

Hakone Ekiden Favorite Komazawa University Holds School Rally With One Month to Go

http://www.komaspo.com/4956

translated and edited by Brett Larner

With one month to go until the 2015 Hakone Ekiden, the Komazawa University sports department held a school rally for its 2011-2014 national champion ekiden team on Dec. 2 at the Komazawa Campus Memorial Hall.  Comments from team staff and seniors:

Hiroaki Oyagi, head coach
Our second place finish last time was disappointing and frustrating.  In our year of development since then we've looked at this as our season to be the best, and we're going in with the will to win no matter what.  The athletes share the same feeling and have been deliberate in their approach over the last two years.  This team has the ability to win the most important race, the one they absolutely must win.  For the next month we will only be thinking about bringing home our first win in seven years as we make our final preparations, and we ask for your continued support.

Shogo Nakamura, senior, captain
Personally I haven't been able to run the way I wanted this year, but I was able to do something to help put the team in position to win the National University Ekiden.  This will be my last Hakone Ekiden, so I will do everything I can to deliver my greatest performance and ask for your support in making that a reality.

Kenta Murayama, senior
I think Nakamura was really outstanding at last year's Hakone Ekiden, but inside, more than anyone else on the team I want to be the one whose running guarantees us the win.  I hope you'll all help us get there.

Shoya Kurokawa, senior
This is my last year of university, so at the Hakone Ekiden I want to have the kind of run that will let me finish with a smile.  Thank you for your support and please cheer for us.

Yoshihiro Nishizawa, senior
I want to do my absolute best in what I can do to make our Hakone Ekiden victory happen.  Thank you all for your support.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Rui Aoki and Shunsuke Kuwata Making U.S. Debut at United Airlines NYC Half

When the National University Half Marathon was canceled in 2011 after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan 2 days before the race, JRN talked to the New York Road Runners about bringing 2 collegiate runners to the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon the next weekend as a show of support. It wasn't possible to pull it together in the immediate aftermath of the disasters, but a year later we brought 2 young 2nd-years from Hakone Ekiden CR breaker Toyo University , Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara , who had been the top 2 Japanese collegiate finishers at the Ageo City Half Marathon in November before Hakone. Shitara ran 1:01:48, at the time the fastest-ever by a Japanese man on U.S. soil, with Otsu running a solid 1:03:15. Thanks to that great start the Ageo-NYC partnership became a regular thing, and except for the pandemic it's continued every year since, expanding this year to June's New York Mini 10 km when 2 runners from Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden runne...
1 comment
Read more

Chepkirui Over Sato Again to Win 2nd-Straight Nagoya Women's Marathon, Chen Breaks Malaysian NR (updated)

This year's Nagoya Women's Marathon felt like a changing of the guard, with some the bigger domestic names over the last few years fading early and a lot of newer faces stepping up with quality debuts or second marathons. The front group was set to be paced for 2:20 flat with the 2nd group at 2:23:30 to hit the auto-qualifying time for the 2027 MGC Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials race in Nagoya. Up front things went out OK, but after a 33:10 split at 10 km Ayuko Suzuki , 2:21:22 here 2 years ago, lost touch, ultimately finishing 23rd in 2:33:28. Windy conditions started to play with pacers' ability to keep things steady and the pace slowed majorly over the next 10 km, but even with a 34:05 second 10 km there were big-name casualties. 2024 Nagoya winner Yuka Ando was next to drop, ending up 17th in 2:30:32. NR holder Honami Maeda was next, followed quickly by Bahraini Kenyan Eunice Chumba and debuting Wakana Kabasawa . Maeda faded to 21st in 2:31:21, whil...
2 comments
Read more

16 Women and 26 Men on the Current Olympic Trials Qualifier List

Last weekend's Nagoya Women's Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon the weekend before brought the main part of the first year of qualification for the Marathon Grand Championship Race, Japan's L.A. Olympics marathon trials to be held in Nagoya in October, 2027, to an end. There are still a few races like the Nagano Marathon and overseas World Athletics platinum label races this season where people might qualify, but for the most part we're not likely to see many new additions until August's Hokkaido Marathon, where the qualifying period opened last year. As of right now 16 women and 26 men have qualified, although the first woman to make the cut, Ai Hosoda , announced that she was retiring after Tokyo earlier this month. Out of the 16 women to have qualified so far, Mikuni Yada is the fastest with her 2:19:57 debut at Osaka Women's in January. Including Hosoda that makes 2 qualifiers for the Edion corporate team, but Daihatsu has the biggest share of the field so ...
Post a Comment
Read more