Skip to main content

Aichi Men Make it a National Title Double - National Men's Ekiden Results

by Brett Larner
video highlights courtesy of race broadcaster NHK

The men of Aichi returned from the embarrassment of disqualification for an illegal handoff at last year's National Men's Ekiden to join their women and seal a double national title Sunday in Hiroshima.  Like the women's race last weekend, the National Men's Ekiden featured teams from each of Japan's 47 prefectures, each made up of top junior high school, high school, university and pro runners representing their home ground.

On-and-off snow meant shifting conditions throughout the seven-stage, 48.0 km race.  With corresponding ups and downs in the pacing, the 7.0 km high schooler First Stage was a bloodbath with three separate falls involving at least four teams.  Undefeated against other Japanese runners in the 2015-16 school year, Hyuga Endo (Fukushima) waited until the final sprint to take the lead, handing off 1 second ahead of more well-known rival Shota Onizuka (Fukuoka).  Gunma prefecture took over on the 3.0 km junior high school Second Stage thanks to a stage win from Yusuke Osawa and held on through the end of the Third Stage, but after a stage win on the 8.5 km Third Stage from Hideyuki Tanaka and another on the 5.0 km Fourth Stage by Norimichi Miwa Aichi took the lead and was never again challenged. 

Aichi's anchor Shuhei Yamamoto looked back repeatedly to check on the progress of hometown man Naoki Kudo (Hiroshima) but despite advancing in the first half of the stage the younger Kudo fell behind over the second half, ensuring that Yamamoto and the rest of the Aichi men would join their women in celebrating the national title.  Aichi crossed the line in 2:20:12, Kudo and Hiroshima 2nd in 2:20:43.  Shota Hattori, anchor for defending champion Saitama, faced a tough climb against his former university teammate Keigo Yano and track ace Yuki Sato (Shizuoka) but held on to take 3rd in 2:20:59.

And with that, and the cancellation of the Kitakyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden to the south due to heavy snow, championship ekiden season came to an end.  From here Japan's distance runners move in different directions, some pursuing cross country, others the half marathon, and the top echelon the marathon and the Rio Olympics.  Come April they reunite on the track in preparation for June's National Track and Field Championships Rio qualifier and for next fall's championship ekiden season kicking off at the Izumo Ekiden.

21st National Men's Ekiden
Hiroshima, 1/24/16
47 teams, 7 stages, 48.0 km
click here for complete results

Top Team Results
1. Aichi - 2:20:12
2. Hiroshima - 2:20:43
3. Saitama - 2:20:59
4. Shizuoka - 2:21:03
5. Nagano - 2:21:09
6. Fukushima -2:21:17
7. Gunma - 2:21:50
8. Fukuoka - 2:21:50
9. Hyogo - 2:22:10
10. Kanagawa - 2:22:12

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (7.0 km, high school)
1. Hyuga Endo (Fukushima) - 20:04
2. Shota Onizuka (Fukuoka) - 20:05
3. Takumi Yokokawa (Gunma) - 20:09

Second Stage (3.0 km, junior high school)
1. Yusuke Osawa (Gunma) - 8:38
2. Shungo Yokota (Niigata) - 8:41
3. Kota Maegaichi (Hiroshima) - 8:42

Third Stage (8.5 km, university/pro)
1. Hideyuki Tanaka (Aichi) - 24:39
2. Kazuharu Takai (Fukuoka) - 24:43
3. Keita Shitara (Saitama) - 24:44
4. Masato Kikuchi (Hokkaido) - 24:48
5. Shuho Dairokuno (Kagoshima) - 24:50
6. Ikuto Yufu (Oita) - 24:51
7. Yasunari Kusu (Ibaraki) - 24:53
8. Kaido Kita (Hiroshima) - 24:55
8. Hikaru Kato (Tokyo) - 24:55
10. Masahiro Takaya (Kanagawa) - 24:58
10. Chiharu Nakagawa (Shiga) - 24:58
10. Daisuke Koyama (Okayama) - 24:58

Fourth Stage (5.0 km, high school)
1. Norimichi Miwa (Aichi) - 14:17
2. Ryunosuke Chigira (Saitama) - 14:21
3. Ren Yonemitsu (Fukuoka) - 14:25

Fifth Stage (8.5 km, high school)
1. Hayato Seki (Nagano) - 24:21
2. Yuto Aoki (Aichi) - 24:34
3. Keita Yoshida (Hiroshima) - 24:41

Sixth Stage (3.0 km, junior high school)
1. Takehiro Sekiguchi (Saitama) - 8:47
2. Soshi Suzuki (Shizuoka) - 8:48
3. Hiroki Arai (Gunma) - 8:50
3. Hironori Kishimoto (Niigata) - 8:50

Seventh Stage (13.0 km, university/pro)
1. Keijiro Mogi (Tokyo) - 37:56
2. Yuki Sato (Shizuoka) - 38:00
3. Keisuke Nakatani (Hyogo) - 38:03
3. Yuki Oshikawa (Gifu) - 38:03
5. Kazuki Tamura (Yamaguchi) - 38:09
6. Ryu Takaku (Tochigi) - 38:14
7. Aritaka Kajiwara (Kanagawa) - 38:25
8. Shuhei Yamamoto (Aichi)- 38:31
8. Akihiko Tsumurai (Fukushima) - 38:31
10. Naoki Kudo (Hiroshima) - 38:34
10. Shota Hattori (Saitama) - 38:34

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
Seems like Kota Murayama did not do so well on the last stage. And who is Keijiro Mogi?
January 24, 2016 at 7:15 PM
Brett Larner said…
Mogi is a young guy with Asahi Kasei who seemed to come out of nowhere last year. He beat Kenta Murayama and Masato Imai to finish as top Japanese man at the Kumamoto Kosa 10-miler in November. A big win for him today.
January 24, 2016 at 7:57 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more