Skip to main content

Cambridge University 4th in Ekiden Debut

A team of recent graduates of Cambridge University made the trip to the mountains of southwestern Saitama to race the 64th running of the Okumusashi Ekiden in colder than usual weather on Jan. 28. After hearing about the top-level Izumo Ekiden from Harvard and Yale athletes who had run as part of Izumo's Ivy League Select Team, Cambridge runners Josh Carr, Matt Leach and Alex Short wanted to experience a Japanese ekiden themselves. Pulling together a team of six runners and three alternates, they settled on Okumusashi as the best option in competitive level and timing.


With a 28:45.48 best for 10000 m from Stanford last year Leach led off on the 9.9 km First Stage, facing an unusually deep field including 2018 National Men's Ekiden champion Saitama Prefecture's lead runner Ryu Hashimoto (Tokyo Nogyo Daisan H.S.),  28:17.11 man Yuki Muta and London World Championships marathon 9th placer Yuki Kawauchi. Kenyan Titus Wambua (Musashino Univ.) led in the early going before a pack of six including Muta, Kawauchi and Leach left him behind. With 1 km to go to the exchange Yasumasa Oneyama (Tokyo Police Dept) surged and dropped everyone but Muta and Hashimoto, a stage winner at the National Men's Ekiden three years ago while in junior high. Leach was 4th across the line at the exchange zone, 9 seconds behind Oneyama and 4 seconds up on Kawauchi.


With last year's runners-up the Tokyo Police Department ahead Cambridge's second man Lewis Lloyd moved up to 2nd, the team's best position of the day, narrowing the gap to 6 seconds. "I think I ran the first part a little too conservatively," Lloyd told JRN post-race. "If I'd gone hard early I could have caught up to the Police runner [Kinya Hashira] and things might have been somewhat different."

On the Third Stage the Police's lead grew rapidly despite other teams moving up through the field behind them. Cambridge fell back to 7th overall and 4th in the open men's division as its third runner Mark Nelson was only 26th on his stage. Fourth runner Richard Ollington overtook one open division team to move them back into 3rd but couldn't make a dent in the three high school teams ahead. Carr was overtaken by another high school and one open division team, putting Cambridge into 8th overall and 4th in its division at the final exchange.

With Short a late scratch due to other commitments replacement anchor James Hoad had a packed road ahead of him for the 9.3 km Sixth Stage. Running down three high school teams including the A and B teams of 2017 National High School Ekiden champion Saku Chosei H.S., Hoad overtook the Takada SDF Base team to advance Cambridge into 3rd just behind Surugadai University. A top 3 finish looked to be in hand, but late in the game Hakone Ekiden team Nittai University's anchor Toshihiko Shiranaga overtook him to knock Cambridge back into 4th.

With an anchor stage win by Norihiko Matsuda the Tokyo Police Department took 1st in 1:57:07 nearly three minutes ahead of runner-up Surugadai. In between, local powerhouse Saitama Sakai H.S. crossed the line second to win the high school division in 1:58:30. Surugadai was next across the line for 2nd in the open division in 1:59:47, Nittai just 3 seconds behind them and Cambridge another 16 seconds back.

Initially surprised and confused by an overseas team's participation in an historic local event, race organizers, spectators and competitors were quick to embrace the Cambridge team with its strong showing. Kawauchi asked Leach to run the 10 km back to the start point with him as a cooldown. Every member of the team commented post-race that people all along the course had cheered for Cambridge by name, and journalists were quick to track them down in the finish area. Speaking at the award ceremony mayor Masaru Okubo gave the team special recognition during his speech, saying, "It is a great honor and a pleasure to have the Cambridge University alumni team here. With their strong run they have helped form a bond between our town of Hanno and the rest of the world that I hope will live on."


Okumusashi Ekiden

Hanno, Saitama, 1/28/18
6 stages, 38.6 km, 213 teams
click here for complete results

Top Team Results
Open
1. Tokyo Police Department - 1:57:07
2. Surugadai Univ. - 1:59:47
3. Nittai Univ. - 1:59:50
4. Cambridge Univ. Alumni - 2:00:06
5. Takada SDF Base - 2:00:42

H.S.
1. Saitama Sakae H.S. - 1:58:30
2. Saku Chosei H.S. A - 2:00:14
3. Hanasaki Tokuhara H.S. - 2:00:34
4. Saku Chosei H.S. B - 2:00:57
5. Tokyo Jitsugyo H.S. - 2:01:10

Stage Best Performances
First Stage - 9.9 km
Open - 1. Yasumasa Oneyama (Police Dept) - 29:28
2. Yuki Muta (Kanei Keiko no Gebokutachi) - 29:32
3. Matt Leach (Cambridge Univ.) - 29:37
4. Yuki Ono (Nagano Ekiden Team) - 29:39
5. Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 29:41
H.S. - 1. Ryu Hashimoto (Tokyo Nogyo Daisan H.S.) - 29:34

Second Stage - 5.4 km
Open - 1. Haruo Asakura (Setagaya PJT) - 16:32
3. Lewis Lloyd (Cambridge Univ.) - 16:55
H.S. - 1. Mebuki Suzuki (Saku Chosei H.S. B) - 16:31

Third Stage - 4.3 km
Open - 1. Rikiho Komatsu (Nittai Univ.) - 12:57 - CR
26. Mark Nelson (Cambridge Univ.) - 14:35
H.S. - 1. Ryoto Orihara (Hanasaki Tokuhara H.S.) - 13:14

Fourth Stage - 4.5 km
Open - 1. Shinsuke Tomita (Nittai Univ.) - 13:29
10. Richard Ollington (Cambridge Univ.) - 14:03
H.S. - 1. Keishin Hattori (Saku Chosei H.S. A) - 12:56

Fifth Stage - 5.2 km
Open - 1. Rui Watanabe (Shindenko) - 15:07
15. Josh Carr (Cambrdige Univ.) - 16:01
H.S. - 1. Shoya Hayata (Saitama Sakae H.S.) - 15:12

Sixth Stage - 9.3 km
Open - 1. Norihiko Matsuda (Police Dept) - 28:19
6. James Hoad (Cambridge Univ.) - 28:55
H.S. - 1. Haru Minaki (Komadai H.S.) - 28:42

First Stage photo © 2018 Takaba, all rights reserved
text and other photos © 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

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