Chugoku Denryoku and Mazda Break Hiroshima Corporate Ekiden Course Record

The Chugoku Denryoku and Mazda men's corporate teams raced each other to new heights at the 56th Hiroshima Corporate Ekiden, each taking over two minutes off the course record Mazda set just last year. 5 of the race's 6 stages saw new records with runners from both teams breaking the record on 3 of them.

Mazda's Kenji Yamamoto took an early lead on the opening stage, but on every remaining stage the two teams swapped position, Mazda never more than 13 seconds in front and Chugoku Denryoku never more than 28. Chugoku Denryoku anchor Kaido Kita was down 13 seconds when he took the tasuki, but with only 5.49 km to work with he managed to turn that around and open 17 seconds on Mazda anchor Shori Arai after catching him.

Mazda's record for the 43.82 km course was 2:08:10. This year Chugoku Denryoku won in 2:05:52 with Mazda running 2:06:09. 3rd-placer Chudenko was also just off the record at 2:08:20, briefly taking the lead on the Second Stage thanks to a stage record run by Amos Kurgat. Likewise for JFE Steel, 4th in 2:08:35. All four teams will face each other again Nov. 11 at the Chugoku Corporate Ekiden to qualify for the New Year Ekiden national championships.

56th Hiroshima Corporate Ekiden

Kasaoka, Okayama, 10/21/18

7 teams, 6 stages, 43.82 km

complete results

Top Individual Stage Results

First Stage (7.64 km) - Kenji Yamamoto (Mazda A) - 21:46 - CR

Second Stage (7.09 km) - Amos Kurgat (Chudenko) - 19:35 - CR

Third Stage (7.09 km) - Teressa Nyakola (Mazda A) - 19:40 - CR

Fourth Stage (8.87 km) - Naoki Okamoto (Chugoku Denryoku A) - 25:01 - CR

Fifth Stage (7.64 km) - Rei Hashimoto (Mazda A) - 22:00 - CR

Sixth Stage (5.49 km) - Kaido Kita (Chugoku Denryoku A) - 15:25

Team Results

1. Chugoku Denryoku A - 2:05:52 - CR

2. Mazda A - 2:06:09 (CR)

3. Chudenko - 2:08:20

4. JFE Steel A - 2:08:35

5. Mazda B - 2:10:17

6. JFE Steel B - 2:10:39

7. Chugoku Denryoku B - 2:15:54

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Saku Chosei H.S. Makes It 2 In a Row - National High School Ekiden Boys' Race

While the girls' race was a blowout by 2022 champ Nagano Higashi H.S. , the boys' race at Sunday's National High School Ekiden was a tense battle of turnover that saw all of the final top four teams take a stab at leading. 2023 3rd-placer Yachiyo Shoin H.S. handled the first 2 of the 7 stages in the 42.195 km race, with lead runner Rui Suzuki delivering a bold run on the 10.0 km First Stage that produced the fastest-ever time by a Japanese runner on the stage, 28:43, and put Yachiyo Shoin 29 seconds out front. Last year's Fifth Stage CR breaker Tetsu Suzuki ran Yachiyo Shoin down to put 2023 champ Saku Chosei H.S. into 1st on the 8.1075 km Third Stage, but Genta Sugano of last year's 8th-placer Sendai Ikuei H.S. had other plans and took the lead on the 8.0875 km Fourth Stage. Smiling and fist pumping to the crowd almost the entire way, Taketo Tsukada of last year's 6th-placer Omuta H.S. moved up from 3rd to 1st by 2 seconds over Saku Chosei on the 3.0 k...

Japan Post Holds Off Sekisui Kagaku to Win Queens Ekiden National Title

Japan Post was back on top at the Queens Ekiden corporate women's national championships Sunday in Sendai, holding off last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku over the second half of a race that came as close as 1 second to take 1st with a final margin of victory of 27 seconds. Sekisui Kagaku was out fast with a win on the 7.0 km opening leg by Erika Tanoura and a new CR for the 12:56 second leg by Yuma Yamamoto , 17 seconds better than her own CR from last year. Last year's 4th-placer Shiseido briefly led on the 10.6 km third leg with an excellent 33:17 stage win from Rino Goshima , but behind her Japan Post's Ririka Hironaka returned from her latest injury problems to pass Sekisui Kagaku's Sayaka Sato and hand off 6 seconds ahead. New recruit Caroline Kariba ran Shiseido down on the 3.6 km fourth leg and put Japan Post 22 seconds ahead of Sekisui Kagaku, but a duel of marathoners between JP's Ayuko Suzuki and Sekisui's Hitomi Niiy...

Nagano Higashi Girls Lead Start to Finish to Win National High School Ekiden

2022 National High School Ekiden girls' champion Nagano Higashi H.S. was back in force after a 5th-place finish last year, leading start to finish to win this year's national title Sunday in Kyoto. Lead runner Airi Mashiba kicked it off with a 19:30 stage win on the 6.0 km opening leg, something that head coach Fumio Yokouchi said later that he hadn't been expecting. That ended up being Nagano Higashi's only individual stage win in the 5-leg, 21.0975 km race, but the rest of its team ran well enough to hold a lead that was never less than 11 seconds but never more than 21. Last year's 4th-placer Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S. spent most of the race in 2nd, but over the second half of the race Sendai Ikuei H.S. , 2nd last year by just 1 second, came from further back to run Kunei down on the anchor stage thanks in big part to a critical stage win on the 4th leg by Tsubomi Tezuka that put anchor Aoi Hosokawa in position to catch Kunei's Mizuki Oda . Nagano Higashi ...

japan running news

Search This Blog