Tokyo Nogyo University Outruns Typhoon to Win Kanto Region University Women's Ekiden

With skies hanging heavy in the hours before the impending arrival of Typhoon #24, Tokyo Nogyo University won the 24th Kanto Region University Women's Ekiden to lead the qualifiers for the Oct. 28 Morinomiyako Ekiden university women's national championships.

Always in the top two, Tokyo Nogyo didn't take a definitive lead until the 3.9 Fourth Stage, when 1st-year Yuki Shibahara scored the team's only stage win of the day to overtake 2017 Morinomiyako runner-up Daito Bunka University. From there to the finish it opened a 1:16 lead over Daito Bunka, easily winning in 1:39:05. Daito Bunka's lead over 2017 winner Toyo University was almost as big, finishing in 1:40:21 to Toyo's 1:41:17.

Including teams which earned seeded spots at last year's national championships the top eight teams qualified for this year's nationals. 7th-placer Takushoku University, whose men's team progressively features Ethiopian Workneh Derese as captain, qualified for Nationals for the first time, knocking Hakuoh University out of the qualifying bracket.

Despite the rainy conditions the Kanto Region results were pretty favorable compared to those a week earlier in the 28th Kansai Region University Women's Ekiden, where 2017 Morinomiyako 10th-placer Kyoto Sangyo University outran perpetual powerhouse Ritsumeikan University for the win 1:40:37 to 1:41:03 for the 6-stage, 30.0 km course. Tokyo Nogyo, Kyoto Sangyo and the other top regional teams will face defending national champion Meijo University in just four weeks' time.

24th Kanto Region University Women's Ekiden

Chiba New Town, Chiba, 9/30/18
26 teams, 6 stages, 29.9 km
complete results

Top Team Results top eight qualify for Nationals
1. Tokyo Nogyo University A - 1:39:05
2. Daito Bunka University - 1:40:21
3. Toyo University - 1:41:17
4. Nittai University - 1:41:37
5. Juntendo University - 1:41:51
6. Tamagawa University - 1:41:56
7. Takushoku University - 1:41:59
8. Josai University - 1:42:11
-----
9. Hakuoh University - 1:42:32
10. Tsukuba University - 1:45:18

Stage Best Performances
First Stage (4.8 km) - Wakana Kabasawa (Keio Univ.) - 15:49
Second Stage (3.3 km) - Suzuna Kanno (Hakuohh Univ.) - 10:46
Third Stage (5.6 km) - Natsuki Sekiya (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 17:53
Fourth Stage (3.9 km) - Yuki Shibahara (Tokyo Nogyo Univ. A) - 12:44
Fifth Stage (6.7 km) - Yuka Suzuki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 22:12
Sixth Stage (5.6 km) - Mina Ueda (Josai Univ.) - 18:44

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Measuring Marathon Courses by Bicycle

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2013&d=0110&f=column_0110_034.shtml translated by Brett Larner The full marathon is a sport where you compete over 42.195 km, but how do they go about measuring that distance? Today we're going to look a little bit at how they go about certifying the distance of a marathon. The reality is that major international marathons use a bicycle to measure the distance. This rule is an international standard, and the same method of measurement is used everywhere. It was put into place in 1986. In order to ensure that the same method is used everywhere, a bicycle that meets IAAF specifications must be used for measurement. In the case of Japan's major marathons, to be certain that the distance is correct a provisional measurement is first made. Before the course is certified using a bicycle the course is measured using a 50 m-long length of wire to determine that it is in fact 42.195 km. When a bicycle is u...

Ai Hosoda Announces Retirement

photo © 2025 Victah Sailer/Photo Run, all rights reserved On Jan. 8 the Edion women's corporate team announced that Ai Hosoda , 30, will retire at the end of March this year. The Tokyo Marathon will be her last race. At Nagano Higashi H.S. Hosoda ran in the National High School Ekiden her 2nd and 3rd years. During her 3rd year at Nittai University she won both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Kanto Region University Track and Field Championships, going on to win the bronze medal in the 10000 m at the World University Games in her 4th year at Nittai. After graduating she joined the Daihatsu corporate team, debuting at the 2019 Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2:29:27. 2 years later she transferred to Edion. She qualified for the Paris Olympics marathon trials at the 2022 Nagoya Women's Marathon and finished 3rd in the trials in the fall of 2023, but was later bumped down to Olympic alternate after another athlete ran a faster time. Instead of the Olympics, Hosoda ran the 2024 Ber...

Nat'l University Ekiden Updates Here

Looks like I just went over my update limit on Twitter - sorry, it's the first time I've tried to use it for this. I'll look for another option next time. In the meantime I'll add updates to the comments below. Not sure if that has a max too but I guess we'll find out. Update: Part one of the Nationals commentary can be found here .

japan running news

Search This Blog