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Hakone Champ AGU Plans to Kick Off Season at New Ekiden Vs. Corporate League and High School Teams

On July 2 it was learned that 2020 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University plans to take part in the new Okukuma Ekiden Oct. 4 in the wildlands of Kumamoto. The new event will feature high school, university and corporate league teams competing side by side. Runners in each division will start together, with different stage lengths depending on the division.

The 42.195 km course will feature four stages for university and corporate league runners and seven stages for high school teams. All runners will start together, with scoring and awards split into two categories, high school and university/open men. Stage lengths in the university/open men's division will be 10 km, 11.1 km, 11.05 km and 10.045 km. Stages in the high school division will reflect those at December's National High School Ekiden Championships, 10.0 km, 3.0 km, 8.1 km, 8.05 km, 3.0 km, 5.0 km, and 5.045 km, with the second through seventh stages subdividing the longer second through four stages in the university/open men's division.

The Okukuma Ekiden is scheduled to take place one week before the traditional start of the Big Three University Ekiden series, the Oct. 11 Izumo Ekiden in Shimane. AGU head coach Susumu Hara, 53, was enthusiastic about the new race, commenting, "We will be fielding two teams. This will give us momentum for the rest of ekiden season. I think it'll be really interesting to be racing corporate leaguers and high schoolers. The first stage is the same for everybody, so while it might be a bit hard on the high schoolers, but I think we should all be able to benefit from expanding the spirit of competition beyond the boundaries of the high school, university and corporate league concepts. I can't wait."

The Okukuma Ekiden organizers announced the new event in April as announcements of event cancelations due to the coronavirus crisis were beginning to pick up steam. Top high school and corporate league teams from Kyushu are planning to compete, and having the defending Hakone Ekiden champ on board can only boost the event's profile. There is good reason for concern about the new race's chances of getting off the ground in the face of the crisis, but if it does happen it's bound to set off ekiden season with a bang.

Translator's note: The race's format, with high schoolers running shorter stages alongside university and corporate teams, copies that of the longstanding Kitakyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden. The planned date for the Okukuma Ekiden is the same as that for the Nihonkai Ekiden, the biggest race on the high school calendar outside of December's Nationals. What that would mean for Kyushu region high schools remains to be seen. It's also a week before the Chicago Marathon, the main fall season overseas marathon draw for Japanese corporate league men.

source article:
https://hochi.news/articles/20200702-OHT1T50244.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

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