On July 6 an official with the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto (KGRR) revealed that plans are in the final stages to hold the Oct. 17 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, the half marathon distance qualifying race for the Jan. 2-3 Hakone Ekiden, on a modified course without spectators. With the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus the KGRR's top priority, the race will be held on a 3.3 km loop course around the runway at the Tachikawa SDF Base in Tachikawa, Tokyo, its traditional starting point. An official announcement is expected in the near future.
Along with all its other consequences, the coronavirus is also impacting the most dramatic moment in ekiden season, the competition to earn the right to run in Japan's biggest race at the start of the new year. The Yosenkai traditionally starts with a lap of the Tachikawa airfield before heading out into the city and then finishing in Showa Kinen Park. According to the official, it is now planned that that will be cut back to doing 3.3 km laps of the runway. Because it is on the grounds of the SDF base, attendees will be limited to university personnel only and other fans and supporters will not be allowed in.
Every year, countless people gather along the course and at the finish in Showa Kinen Park to watch the race. Tens of thousands of fans, family members, students, and alumni association members from each university gather in the center of the park post-race for the announcement of the qualifying teams, praying that theirs was among the ones to make it to heaven and not cast out to hell. The moment when each team's fate is revealed and the light shines on the lucky few is a prized tradition for ekiden fans.
But even though the announcement ceremony happens outside, if held as normal the sheer numbers and dense crowding are inevitable. With so much still unknown about the virus, the risk of cluster infections could only increase. The support of fans and alumni is an invaluable source of energy for the athletes, but its potential cost is simply too high to be paid. It's a choice between painful alternatives. The choice to use a loop course around the runway can also be viewed through that lens, reducing the risks by cutting down on the number of operating staff and volunteers necessary.
The JAAF's guidelines for organizing races in the time of corona require limiting the number of participants to a level that makes it feasible to comply with the government's tripartite safety guidelines. On the start line at last year's Yosenkai were 506 athletes from 43 universities. To cut down on the number of runners, plans are also under discussion to change the rules this year by making the qualifying times tougher or by cutting the number of runners per team.
KGRR executive Hiroshi Higuma commented, "We're doing everything we can do hold the race as normal. The loop course is only one option." But according to another source, the changes are all but a done deal. The KGRR's guidelines specify that holding the Yosenkai is premised on the reality of "cancelation in the event of a government declaration of a state of emergency." In that light, whatever final form the Yosenkai takes its fate will ultimately depend on the state of society at that point.
source article:
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/202007060000553.html
translated by Brett Larner
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