Comody Iida Breaks Okutama Keikoku Ekiden Course Record

One of the only non-championship ekidens to happen this season, the Okutama Keikoku Ekiden was held for the 82nd time Sunday on its traditional hilly road course along a river gorge in the mountains west of Tokyo. One of the oldest and most old-fashioned ekidens in Japan, 43 women's teams of three runners each and 152 men's teams of six runners each competed, women covering a total of 11.1 km and men 44.8 km.

In the women's race, running less than 48 hours after racing the 10000 m at Friday's National Championships, Futtsu Select Team anchor Haruka Yamaguchi started 49 seconds back from the lead in 5th. With only 3.8 km to work with she ran a new stage record of 12:34 to move into 1st and open a 40-second margin of victory.

In the men's race, Akihiro Kaneko got New Year Ekiden-bound Comody Iida corporate team off to a good start with a 21:07 record for the 7.4 km First Stage. Comody Iida held the lead start to finish against Hakone Ekiden regulars Takushoku University and Chuo University, third runner Shun Gorotani also breaking his stage's record to help set an overall course record of 2:11:38. Takushoku's A-team was 2nd in 2:13:57 to take the top spot in the university division. With its fifth runner Yuzen Kuroiwa breaking into the top three on his stage, Musashi Ogose H.S. was 6th overall for 1st in the high school division in 2:19:18.

82nd Okutama Keikoku Ekiden

Ome, Tokyo, 06 Dec. 2020

women: 3 stages, 11.1 km, 43 teams

men: 6 stages, 44.8 km, 152 teams

complete results

Top Women's Team Results

1. Futtsu Select Team - 38:35

2. Bebe B - 39:15

3. Tokai Shoin - 39:19

4. Bebe A - 39:21

5. Hachioji Fujimori RC D - 39:56

Top Individual Stage Performances

First Stage (3.7 km): Yukari Yasutome (Bebe B) - 12:44

Second Stage (3.6 km): Shiho Okumura (Tokai Shoin) - 11:08

Third Stage (3.8 km): Haruka Yamaguchi (Futtsu) - 12:34 - CR

Top Men's Team Performances

1. Comody Iida - 2:11:38 - CR

2. Takushoku University A - 2:13:57

3. Chuo University - 2:15:49

4. Takushoku University B - 2:17:09

5. Takushoku University C - 2:17:41

6. Musashi Ogose H.S. A - 2:19:18

Top Individual Stage Performances

First Stage (7.4 km): Akihiro Kaneko (Comody Iida) - 21:07 - CR

Second Stage (8.4 km): Bernard Kimani (Comody Iida) - 25:00

Third Stage (6.6 km): Shun Gorotani (Comody Iida) - 19:58 - CR

Fourth Stage (6.6 km): Ryo Doimori (Comody Iida) - 19:22

Fifth Stage (8.4 km): Tsubasa Kudo (Takushoku Univ. A) - 24:29

Sixth Stage (7.4 km): Hirohide Terada (Comody Iida) - 21:38

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...

How it Happened

Ancient History I went to Wesleyan University, where the legend of four-time Boston Marathon champ and Wes alum Bill Rodgers hung heavy over the cross-country team. Inspired by Koichi Morishita and Young-Cho Hwang’s duel at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics I ran my first marathon in 1993, qualifying for Boston ’94 where Bill was kind enough to sign a star-struck 20-year-old me’s bib number at the expo. Three years later I moved to Japan for grad school, and through a long string of coincidences I came across a teenaged kid named Yuki Kawauchi down at my neighborhood track. I never imagined he’d become what he is, but right from the start there was just something different about him. After his 2:08:37 breakthrough at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon he called me up and asked me to help him get into races abroad. He’d finished 3rd on the brutal downhill Sixth Stage at the Hakone Ekiden, and given how he’d run the hills in the last 6 km at Tokyo ’11 I thought he’d do well at Boston or New York. “I...

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 .

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