Regional qualification for the New Year Ekiken corporate men’s national championships started Wednesday with two of the most competitive regions, East Japan and Kyushu. In East Japan, 2020 national champ Fujitsu returned with an anchor stage reversal to win East Japan for the second year in a row. Honda’s Olympic 10000 m man Tatsuhiko Ito led on the 13.4 km opening stage, but on the 8.4 km Second Stage Yakult’s Stanley Waithaka put his team out front where they stayed until another Honda Olympian, steepler Ryoma Aoki regained the top spot on the 8.4 km Fourth Stage.
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Over the next two stages Honda maintained the lead, but behind them Fujitsu drew closer and closer. Fujitsu anchor Ken Yokote started just one second behind Honda’s Yuta Shitara and had no trouble running him down and opening an 8-second margin of victory by the end of the stage. The top 12 teams in East Japan qualified, with the Comodi Iida supermarket team not moving into the 12th spot until late in the final stage.
In Kyushu, Yusuke Tamura improbably outran 10000 m NR holder Akira Aizawa and 2:06 marathoner Hiroto Inoue to put the minor Kurosaki Harima team out front with a 36:28 course record on the 12.9 km First Stage. Benard Koech took over the top spot for Kyudenko on the next stage, but a 30:37 record from Takashi Ichida on the 10.9 km Third Stage put top regional power Asahi Kasei into 1st, where they stayed for the rest of the race.
With wins on all four stages after Ichida’s including three in course record time Asahi Kasei broke the overall course record for the win in 3:48:11. Fresh off the announcement that he'll run next month's Fukuoka International Marathon, 2:07 marathoner Shuho Dairokuno was especially strong on the 16.3 km anchor stage, running a course record 45:57. Inoue’s Mitsubishi Juko was almost four minutes behind in 2nd, with Kurosaki Harima anohther minute back in 3rd. Further back, Togami Denki beat Hiramatsu Byoin by almost six minutes to take the final spot in the eight-deep qualifying bracket.
62nd East Japan Corporate Ekiken
Kumagaya Sports Park, Saitama, 11/3/21
23 teams, 7 stages, 76.4 km
Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (13.4 km) - Tatsuhiko Ito (Honda) - 39:13
Second Stage (8.4 km) - Stanley Waithaka (Yakult - 22:41
Third Stage (16.8 km) - Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 48:00
Fourth Stage (8.4 km) - Ryoma Aoki (Honda) - 23:40
Fifth Stage (8.4 km) - Shota Maeda (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 23:45 - CR
Sixth Stage (8.4 km) - Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 23:34
Seventh Stage (12.6 km) -Tadashi Isshiki (GMO) - 35:56
Top Team Results
top 12 qualify for New Year Ekiden
1. Fujitsu - 3:40:04
2. Honda - 3:40:12
3. Hitachi Butsuryu - 3:40:17
4. Yakult - 3:41:09
5. GMO - 3:41:10
6. Kanebo - 3:41:15
7. Subaru - 3:41:43
8. Komori Corporation - 3:43:18
9. JR Higashi Nihon - 3:43:43
10. Konica Minolta - 3:43:56
11. Sunbelx - 3:44:36
12. Comodi Iida - 3:45:15
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13. Saitama Ika Daigaku Group - 3:45:32
14. Press Kogyo - 3:45:37
15. Tokyo Police Headquarters - 3:47:44
58th Kyushu Corporate Ekiken
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 11/3/21
18 teams, 7 stages, 90.5 km
Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (12.9 km) - Yusuke Tamura ‘(Kurosaki Harima) - 36:28 - CR
Second Stage (7.0 km) - Benard Koech (Kyudenko) - 19:06
Third Stage (10.9 km) - Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei A) - 30:37 - CR
Fourth Stage (9.5 km) - Keijiro Mogi (Asahi Kasei A) - 27:07
Fifth Stage (13.0 km) - Chihiro Ono (Asahi Kasei A) - 37:06 - CR
Sixth Stage (10.9 km) - Tetsuya Yoroizuka (Asahi Kasei A) - 31:24 - CR
Seventh Stage (16.3 km) -Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei A) - 45:57 - CR
Top Team Results
top 8 qualify for New Year Ekiden
1. Asahi Kasei A - 3:48:11 - CR
2. Mitsubishi Juko - 3:51:55
3. Kurosaki Harima - 3:52:54
4. Kyudenko - 3:54:28
5. Toyota Kyushu - 3:54:50
6. Yasukawa Denki - 3:55:57
7. Nishitetsu - 3:55:59
OP - Jitsugyodan Select Team - 3:56:17
8. Togami Denki - 3:57:39
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OP - Asahi Kasei B - 3:58:59
9. Hiramatsu Byoin - 4:03:29
10. Kyocera Kagoshima - 4:08:33
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