Skip to main content

Juntendo Wins 2nd-Straight National Mixed Team University Ekiden


The 2nd annual National Mixed Team University Ekiden took place Sunday the 20th in Osaka on a six-stage, 20 km course around Nagai Park. Counting two Hakone Ekiden runners in its lineup, Juntendo University finished in the top spot again in 1:01:19, 34 seconds faster than its winning time last year. Chuo University was 2nd in 1:01:30, with Kansai University 3rd in 1:01:50.

Juntendo Hakone runner Kazuki Ishii was 5th on the 3.0 km opening leg, just 6 seconds behind leader Kazuto Iizawa (Tokai Univ.). Second runner Shion Ono ran the fastest time on her leg to put Juntendo into 1st. Having played a key role in Juntendo's 2nd-place finish at Hakone in January where he was 3rd on the competitive Third Stage, 3rd-year Tatsuya Iyoda won the 5 km Third Stage for the second year in a row, running a strong 14:18 to add a big chunk to Juntendo's lead. Anchor Mao Kogure was almost caught by Chuo's Ayuka Kazama, but with 600 m to go she kicked hard to bring Juntendo in to the win.

"This is the only chance to run on an ekiden team with both men and women," Iyoda said. "I hope that winning at this ekiden will give everyone at our school a little extra motivation." Juntendo head coach Shunsuke Nagato commented, "Having gotten a taste of the win here today, I hope that it will inspire them to keep pursuing the win."

2nd National Mixed Team University Ekiden

Nagai Park, Osaka, 20 Feb. 2022
23 teams, 6 stages, 20.0 km

Top Individual Stage Performances
First Stage (3.0 km, men) - Kazuto Iizawa (Tokai Univ.) - 8:12 - CR
Second Stage (2.0 km, women) - Shion Ono (Juntendo Univ.) - 6:15
Third Stage (5.0 km, men) - Tatsuya Iyoda (Juntendo Univ.) - 14:18
Fourth Stage (3.0 km, women) - Risa Yamazaki (Nittai Univ.) - 9:29 - CR
Fifth Stage (2.0 km, men) - Yasuhiro Katsuki (Toyo Univ.) - 5:21 - CR
Sixth Stage (5.0 km, women) - Rinka Hida (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 16:31 - CR

Top Team Results
1. Juntendo University - 1:01:19 - CR
2. Chuo University - 1:01:30 (CR)
3. Kansai University - 1:01:50 (CR)
4. Nittai University - 1:01:58
5. Ritsumeikan University - 1:02:03
6. Toyo University - 1:02:10
7. Takushoku University - 1:02:14
8. Tsukuba University - 1:02:54
9. Josai University - 1:03:04
10. Kansai Region Select Team - 1:04:05

source articles:
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Heisei Mountaineering Stops Takigahara SDF Base From Scoring 10-Year Streak at Mount Fuji Ekiden

by Koichi Iwasa of DogsorCaravan On Aug. 2 the 51st Mount Fuji Ekiden took place, starting and finishing in Gotemba, Shizuoka and covering 11 stages up to the peak of Mount Fuji and back down. Teams of 6 runners tackle the tough course, each running handling one uphill and one downhill leg with the 6th runner reaching the peak before turning around to head back to the exchange zone where they started. The Heisei Mountaineering Club team took the overall win in 3:50:39, beating 9-time winner Takigahara SDF Base by 2:07 and stopping them from achieving a 10-year victory streak. The independent team division and SDF team division were separated in 2005, and this was the first time that the winning independent team outran the fastest SDF team to take the overall title. The roster that Heisei Mountaineering put together for this year's race raised eyebrows among everyone familiar with the Japanese trail running scene. Handling the 5th and 7th legs was Ruy Ueda , winner of the Fuji M...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
54 comments
Read more

Fujisan GX Breaks CR to Win 79th Towada Hachimantai Ekiden

The 79th edition of the Towada Hachimantai Ekiden took place Aug. 1 in Akita. Covering a 5-leg 71.4 km course, the race hosted 14 teams. Yamanashi's Fujisan GX took the overall win in a 3:42:17 course record. The best-placing team from within the prefecture, the Akita T&F Association team made the podium at 6th overall. The women's race was canceled again this year due to lack of participation. 79th Towada Hachimantai Ekiden Akita, 1 Aug. 2026 5 stages, 71.4 km, 14 teams complete results Top Team Results 1. Fujisan GX - 3:42:17 - CR 2. Corporate Select Team - 3:46:24 3. Tokyo Police A - 3:48:00 4. Comodi Iida - 3:48:41 5. Tokyo Police B - 3:50:14 6. Akita T&F Assoc. - 3:57:58 7. Fukushima T&F Assoc. - 4:08:20 Top Individual Stage Results First Stage  (13.0 km) 1. Ryota Seki (Tokyo Police A) - 39:47 2. Takuma Nakayama (Fujisan GX) - 40:01 3. Ryota Sato (Tokyo Police B) - 40:02 Second Stage  (13.0 km) 1. Yuki Seto (Fujisan GX) - 37:03 2. Shunsuke Watanabe (Comodi ...
Post a Comment
Read more