Skip to main content

100th Hakone Ekiden to Be Opened Up to Universities Nationwide




At an online executive board meeting on June 30, the KGRR made the decision to open up the October, 2023 Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race to universities from across the country in honor of the Hakone Ekiden's 100th running. The decision gives universities from outside the Tokyo-centric Kanto Region the chance to compete in the Hakone Ekiden centennial edition on January 2 and 3, 2024 if they make the cut at the Yosenkai.

The Hakone Ekiden is traditionally only open to university men's teams from within Kanto. Teams from other parts of the country will have to meet the same criteria as Kanto Region schools in order to take part in the qualifying race, the minimum of which is currently having at least 10 athletes with 10,000 m bests under 34 minutes at certified competitions.

There are precedents for universities from elsewhere in the country to take part. Kansai University competed three times in Hakone's early history, and at the 40th running in 1964 both Ritsumeikan University and Fukuoka University ran. At the 80th running in 2004 a National University Select Team made up of top collegiate athletes from across the country took part.

Along with the decision to go nationwide, it was also decided not to have a Kanto Region University Select Team for the 100th running. No decisions were made regarding the 101st running and beyond. KGRR executive Masahito Ueda commented, "All the way back to the first running, there was originally no intention of the Hakone Ekiden being limited to Kanto. I'd like to revisit that starting point and take this opportunity to re-examine the Hakone Ekiden."

Translator's note: No sign of the truly progressive step of having a university women's division at the 100th Hakone Ekiden being taken.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Rigajags said…
Good news to me and definitely interesting to see if its extended beyond the 100th edition.
July 2, 2022 at 5:12 AM
j said…
Not enough time given for serious universities outside of Kanto to actually build a team made to run half marathons. The women would need even more notice considering the structural differences in high school (no 5000m or steeplechase) and the mindset of all the top girls HS athletes (or the vast majority) to go the corporate leagues. And I doubt that most current serious women's university teams train for races longer than 10000 (maybe the very top 3 or 4). If there is to be serious changes it has to be on more notice and it can't be a one off
July 2, 2022 at 7:19 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .
Post a Comment
Read more

Hirayama Breaks Osaka Half CR, Martinez Set Puerto Rican NR

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Marugame, Beppu-Oita and More - Weekend Preview

After the Osaka International Women's Marathon and Osaka Half Marathon last weekend Japan's winter road season rolls on with 3 big races Sunday. The Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon has a good field up front in the women's race with 5 runners, Eilish McColgan , Dolphine Omare , Isobel Batt-Doyle , Charlotte Purdue and Yuka Ando , with sub-1:09 bests and the debut of #1 collegiate runner Sarah Wanjiru of Daito Bunka University . 3 men in Marugame have recent sub-60 times, Emmanuel Maru , Richard Etir and Kotaro Shinohara leading the way. Shinohara was one of 2 Japanese men to break 60 at Marugame last year and missed the NR by 3 seconds in 59:30. After a 42:53 CR on his 15.3 km leg at the New Year Ekiden on Jan.1, 45:06 pace for 10 miles, he's looking to pick up at least another 4 seconds this time around. 14 other men in the field are at the 60-minute level, and Chuo University 's sub-28 10000 m runner Yamato Hamaguchi is making a highly anticip...
1 comment
Read more