Skip to main content

Saku Chosei H.S. Wins First Okukuma Ekiden

A new event bringing together top high school, college, corporate league and club men's teams, the Okukuma Ekiden was held for the first time Sunday in Kumamoto. 42.195 km split into 7 stages for the high school boys' division and 4 stages for the others, the race saw Nagano's Saku Chosei H.S. become the first team across its finish line in 2:07:16. The Toyota Kyushu corporate team was 2nd overall in 2:07:32, with local Kyushu Gakuin H.S. 3rd in 2:07:52.

The new ekiden, which mirrors the format of the Kitakyushu Women's Invitational Ekiden, was originally scheduled to have taken place in 2020. But after two years of pandemic-era cancelations, the inaugural running didn't take place until this year. It was an impressive success. The high school boys' stage lengths were almost the same as those at December's National High School Ekiden, 10 km, 3 km, 8.25 km, 7.9 km, 3 km, 5 km, and 5.045 km. Other divisions ran stages 10 km, 11.25 km, 10.9 km, and 10.045 km, all but the first combining pairs of stages from the high school course. All divisions started together and competed head-to-head.

2022 Hakone Ekiden winner Aoyama Gakuin University fielded two teams. Its B-team was 7th overall in 2:09:44, good for the top university position, with its A-team 19th in 2:12:27. Coach Susumu Hara commented, "The athletes gained valuable ekiden experience here, like tactics and shifting pace. It was worthwhile." Part of AGU's lineup for the Oct. 10 Izumo Ekiden, team captain Taiki Miyasaka and Akimu Nomura handled the first stage for the two squads. Nomura ran well, 3rd in 29:55, while Miyasaka struggled home in 31:42 for 18th. "Nomura passed the test," said Hara. "There's a good chance he'll get to make his Big Three University Ekidens debut at the Izumo Ekiden. Miyasaka worked hard all summer in training and is tired."

Other team AGU members ran well despite not being on the roster for Izumo. Takato Azechi was 2nd on the 4th stage and Genta Kuramoto 2nd on the 3rd stage. "In the three and a half years since he came to AGU Azechi has been training without injury, gradually getting stronger and stronger," said Hara. "His birthday is Jan. 3, so there's a chance he'll be the one to get to break the finish tape on the anchor stage at the Hakone Ekiden. Kuramoto ran well when he was at Sera H.S. and showed us today that he's a good ekiden runner." The competition for the runners in AGU's massive program to be part of its Hakone starting lineup keeps getting tougher.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee
Labels:

Comments

Rigajags said…
This race seems interesting, wonder if i will manage to find some footage.

Izumo is almost upon us, i don't know if there is any entry list anywhere already
September 27, 2022 at 7:22 AM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

10000 m National Championships Preview

  Less than five months since the 2023 10000 m National Championships went down at the 2021 Olympic stadium in Tokyo, the 2024 edition happens Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium, with NHK broadcasting it live starting at 19:25 local time. Doubling up on Nationals like this lets Japanese athletes double dip on placing points to try to get into the Paris Olympics on rankings. But between the number of people who've hit the 30:40.00 women's standard and 27:00.00 men's standard and the lopsided eight spots given away to top placers at World XC, there are only four women's spots and three men's available via rankings. Of those, three of the four women's spots and two of the three men's spots are currently occupied by top placers at December's 2023 Nationals, Ririka Hironaka , Haruka Kokai and Rino Goshima for women and Ren Tazawa and Tomoki Ota for men. The 2023 Nationals did get close to the standards, with Hironaka leading the top four women under
3 comments
Read more

Goshima and Kasai Win 10000 m National Titles, Maeda Breaks U20 Asian Record

Rino Goshima and Jun Kasai stepped up with PBs to win the 2024 National Championships 10000 m titles Friday at Shizuoka's Ecopa Stadium. In the women's race, Goshima, 4th in last December's 2023 National Championships 10000 m, went out front from the start with Kenyan teammate Judy Jepngetich pacing and 2023 3rd-placer Haruka Kokai in tow. Things were never on track to hit the 30:40.00 Paris Olympics standard, but except for a brief dip to 3:08 at 7000 m Goshima held steady at 3:05 to 3:06/km even as Kokai and Jepngetich fell off. With blood dripping from her left knee after getting spiked by Jepngetich, Goshima closed in 3:03 to take 5 seconds off her best from December's Nationals and win in 30:53.31, moving up to all-time Japanese #6. Jepngetich also PBd at 31:09.42 without counting in the standings, with Kokai 2nd in 31:10.53 and Kazuna Kanetomo 3rd in a PB 31:59.29. The runner-up last time, Yuka Takashima was last in 33:33.27. The men's race went out in a
1 comment
Read more

Chesang and Kipkoech Win Hot Gifu Half

Hot conditions held back fast times at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Sunday, where Ugandan Stella Chesang and Kenya Hillary Kipkoech took the top spots over last year's winners Dolphine Nyaboke Omare and Amos Kurgat . In the women's race Chesang, Omare and Kenyan-born Bahraini Eunice Chebichii Chumba went out as a trio, Japan-based Hellen Ekarare with them initially but eventually dropping out. After a 15:39 opening 5 km Chumba started to slip off, and by 15 km Chesang was on her own. Chesang won in 1:07:59, solid given the conditions, with Omare 2nd in 1:08:31 and Chumba 3rd in 1:09:10. Rinka Hida was the first Japanese woman, 5th overall in 1:12:06 behind Australian Genevieve Gregson . A lead men's pack of 11 went through 5 km in 14:31, but by 10 km it was down to Kipkoech, Kurgat, , Timothy Kiplagat , Ugandan Stephen Kissa and Japan-based Kenyans Patrick Mathenge Wambui and Anthony Maina . At 15 km in 43:40 only Kurgat and Kipkoech were left, and over the last 5
1 comment
Read more