Skip to main content

Shiseido Wins First National Corporate Women's Ekiden Title Since 2006


2nd last year, the Shiseido team won today's Queens Ekiden, its first victory at the National Corporate Women's Ekiden since 2006. First the entire way except for a brief drop to 3rd after a mediocre run from new recruit and women-only marathon NR holder Mao Ichiyama on the race's longest stage, Shiseido was more than 2 minutes ahead of last year's winner Sekisui Kagaku in a course record 2:12:28 for the complete 6-stage, 42.195 km course.

Sekisui Kagaku was never better than 2nd, where it finished in 2:14:29. 2021 champ Japan Post was the only team to get into the lead ahead of Shiseido thanks to a brilliant run from Olympian Ririka Hironaka on the 10.9 km Third Stage, ultimately finishing 3rd in 2:15:15.

5th last year, Daihatsu was the only other team from last year's 8-deep podium to make it there again, 5th once more in 2:15:49. Edion, Toyota Jidoshokki, and Daiichi Seimei all moved up from double-digit placings last year onto the podium, with Panasonic rocketing from non-qualifier status in 2021 to 7th this year. In the most dramatic head-to-head competition of the day, Daiichi Seimei anchor Hibiki Sakuragawa came from 28 seconds back to run down Kyudenko's Maho Morita with 1 km to go to put her team on the podium.

3rd last year, Denso fell to 22nd this time after major roster changes. 6th-placer Yamada Holdings fell to 12th, 7th-placer Universal to 11th, and 8th-placer Wacoal, which like Denso suffered major lineup changes includingn Ichiyama's transfer to Shiseido, to 17th.

Queens Ekiden

42nd National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships
Sendai, Miyagi, 27 Nov. 2022
24 teams, 6 stages, 42.195 km

Top Team Results - top 8 auto-qualify for 2023
1. Shiseido - 2:12:28 - CR
2. Sekisui Kagaku - 2:14:29
3. Japan Post - 2:15:15
4. Edion - 2:15:47
5. Daihatsu - 2:15:49
6. Toyota Jidoshokki - 2:16:15
7. Panasonic - 2:16:26
8. Daiichi Seimei - 2:17:39
-----
9. Kyudenko - 2:17:44
10. Uniqlo - 2:18:09
11. Universal - 2:18:25
12. Yamada Holdings - 2:18:37

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (7.6 km) - Tomoka Kimura (Shiseido) - 23:29
Second Stage (3.3 km) - 
Naruha Sato (Shideido) - 10:11
Kotona Ota (Japan Post) - 10:11
Ran Urabe (Sekisui Kagaku) - 10:11
Sakiko Naito (Panasonic) - 10:11
Third Stage (10.9 km) - Hitomi Niiya (Sekisui Kagaku) - 34:08
Fourth Stage (3.6 km) - Judy Jepngetich (Shideido) - 10:54
Fifth Stage (10.0 km) - Rino Goshima (Shiseido) - 31:40
Sixth Stage (6.795 km) - Rina Sasaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 20:54

© 2022 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Hakone Champ AGU Hits 50 km a Day in Spring Break Training Camp

Having scored its 3rd-straight Hakone Ekiden win this past January, Aoyama Gakuin University spent the Golden Week spring holidays training on the Myoko Plateau in Niigata from May 2-6. Along with the champion men's ekiden team, the first 2 members of AGU's new women's long distance team Nodoka Ashida and Kairi Ikeno , and AGU alumni and 2026 New Year Ekiden champion GMO team members Yuya Yoshida and Asahi Kuroda also took part in the training camp. Depending on the day's training schedule, mileage at the camp was over 50 km a day. AGU men's captain Kaito Nakamura confidently said, "This Golden Week training camp is where we lay the foundations for our 4th-straight Hakone title." A lot of people spend Golden Week on vacation, but the AGU ekiden team spent their time working hard on Myoko's rolling land amid the sprouting leaves of spring. On the 2nd day of the camp, May 3, team members woke up at 5:00 a.m. to do their warmup. The team assembled a...

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Shikama and Njeri Win Sendai International Half Marathon

Shunsuke Shikama (Logisteed) and Tabitha Njeri Kamau (Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) won the Sendai International Half Marathon Sunday in Sendai, Shikama in 1:01:31 and Njeri in 1:09:20. Mizuki Nishimura (Tenmaya) was the top Japanese woman at 2nd overall. The men's race went through 5 km in 14:34 and 10 km in 29:22. Shikama ran alongside top competition including Shoki Yamaguchi (Soka Univ.), who has been running well in half marathons this season, and Tokyo World Championships marathon team member Naoki Koyama (Honda). On a course with many small ups and downs, Shikama attacked on a downhill just after 15 km, quickly breaking free of the lead group of 7. 13 seconds up by 20 km, Shikama covered the last 1.0975 km in 3:06 to seal his first Sendai title. A graduate of Juntendo University , Shikama is in his 4th season with Logisteed. At the 2024 National Corporate Half Marathon he ran 1:00:41, and at last year's East Japan Corporate Ekiden he won the Third Stage. In his marathon d...