Kogakkan University in Ise, Mie has announced that former Hakone Ekiden and corporate league runner Natsuki Terada, 31, has been named the new head coach of its ekiden program. In a statement on the university's website Terada said, "I want to prioritize effective communication with the athletes, and while cherishing the program's history I want to work together with them to build a new history. Strong athletes, not just fast athletes. I want them to become athletes that the people of Ise, of Mie, and all across the country will support and cheer on. That's the kind of team I plan to make."
As a runner at Koku Gakuin University Terada ran the Hakone Ekiden all four years of his college career. As a 1st-year in 2011 he ran Hakone's anchor stage. Leading a four-way race for the last three spots in the top 10, with just 120 m to go before the finish line he turned right and followed a broadcast vehicle off the course. Dropping from 8th to 11th because of the wrong turn, Terada managed to recover and retake 10th with a powerful last kick, giving KGU its first-ever top 10 placing. The intersection where he took the wrong turn has come to be known as "Terada Crossing."
After his graduation in 2014 he joined the JR Higashi Nihon corporate team. In 2019 he placed 5th at the Fukuoka International Marathon in 2:10:55. A year later he ran his PB of 2:08:03 in Fukuoka, placing 3rd.
Kogakkan had a six-year streak of National University Ekiden appearances that began in 2017. But following head coach Katsutoshi Hibi's retirement in March this year the team was left on its own without leadership. At the June 24 Tokai Region Qualifier for the National University Ekiden it finished 2nd, ending its Nationals streak. Terada's appointment came just a week later.
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translated and edited by Brett Larner
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