2023 Izumo Ekiden Preview

Ekiden season is back with the first of the Big Three University Ekidens, Monday's Izumo Ekiden in Shimane. Last year Komazawa University became one of the few schools to win all three, Izumo, November's National University Ekiden, and January's Hakone Ekiden, in a single season. This year Komazawa is aiming to become the first school to win the triple crown two years in a row, and with Hakone celebrating its 100th running that means something even more. But it won't be easy.

Izumo is shorter and faster than the other races, with 6 stages totaling 45.1 km and an average stage length of 7.5 km. Komazawa is in its top tier for sure, with the 2nd-best 6-man 5000 m average in the field, 13:35.86. U20 5000 m NR holder Keita Sato, who trained in Boulder and St. Moritz this year with OAC, leads that average and is set to double in Izumo after running the Asian Games 5000 m on Wednesday. But with the graduation of fastest-ever Japanese-born collegiate 10000 m man Ren Tazawa and the absence of 4th-years Takumi Karasawa, 27:57.52, and Tetta Shiratori, 28:14.86, Komazawa is down slightly from last year's winning team. Its main competition Chuo University and Aoyama Gakuin University are both up.

3rd last year, Chuo has the fastest 6-man 5000 m average in the field, 13:34.20 to Komazawa's 13:35.86, thanks in large part to Shunsuke Yoshii and Yamato Yoshii, the fastest-ever Japanese brothers over 5000 m, and the time team members have spent training with the Bowerman Track Club. It's also got the fastest 6-man 10000 m average, 28:17.15, making it the top team on paper. AGU has been in the top 5 nine times in the last ten runnings including four wins, with a 4th-place finish last year. With 5000 m and 10000 m averages of 13:36.20 and 28:29.70 this is the fastest roster it has ever fielded.

And there's another contender. The Ivy League Select Team is back in Izumo for the first time since pre-pandemic in 2019, and it too has the best lineup it's ever had. Harvard grads Kieran Tuntivate and Matthew Pereira and Princeton's Kevin Berry make up the top half of a team with 5000 m and 10000 m averages of 13:39.68 and 28:20.24. On paper that's enough to rank them 2nd overall ahead of both AGU and Komazawa, but with Tuntivate having been a DNS in both the 5000 m and 10000 m at this week's Asian Games and a history of underperforming, finishing top 5 would be a great day for the Ivy League team. Its best-ever finish to date was 8th in 2011 and 2012.

Last year's runner-up Koku Gakuin University is up in strength and has the best 10000 m average after Chuo and the Ivies. It comes in ranked only 5th, but look for KGU to place higher. Soka University ties its 6th-place finish last year with a ranking of 6th, but it's up in strength too despite the graduation of Philip Mulwa and Yudai Shimazu. Ranked 7th, Josai University is in Izumo for the first time since 2018. Last year's 5th-placer Juntendo University is down quite a lot from last year and relies heavily on an incoming group of four 1st-years led by high school 5000 m NR holder Hiroto Yoshioka.

Waseda University has been improving rapidly under new head coach Katsuhiko Hanada and qualified for Izumo again after missing last year. Fan favorite Toyo University has 8 top 5 finishes in the last 10 runnings including a win in 2011, but its lineup this year is down from last year's, when it finished 9th, and only enough to earn it a ranking of 10th. 7th last year, Hosei University is also down and comes in ranked 11th.

Izumo is a national-level race, but 10 of its 21 teams are from the Tokyo-area Kanto Region. It's a rarity for any team from another region to break into the top 10, the last team to do it being the Kansai Region's Ritsumeikan University from Kyoto with a 6th-place finish in 2019. Apart from the Ivy League, Ritsumeikan is the top-ranked non-Kanto team this year at 12th. But while it would be great to see them break into the top 10 in Izumo, 9 out of the 10 runners on its entry roster are also entered in next Saturday's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifier half marathon. Hakone is opening up to schools outside the Kanto Region this time to commemorate its 100th running, and given how important that is it's hard to see Ritsumeikan hitting Izumo really hard with a big half marathon on the calendar only 5 days later. And they're not alone, with Kogakkan University, Osaka Keizai University and Kantaiheiyo University all attempting the double.

Fuji TV will broadcast the race live nationwide starting at 13:00 local time Monday, with streaming on TVer. JRN will be on-site in Izumo and will cover the race live on @JRNLive. Results will be here post-race.

© 2023 Brett Larner, all rights reserved