With high humidity, mostly sunny skies and temps reported as high as 30˚ it was just too hot for fast times at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, the half marathon qualifying race for January's 101st Hakone Ekiden. Individual winner and last year's 1:00:16 CR setter Shadrack Kipkemei from Nihon University and runner-up Brian Kipyegon of Yamanashi Gakuin University lasting the whole way on sub-1:01 pace and going 1:00:59 and 1:01:02 was really exceptional given the weather, but you could see how tough it was given that only five people went under 1:02 and seven under 1:03 compared to 11 and 38 last year. Top Japanese finisher and 1:00:31 half marathoner Reishi Yoshida of Chuo Gakuin University was only 10th in 1:03:29 and collegiate record holder Richard Etir of Tokyo Kokusai University 11th in 1:03:35.
But ultimately the Yosenkai is about team scoring based on the total times of each school's first ten finishers, so while the unseasonal summertime conditions held times back in the absolute sense its main impact on team performances relative to one another was to increase the chances of people blowing up and the unpredictability of the final team standings.
#2 and #3-ranked Tokai University and Tokyo Kokusai University both had runners DNF. TKU's Yuto Kusunoki was wobbly after 5 km and collapsed shortly after that, but while it missed qualifying by 3 seconds last year when Etir tripped and fell just before 10 km, this time it overcame the setback to hang on for 8th to make the cut. In scoring position for Tokai most of the way, Shumon Rohoman collapsed just 10 meters before the finish and couldn't get up even to crawl the last stretch. With its 11th runner Haruta Koshi struggling another 5 minutes back that meant the end of Tokai's Hakone chances as it finished 14th over 2 minutes outside the ten scoring places.
#5-ranked Nittai University, #8-ranked Kanagawa University and #11-ranked Kokushikan University all had DNFs by key scoring members too, Kokushikan's Haruto Miyazaki out after 10 km, Kanagawa's Haruto Miyamoto after 15 km and Nittai's Kota Uematsu falling at least five times right after the last corner past 20.5 km before he couldn't get back up. Nittai and Kanagawa still made it to Hakone, Nittai in 4th and Kanagawa in 9th, but like with Tokai the DNF shot down Kokushikan's hopes as it finished 13th.
Other heavy hitters like #1-ranked Chuo University and last year's runner-up Meiji University struggled with the heat too. Chuo gave alumni a scare at the dramatic announcement ceremony when it finished only 6th. Meiji, one of the 4 teams in the first running of the Hakone Ekiden back in 1920, couldn't put any runners under 1:05:30 and finished outside the qualifying bracket in 12th. Ranked #10 in its shot at its first-ever Hakone qualification, Reitaku University was far back in 17th after its top runner David Shunqeya slowed to finish 142nd in 1:06:30.
But that wildness opened the door for some lower-ranked teams to shine. Ranked only 13th in its first season under new head coach Yusuke Takabayashi, Rikkyo University won in 10:52:36, 15:30 slower than what it ran for 6th place last year. 18th last year and ranked only 15th this time, Senshu University pulled off a shocker with a 2nd-place finish. #9-ranked YGU was 3rd thanks in big part to Kipyegon's big run up front.
A few other teams like CGU and Nihon also benefitted from good performances by their top people and lived up to their mid-pack rankings, CGU taking 5th and Nihon 7th. But the biggest drama at the Yosenkai is always down at the cutoff line between the last qualifier and first non-qualifier, and it couldn't have been more dramatic this time around.
#6-ranked Juntendo University had several key people struggle, while it was obvious that #17-ranked Tokyo Nogyo University had had a good one despite the absence of its star 2nd-year, 10000 m U20 NR holder and last year's top Japanese finisher Kazuma Maeda. The crowd of tens of thousands at the announcement ceremony held its breath as the verdict was delivered, Juntendo getting the last qualifying spot in 10th in 11:01:25. And then it roared in dismay as TNU was announced at 11th in 11:01:26, one second across 10 runners over the half marathon distance. TNU really performed far above expectations, but with that kind of margin of loss, the tiniest bit more from any of them, it couldn't have been a more brutal way to go out.
The top ten teams today join the top ten universities from last January's 100th Hakone Ekiden, Aoyama Gakuin, Komazawa, Josai, Toyo, Koku Gakuin, Hosei, Waseda, Soka, Teikyo and Daito Bunka, in the field for the 101st running on Jan. 2 and 3. The Kanto Region Student Alliance select team is also back, meaning the top people from teams that failed to qualify today still get the chance to represent in the world's biggest and best road race come January.
101st Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai
Qualifying Half Marathon
Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 19 Oct. 2024
top 10 teams qualify for 101st Hakone Ekiden
Top Team Results
1. Rikkyo University - 10:52:36
2. Senshu University - 10:53:39
3. Yamanashi Gakuin University - 10:54:06
4. Nittai University - 10:55:58
5. Chuo Gakuin University - 10:56:01
6. Chuo University - 10:56:03
7. Nihon University - 10:56:53
8. Tokyo Kokusai University - 10:58:53
9. Kanagawa University - 10:59:12
10. Juntendo University - 11:01:25
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11. Tokyo Nogyo University - 11:01:26
12. Meiji University - 11:02:24
13. Kokushikan University - 11:02:40
14. Tokai University - 11:03:39
15. Ryutsu Keizai University - 11:05:11
Top Individual Results
1. Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) - 1:00:59
2. Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:01:02
3. Duncan Maina (Senshu Univ.) - 1:01:47
4. Patrick Kamau (Jobu Univ.) - 1:01:54
5. Stephen Lemayan (Surugadai Univ.) - 1:01:58
6. Dennis Kipruto (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:02:27
7. Joseph Mwigai (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) - 1:02:46
8. Jonson Mugeni (Asia Univ.) - 1:03:02
9. Raphael Longisa (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:03:22
10. Reishi Yoshida (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:29
11. Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 1:03:35
12. Nelson Mandela (Obirin Univ.) - 1:03:38
13. Biniam Tesfay Zeratsi (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:41
14. Koki Asai (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:03:49
15. Kento Baba (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:03:56
16. Tasuku Yamazaki (Nittai Univ.) - 1:03:56
17. Hinata Shirakawa (Chuo Univ.) - 1:03:58
18. Hiro Konda (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:04:08
19. Ryuto Hirashima (Nittai Univ.) - 1:04:12
20. Peter Kamau (Kokushikan Univ.) - 1:04:17
21. Tomohiro Arai (Senshu Univ.) - 1:04:22
22. Hiroki Koyama (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1:04:27
23. Hisaya Hanaoka (Tokai Univ.) - 1:04:27
24. Kaisei Okada (Chuo Univ.) - 1:04:28
25. Kotaro Hayashi (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:04:31
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DNF
Yuto Kusunoki (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) - 15:46
Haruto Miyazaki (Kokushikan Univ.) - 15:15/15:33
Haruto Miyamoto (Kanagawa Univ.) - 15:08/14:54/15:51
Kota Uematsu (Nittai Univ.) - 15:11/15:29/16:06/17:52
Shumon Rohomon (Tokai Univ.) - 15:18/15:18/15:40/16:15
© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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