Skip to main content

Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden Preview - Collegiate Women's National Championship



The last big race of the year is Monday's Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden, the season-ending national championship race for university women. Between Mt. Fuji and October's Morinomiyako Ekiden, up to this season Meijo University was undefeated in 13-straight championship ekiden races, with 7-straight wins at Morinomiyako and 6 at Mt. Fuji. But nothing lasts forever, and at this year's Morinomiyako the last big dynasty school before Meijo, Ritsumeikan University, winner at Morinomiyako from 2011 to 2015 and at Mt. Fuji from 2013 to 2017, outran a flailing Meijo squad to take the win for the first time in 9 years. Its runners took stage wins on 3 of the 6 legs, Yumi Yamamoto breaking the Second Stage CR, Tomo Muramatsu the Third Stage CR, and anchor Makoto Tsuchiya outrunning Meijo captain Nanase Tanimoto for the win.

Meijo's big names, especially Tanimoto and Nanaka Yonezawa, have been off their best most of this season, and it showed when they were only 4th at Morinomiyako. Mt. Fuji is a more technical course with a big uphill finish and demands a wider range of skills than Morinomiyako, but there hasn't been much to show that Meijo has turned it around in time to have a shot at beating Ritsumeikan this time.

But to be fair Ritsumeikan was only 4th at Mt. Fuji last year after a 3rd-place finish at Morinomiyako, so it's not like they have it in the bag. Daito Bunka University has been 2nd at Mt. Fuji 4 times in the last 6 years and 2nd at Morinomiyako 10 times in the last 12 years, and one of these days it's going to make the jump. Daito Bunka runners took the other three stage wins at Morinomiyako including an opening leg CR by Mariya Noda, and with star runner Sarah Wanjiru stronger than ever with a new collegiate 5000 m record of 15:00.86 earlier this month, this could be its year.

Josai University beat Meijo at Morinomiyako too, and it's been coming up over the last few years, going from a steady 6th-7th there to 4th in 2023 and 3rd this year. On the current hilly version of the Mt. Fuji race it has yet to do better than 5th, but chances look good that it'll go at least 4th this time around. Last year's Mt. Fuji 2nd-placer Nittai University was a dismal 9th at Morinomiyako, and based on that a top 5 finish would be stellar.

7th at Morinomiyako and at last year's Mt. Fuji, Takushoku University will field collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa for her last college ekiden. Fuwa rewrote the university women's ekiden book as a 1st-year 3 years ago, but with too many long races in too short a time at too young an age she's spent most of the time since then injured. Back to racing regularly for her last season, Fuwa has been about 3 minutes slower for 10 km and 10000 m than she was pre-injury, typically in the 33-minute range at best. It's not likely she'll set things on fire, but as the last time we'll see this big talent here it's a race of special significance.

Fuji TV is broadcasting the race live starting at 9:55 local time Monday, with streaming on TVer. Live tweeting isn't much of a thing any more, but we'll have some coverage on @JRNLive. The complete field for Monday's race, with bib numbers and region:

1. Ritsumeikan University (Kansai)
2. Daito Bunka University (Kanto)
3. Josai University (Kanto)
4. Meijo University (Tokai)
5. Tohoku Fukushi University (Tohoku)
6. Osaka Gakuin University (Kansai)
7. Takushoku University (Kanto)
8. Tsukuba University (Kanto)
9. Nittai University (Kanto)
10. Chuo University (Kanto)
11. Juntendo University (Kanto)
12. Teikyo Kagaku University (Kanto)
13. Toyo University (Kanto)
14. Tamagawa University (Kanto)
15. Kansai Gaikokugo University (Kansai)
16. Hyogo University (Kansai)
17. Asia University (Kanto)
18. Kyoto Sangyo University (Kansai)
19. Osaka Geijutsu University (Kansai)
20. Kansai University (Kansai)
21. Chukyo Gakuin University (Tokai)
22. Tokyo Nogyo University (Kanto)
23. National Select Team
24. Shizuoka Select Team

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Stefan said…
I'm looking forward to this one because I think Ritsumeikan Univ this year are a force to be reckoned with and they have the ability to break the Course Record. One extra stage and much different terrain to the Moinomiyako Ekiden, however I can't see how Ritsumeikan Univ will fold barring an unforseen mishap. You can see the hunger and spirit in the team. I'm expecting a victory and I'd be surprised if it is close. Daito Bunka Univ have some top class runners but I think they don't quite have the depth of Ritsumeikan Univ based on what I saw in Oct. I was wrong in Oct when I thought Daito Bunka Univ would win so I could be wrong again. It wouldn't be the first time.
December 27, 2024 at 5:14 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Ngetich Breaks CR, Murayama and Sasaki Make U.S. Debut at New York Mini 10k

WR holder Agnes Ngetich  soloed a fast one at the 54th edition of the Mastercard New York Mini 10k, leading inside the first mile and pulling away the rest of the race to run a 30:07 CR for the win, the fastest time ever on U.S. soil albeit on a slightly net downhill course. On a warm day that saw over 10,000 women finish  Tsigie Gebreselama  was on her own most of the way too, a distant 2nd in 30:53 and 17 seconds up on past champ Hellen Obiri . Further back, 2026 World University Cross Country bronze medalist Amisa Murayama  and 2025 Morinomiyako Ekiden 3rd leg CR breaker Nazuki Sasaki  from 2025 National University Women's Ekiden runner-up Tohoku Fukushi University  made their U.S. debuts. Murayama was targeting the fastest-ever Japanese time at the Mini, 32:37, but struggled on the hills just before 5 km and late in the race, fading to finish 23rd in 34:08. Sasaki, recovering from a stress reaction in her upper back a few months ago, ran a conservative ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Australian YouTuber Handed Lifetime Ban by Ageo City Half Marathon After Running 1:06 with Another Runner's Bib (updated)

After discussion with their race's chief JAAF referee, on Nov. 27 the organizers of the Ageo City Half Marathon handed down a lifetime ban from their event against 36-year-old Australian Matt Inglis Fox  for running the Nov. 15 race wearing the bib number of another JAAF-registered runner. The incident came to light after Fox posted on his personal Instagram account that he had run a PB of 1:06:33 and finished 203rd in Ageo with a 10 km split of 31:03, along with photos and video of himself in the race wearing a bib number beginning with 11. Fox did not appear in the results by name or in that time or place, the closest match being a 1:06:54 gross, 1:06:50 net finish time with a 31:21 10 km split for 18th place in the JAAF-registered division and 209th overall by bib number 1129, registered to a non-Japanese Tokyo-resident club runner. The club runner, Harrisson Uk , readily confirmed that he had given his bib to Fox, saying, "I gave my number to Matt. It wasn't me."...
82 comments
Read more