Skip to main content

Ritsumeikan Back in Control With First Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden Win Since 2017


The last big dynasty school in Japanese women's university ekiden racing, Ritsumeikan University put an end to Meijo University's 6-year streak at the Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden national championships with a course record-breaking win that put them back on top for the first time since 2017.

Running for the National University Select Team, the talented Haruka Ogawa from Rikkyo University led early with a 12:42 CR on the 4.1 km 1st leg. Miu Saito from last year's runner-up Nittai University went to the front on the 2nd leg, but from there on out it was a close race between Nittai and 2023 3rd and 4th-placer Daito Bunka University and Ritsumeikan University. Each team took a turn leading, Ritsumeikan with back-to-back wins on the 3rd and 4th legs by 1st-year duo Momoka Moriyasu and Yumi Yamamoto, and DBU with a great stage win by collegiate 5000 m record holder Sarah Wanjiru.

But Ritsumeikan was just too strong over the last two stages, 6th runner Fuka Fukunaga breaking the CR and anchor Kokoro Nakachi dominating the climb by 35 seconds. Ritsumeikan's time of 2:21:09 for the complete 7-leg, 43.4 km course was 29 seconds under Meijo's old CR from 2020, and combined with its win at October's Morinomiyako Ekiden confirmed it as the new dominant force in college women's running.

Daito Bunka anchor Akie Hirao overtook Nittai for 2nd on the toughest part of the climb in the second half of the 7th leg, bringing DBU in in 2:23:47 for its 15th runner-up finish at the two big ekidens in the last 12 years. Nittai held off Takushoku University for 3rd by 3 seconds, 2:24:02 to 2:24:05. Takushoku benefitted a lot from a good comeback run by collegiate 10000 m record holder Seira Fuwa, who turned in her best performance in 3 years to move them up from 10th to 4th with the 2nd-fastest time on the longest stage. It was good to see her college career end on a good note, even if she's not yet back to where she was before the first of a series of injuries in January, 2022.

Juntendo University was a strong 5th, with Josai University repeating its 6th-place finish from last year and Osaka Gakuin University dropping from 5th in 2023 to 7th this time. Meijo was never in it, 14th after the first leg and squeezing onto the 8-deep podium thanks in big part to a good run on the 10.5 km 6th leg by captain Nanase Tanimoto. Not a single Meijo runner won their stage, a major fall-off from its dominance over the last 7 years. 8th last year, Tohoku Fukushi University was in the top spot off the podium this time at 9th almost a minute and a half behind Meijo.

Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden

19th National University Women's Invitational Ekiden Championship
Shizuoka, 30 Dec. 2024
24 teams, 7 stages, 43.4 km

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (4.1 km) - Haruka Ogawa (National Univ. Select Team) - 12:42 - CR
Second Stage (6.8 km) - Miu Saito (Nittai Univ.) - 20:46
Third Stage (3.3 km) - Momoka Moriyasu (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 10:13
Fourth Stage (4.4 km) - Yumi Yamamoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 13:54 - CR
Fifth Stage (10.5 km) - Sarah Wanjiru (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 33:45
Sixth Stage (6.0 km) - Fuka Fukunaga (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 19:12 - CR
Seventh Stage (8.3 km, 169 m climb) - Kokoro Nakachi (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 29:00

Top Team Results - 8-deep podium
1. Ritsumeikan University - 2:21:09 - CR
2. Daito Bunka University - 2:23:47
3. Nittai University - 2:24:02
4. Takushoku University - 2:24:05
5. Juntendo University - 2:25:09
6. Josai University - 2:25:27
7. Osaka Gakuin University - 2:25:52
8. Meijo University - 2:26:53
-----
9. Tohoku Fukushi University - 2:28:14
10. Asia University - 2:28:21
11. Tsukuba University - 2:28:26
12. Chuo University - 2:28:48
13. Hyogo University - 2:29:22
14. National University Select Team - 2:29:28
15. Kansai University - 2:29:32
16. Tamagawa University - 2:30:19
17. Toyo University - 2:30:42
18. Teikyo Kagaku University - 2:31:22
19. Chukyo Gakuin University - 2:32:32
20. Osaka Geijutsu University - 2:31:58
21. Kansai Gaikokugo University - 2:32:44
22. Tokyo Nogyo University - 2:34:15
23. Kyoto Sangyo University - 2:34:26
24. Shizuoka Select Team - 2:40:06

© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Stefan said…
Congrats to Ritsumeikan Univ. It was close until the final 2 stages. They really stamped their authority this year. I must say, Yumi Yamamoto who is only 19 years old and a 1st year at Ritsumeiken Univ is someone to watch. At the Morinomiyako Ekiden, she set a course record in the 4.0km 2nd stage and in this Ekiden, she set a course record in the 4.4km 4th stage. On both occassions, she ran with discipline and maturity.

I was heartened to see Seira Fuwa running stronger here and it gives me hope that her best running is ahead of her. I thought Takushoku Univ ran very well as a team and it was a good send off for her and the other 4th years to finish so high up at 4th.

I didn't expect Meijo Univ to win but I also didn't expect them to fall so badly either. Ritsumeikan Univ. course records in this Ekiden and the Morinomiyako Ekiden illustrate their undoubted strength this year but I did note they had a number of 4th year graduating members in their team so who knows what will happen next year? It was good viewing today and thanks for the excellent article and race summary Brett!
December 30, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Waseda Leads Top 7 Teams Under Izumo Ekiden CR, Ivy League Best-Ever 3rd (updated)

3rd last year, Waseda University scored its first Izumo Ekiden win since 2010, taking almost 2 minutes off the CR and leading the top 7 teams under the old record of 2:07:51 for the complete 6-stage, 45.1 km course. Waseda was 16 seconds back in 7th after the First Stage, but its 2nd runner Ojiro Honda made that up easily and put them 6 seconds out front. A massive 22:56 CR for the 8.5 km Third Stage by Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) dropped Waseda back to 2nd even though its runner Ryuki Suzuki broke the old CR too, but back-to-back CR on the next 2 stages by 1st-year Haruki Niizuma and Shunpei Yamaguchi put anchor Shinsaku Kudo out of reach of the rest of the field. Kudo duly won the 10.2 km anchor stage in 29:00, bypassing a 2:06 time entirely for a new 2:05:56 CR, just under 2:48/km average pace for the complete course. Defending champ Koku Gakuin University struggled a bit in the first half of the race but came on strong in the longer second half with 4th and 5th runners...
8 comments
Read more

Kipyegon Repeats, Toyo Wins Hakone Ekiden Qualifier in First Appearance in 21 Years

Back for the first time in 21 years after a disastrous 14th-place finish at the 102nd Hakone Ekiden this past January, Toyo University hit one out of western Tokyo's Showa Kinen Park with a solid win at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, the half marathon that serves as the official qualifying race for the 103rd Hakone Ekiden. The top 10 teams in the Hakone auto-qualify for the following year, with the rest having to run the Yosenkai in October with a squad of 10 to 16 runners out of which the top 10 score on aggregate time, with the 10 fastest schools joining the Hakone field and top individuals from non-qualifying teams names to the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team to make up the complete Hakone field of 21. Driven in large part by an aggressive run from 3rd-year Yu Miyazaki , one of only 2 Japanese athletes to go with the big African contingent up front, Toyo won in 10:31:30, 1:03:09 or 2:59.6/km per athlete. As the first team to have broken the 3:00/km average pace barrie...
1 comment
Read more

Akasaki PBs in Chicago, Takeuchi 2nd in Perth

Four elite-level Japanese athletes were at the Chicago Marathon Sunday. In the women's race, Yuka Akasaki (Kraftia), 6th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, ran the second-fastest time of her career, 2:23:18 for 11th. Her husband Akira Akasaki (Kraftia), also 6th in Paris and runner-up in Berlin last year, better his PB by 28 seconds with a 2:05:47 for 9th, the fastest time this year by a Japanese man and his second-straight World Marathon Majors top 10 finish. NR holder Suguru Osako (Li Ning) was about 3 minutes off his goal of a new Asian record with a 2:07:34 for 14th, with half marathon NR holder Tomoki Ota (Toyota) struggling a bit to find his feet in his marathon debut, running 2:11:52 for 26th off a 1:02:57 first half. At the Perth Running Festival marathon in Australia, 2025 Warsaw Marathon winner Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) had a great head-to-head race against Kenyan Dominic Ngeno , together through 10 km, then dropping as far as 1:42 behind at one point before...
2 comments
Read more