Skip to main content

Kazuyoshi Tokumoto Steps Down as Head Coach at Surugadai University


After having led Surugadai University to its first-ever Hakone Ekiden appearances in 2022 and 2024, Kazuyoshi Tokumoto, 45, announced on Jan. 12 that he is stepping down as head coach.

A star Hakone runner during his days at Hosei University, Tokumoto took over as head coach at Surugadai in 2012. In his 10th season in 2021-22 Surugadai made the qualifying bracket at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race, earning the right to make its debut at Hakone 2022. That was followed up with a second appearance in 2024. Assistant coach Nobuhiro Goto, 42, will take over from Tokumoto in the head coach's role. According to a source, Tokumoto had already informed the athletes, their parents and other involved parties of his decision to leave the program prior to making the public announcement.

The announcement makes Surugadai the 4th Hakone contender school to replace its head coach for the 2025-26 season, following Asia University, Reitaku University and Meiji University. Others are expected to make their own announcements.

At this past October's Yosenkai Surugadai was only 16th, missing the 10-deep qualifying bracket by a wide margin. But out of its 10 fastest finishers there only one was a 4th-year, and Yosenkai overall 5th-placer Stephen Lemayan, currently a 2nd-year, top Japanese member Taiga Tosen, a 3rd-year who has run 28:32.29 for 10000 m, and 1st-year Gakuto Sato who ran the uphill Fifth Stage at this year's Hakone as part of the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team, all return as the core of a strong program. "The Surugadai team is strong enough to make it through the Yosenkai this year and make it to Hakone, even without me," Tokumoto wrote.


In his Hakone days at Hosei University Tokumoto made waves as the first athlete to run it with dyed hair and sunglasses, becoming part of the event's history. As a 2nd-year he won the First Stage. Current Hosei head coach Tomoo Tsubota also won the Second Stage, earning the team the nickname The Orange Express. As a 3rd-year Tokumoto was the top Japanese finisher and 2nd overall on the Second Stage, positioning him at the very top of the collegiate circuit. Right afterward he did a live interview on Nippon TV wearing bizarre Ultraman-style sunglasses, shocking home viewers across the country.


But as a 4th-year things went wrong. Running the Second Stage again at the 2002 Hakone Ekiden, Tokumoto pulled a muscle in his right calf and had to stop only 7.3 km into the 23 km stage. At only 28.6 km from the start in Otemachi it was the earliest DNF in Hakone history.


Exactly 20 years on from that nightmare, Tokumoto pulled off a miracle comeback when he led Surugadai to its first Hakone. Takao Imai, a teacher who had taken a leave of absence to enter Surugadai's Psychology Department as a 3rd-year in hopes of running Hakone, made national news when Tokumoto chose him to run its Fourth Stage. He finished last on the stage, handing off to Fifth Stage runner Ryuji Nagai who had been his student at Saitama's Ogose J.H.S. As he finished Tokumoto called out to him over the chase car loudspeaker, saying, "Thank you for the last 2 years! If you apologize I'll kick your ass so hard you'll go flying!" That moment became another iconic part of Hakone history, one part of Tokumoto's legacy in his 13 years at Surugadai.

source article:

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Takeshi Soh Reflects on 54 Years in the Sport on His Retirement as Asahi Kasei Head Coach

After 54 years at the Asahi Kasei corporate team, first as athlete and then as coach, Takeshi Soh will retire at the end of this month. Together with his twin brother Shigeru Soh they formed a duo who were icons of the Japanese marathoning world and went all the way to the Olympics. After retiring from competition Takeshi devoted himself to coaching young athletes and came to play a primary role in the leadership of Japanese long distance. His list of achievements is long, and so is the list of those he influenced and inspired. His twin Shigeru was chosen for three Olympic teams in the marathon, Montreal in 1976, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi was named to the Moscow and Los Angeles teams, placing 4th in L.A. to confirm his position as one of the greatest names in the sport in that era. After becoming a coach the twins helped lead Hiromi Taniguchi to gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, Koichi Morishita to silver a year later at the Barcelona Olympics, and o...

Japan Names Marathon Teams for Tokyo World Championships

On Mar. 26 the JAAF named its women's and men's marathon teams for September's Tokyo World Championships. On the women's side the team has veterans Sayaka Sato and Yuka Ando off the strength of a runner-up finish for Sato in Nagoya this year and a win in Nagoya last year by Ando, and newcomer Kana Kobayashi , 23, who has risen quickly from being a fun runner at Waseda University last year to a 2nd-place finish in Osaka Women's this year. Paris Olympics 6th-placer Yuka Suzuki was named alternate after finishing 3rd behind Kobayashi in Osaka Women's. On the men's side the team is led by last year's Fukuoka International Marathon CR breaker Yuya Yoshida and this year's Osaka runner-up Ryota Kondo . The 3rd spot on the team is reserved for JMC Series winner Naoki Koyama , who hasn't cleared the 2:06:30 World Championships qualifying standard and has to wait for the May 4 qualifying deadline for confirmation that the 1184 points he has in the Roa...

Kanakuri Memorial Meet and 10000 m National Championships Entry Lists

The first big meet of Japan's outdoor season happens in Kumamoto Apr. 12 with the Kanakuri Memorial Meet , where the men's and women's 10000 m double as the National Championships and other events count as key selection races for May's Asian Championships in South Korea. Top entries per event below with best times within the qualifying window. Complete 10000 m entries here, other distances here . Men's 10000 m National Championships Emmanuel Maru (Kenya/Toyota Boshoku) - 27:09.96 Jun Kasai (Asahi Kasei) - 27:17.46 Charles Kamau (Kenya/SGH) - 27:18.89  Mebuki Suzuki (Toyota) - 27:20.33 Tomoki Ota (Toyota) - 27:20.94 Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) - 27:36.37 Tomoya Ogikubo (Hiramatsu Byoin) - 27:38.28 Yuto Imae (GMO) - 27:42.65 Yamato Yoshii (Toyota) - 27:42.88 Ryo Saito (Asahi Kasei) - 27:45.08 Shoya Saito (Josai Univ.) - 27:45.12 Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 27:45.85 Hayate Honma (Chuo Univ.) - 27:46.60 Tsuyoshi Bando (Osaka Gas) - 27:48.53 Kazuki Tamura (Sumitomo Denko) - 27:...