It was another record-breaking year at the Hakone Ekiden. All 13 of the course records, the 10 individual stages, the Day One and Day Two courses and the overall course, have been set since 2019, and out of those 6 fell this time, 2 of them broken by multiple athletes or teams. All of them had performances in at least their all-time top 6, and 9 of them in their all-time top 3.
First Stage (21.3 km) - all-time #4
Second Stage (23.1 km) - CR, all-time #2, all-time #3, all-time #9
Third Stage (21.4 km) - all-time #4, all-time #5, all-time #7
Fourth Stage (20.9 km) - all-time #2, all-time #7, all-time #8, all-time #9
Fifth Stage (20.8 km uphill) - CR, all-time #3
Sixth Stage (20.8 km downhill) - CR, all-time #5, all-time #9
Seventh Stage (21.3 km) - CR, all-time #4 (x2), all-time #7
Eighth Stage (21.4 km) - all-time #6, all-time #9, all-time #10
Ninth Stage (23.1 km) - all-time #6, all-time #10
Tenth Stage (23.0 km) - all-time #2, all-time #7
Day One (107.5 km) - all-time #2, all-time #5, all-time #6, all-time #8, all-time #9
Day Two (109.6 km) - CR, all-time #2, all-time #7, all-time #8, all-time #9, all-time #10
Overall (217.1 km) - CR, all-time #3, all-time #7, all-time #8
The records started on the Second Stage, 23.1 km with a series of 3 tough uphills starting at 15 km. Last year's First Stage winner Kotaro Shinohara (Komazawa Univ.), a 1:00:11 half marathoner, ran 1:06:14, a time only 6 people had ever bettered. But 3 people outran him, collegiate 5000 m, 10000 m and half marathon record holder Richard Etir (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) setting a new CR of 1:05:31 and both Hibiki Yoshida (Soka Univ.) and last year's Second Stage winner Asahi Kuroda (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) getting under 66 minutes. The only other Japanese runner to have ever broken 66 minutes, Akira Aizawa, went on to break the 10000 m NR, so 2 more doing it here is big news.
2nd on the uphill Fifth Stage last year, Hiroki Wakabayashi (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) stepped up with an even bigger run this time, going 3 seconds under the CR in 1:09:11 for the 20.8 km stage that climbs over 800 m to its highest point before a steep drop to the finish. His teammate Akimu Nomura crushed the return trip at the start of Day Two, becoming the first person to break the 57 minute barrier as he took 30 seconds off the downhill Sixth Stage CR in 56:47 for 20.8 km. That translates to a 57:36 half marathon, which amazingly is still slower than the world record.
But the biggest new record came on the Seventh Stage. Running his first race since The Ten last March, Keita Sato (Komazawa Univ.) chopped 57 seconds off the record for the 21.3 km Seventh Stage, beating the next-fastest runner on his leg by 1:38 and running the equivalent of a 1:00:08 half marathon. The night before the race Komazawa executive head coach Hiroaki Oyagi told JRN that Sato had only had a 6-week buildup to Hakone after easing his way back into training following an injury, and was only at 70-80% fitness. He estimated that Sato would cut AGU's lead down by 30-60 seconds, but in the end he closed 2:27. Out of all the current Hakone stage records it's pretty likely this one will last the longest. Breaking it would take a coach putting one of their absolute best people on the stage at full fitness, and with people like that almost always put on Day One the chances of that happening are low. Difference between existing CR and 2nd-fastest times on each stage after this year's race:
First Stage (21.3 km) - 22 seconds
Second Stage (23.1 km) - 12 seconds
Third Stage (21.4 km) - 22 seconds
Fourth Stage (20.9 km) - 24 seconds
Fifth Stage (20.8 km uphill) - 3 seconds
Sixth Stage (20.8 km downhill) - 30 seconds
Seventh Stage (21.3 km) - 57 seconds
Eighth Stage (21.4 km) - 10 seconds
Ninth Stage (23.1 km) - 46 seconds
Tenth Stage (23.0 km) - 37 seconds
Aoyama Gakuin University ran 5:21:18 for the 109.6 km Day Two course, 18 seconds under its own CR from 2022. Combined with its fast Day One that gave it the overall CR too, 6 seconds under the CR it set last year in 10:41:19 for 217.1 km. Having broken the Day One CR last year that meant that it held both of the individual day records and the overall CR, total domination. But Komazawa University shut that down, covering Day Two in 5:20:50 to beat the CR that AGU had just set by 28 seconds. The rest of its Day Two lineup was solid, 3 of them in the top 2 on their leg and all in the top 5, but chalk the record up to Sato's stellar run on the Seventh.
AGU's overall winning time averaged 2:57.2/km for 217.1 km. Take out the mountain stages and its average pace was 2:56.2/km, good for 11th in the corporate league New Year Ekiden but with the AGU men running 75% longer. And it's not like Komazawa or the other teams were slow either. Komazawa's time of 10:44:07 was a school record by over 3 minutes, and both 3rd-placer Koku Gakuin University and 4th-placer Waseda University broke into the all-time top 10 with new school records.
The total number of people running the equivalent of a sub-1:02 half marathon was down from 40 last year to 33, but that was due to a conservative First Stage where only Shunsuke Yoshii (Chuo Univ.) went out hard, gunning for his older brother Yamato Yoshii's 1:00:40 CR but falling short. All the other stages that had sub-1:02 half marathon-quality performances had more than last year, with 3 people, Etir, Hayate Honma (Chuo Univ.) and Stephen Muthini (Soka Univ.), breaking 1 hour. A list of the half marathon equivalents all 33 people ran, with their half marathon PBs listed after their school name. Athletes without a half marathon PB listed haven't run one yet:
First Stage (21.3 km)
Shunsuke Yoshii (3rd yr, Chuo Univ., 1:03:45) - 1:00:32
Second Stage (23.1 km)
Richard Etir (2nd yr, Tokyo Kokusai Univ., 59:32) - 59:50
Hibiki Yoshida (4th yr, Soka Univ., 1:01:45) - 1:00:01
Asahi Kuroda (3rd yr, Aoyama Gakuin Univ., 1:01:39) - 1:00:02
Kotaro Shinohara (4th yr, Komazawa Univ., 1:00:11) - 1:00:29
Hiroki Yamanaka (4th yr, Teikyo Univ., 1:03:02) - 1:00:37
Reishi Yoshida (4th yr., Chuo Gakuin Univ., 1:00:31) - 1:00:39
Kento Baba (3rd yr, Rikkyo Univ., 1:02:35) - 1:00:46
Kiyoto Hirabayashi (4th yr., Koku Gakuin Univ., 1:01:23) - 1:00:51
Itta Tameike (3rd yr., Chuo Univ., 1:03:18) - 1:00:52
James Mutuku (3rd yr., Yamanashi Gakuin Univ., 1:00:46) - 1:01:07
Victor Kimutai (3rd yr, Josai Univ., 1:02:21) - 1:01:07
Tomonori Yamaguchi (3rd yr., Waseda Univ., 1:01:16) - 1:01:12
Duncan Maina (1st yr, Senshu Univ., 1:01:47) - 1:01:38
Shadrack Kipkemoi (2nd yr, Nihon Univ., 1:00:16) - 1:01:40
Third Stage (21.4 km)
Hayate Honma (2nd yr, Chuo Univ., 1:02:45) - 59:25
Stephen Muthini (2nd yr, Soka Univ.) - 59:59
Shunpei Yamaguchi (1st yr, Waseda Univ.) - 1:00:23
Masaya Tsurukawa (4th yr, Aoyama Gakuin Univ., 1:02:44) - 1:00:58
Ayumu Yamamoto (4th yr, Koku Gakuin Univ. 1:00:43) - 1:01:01
Haru Taninaka (1st yr, Komazawa Univ., 1:02:05) - 1:01:12
Itsuki Hirabayashi (4th yr, Josai Univ., 1:02:49) - 1:01:35
Haruto Mukae (1st yr, Toyo Univ., 1:03:38) - 1:01:47
Ryota Tominaga (4th yr, Nittai Univ., 1:02:24) - 1:01:52
Kenshin Ebisawa (4th yr, Juntendo Univ., 1:01:49) - 1:01:53
Fourth Stage (20.9 km)
Aoi Ota (4th yr, Aoyama Gakuin Univ., 1:02:30) - 1:00:58
Rui Aoki (3rd yr, Koku Gakuin Univ., 1:02:02) - 1:01:44
Ryotaro Kishimoto (3rd yr, Toyo Univ., 1:03:39) - 1:01:50
Shunsuke Kuwata (1st yr, Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:59
Seventh Stage (21.3 km)
Keita Sato (3rd yr, Komazawa Univ.) - 1:00:08
Hikaru Tsujihara (2nd yr, Koku Gakuin Univ., 1:02:37) - 1:01:45
Hiroto Yoshioka (2nd yr, Juntendo Univ., 1:02:25) - 1:01:45
Masaki Tominaga (4th yr, Tokyo Kokusai Univ., 1:03:47) - 1:01:54
In terms of shoe usage, there's been a major shift away from Nike toward Adidas. Comparing the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons, at the 2023 Izumo Ekiden 3 of the 6 stage winners wore Nike and 2 Adidas, but this year Adidas took 5 of the 6 individual stages and Nike none. At the National University Ekiden it was 3/8 Nike and only 1 Adidas in 2023, but reversed in 2024 with 3 Adidas and 1 Nike. Hakone was dominated by Nike last year, with 7 of the 10 stages going to Nike and 2 to Adidas. This year Nike scored only 2 Hakone stages, with Adidas picking up 6. ASICS was shut out of Hakone this year, with On taking its first-ever Hakone stage win via Sato's Seventh Stage CR and Puma picking up the Ninth Stage title.
The trend is the same in overall share of the Hakone market. Adidas has grown every year from 4 in 2021 to 76 this year, while Nike has fallen every year from 201 in 2021 to only 49 this year. ASICS and Puma have grown in parallel with Adidas, ASICS at zero in 2021, peaking at 57 last year and dropping slightly to 54 this year, while Puma has grown every year from zero in 2021 to 25 this year. No change for On, which debuted with 3 athletes last year and tied that this year. Mizuno, Brooks and New Balance had one runner each, while Hoka and Under Armour were both absent this time after having people in their shoes last year.
Looking ahead to next year, winner AGU is hit harder by graduation than any other team in the top 10 except 8th-placer Tokyo Kokusai University, both of them losing 6 of this year's starting lineup. That will hurt TKU for sure, but AGU coach Susumu Hara is so good at developing depth that in a lot of cases he can fill the gaps with other people already on the team. And he still has Asahi Kuroda.
This season's Izumo Ekiden and National University Ekiden winner Koku Gakuin is losing 3 members, pretty much the average in the top 10, but 2 of them are its best people, 2:06:18 marathoner Kiyoto Hirabayashi and 1:00:43 half marathoner Ayumu Yamamoto. That's probably enough to bump KGU out of top 5 contention.
The runner-up at all three big ekidens this season, Komazawa is only losing its 2nd runner Shinohara. That is a big loss to be sure, but with good runs from multiple 1st and 2nd-year students at Hakone this time and Sato in line to fill Shinohara's place Komazawa looks to be in the best position out of this year's top 10. Waseda could be a top 3 contender next year too, losing 4 to graduation but retaining most of its key people and set to pick up 2 of the best incoming high school students in Japan.
© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
Comments
I think its amazing and proof of the good development seeing that after recent top talents going corporate there are still guys growing up and keeping the level high.
2nd stage being the greatest exemple of that.
Like you said in terms of teams Komazawa now has a clear advantage for 2026: AGU losing Ota, Wakabayashi and Nomura means losing not just their top runners buy the 5th/6th sections record holders and 3rd/4th state all time japanese runner. Hard with Komazawa soclose.
Koku likely wasnt ready, i agree that Waseda can grow up big again and Chuo got back on the right track.
No idea what happened to Daito finishing 30 minutes behind.
Was good seeing yoshioka running well after struggling mightily.