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New Okukuma Women's Ekiden to be Held in March, 2026

Representatives from the towns of Taragi, Yunomae, Asagiri and Mizukami met with the Kumamoto Track and Field Association last week to finalize plans for a new Okukuma Women's Ekiden to be held for the first time on Mar. 15 next year. The new event will have two divisions, one for high school teams and one for collegiate and corporate league teams, with both divisions racing 16 km in 5 legs. Applications will be open from Dec. 1 through Feb. 6 next year.

The area launched the Okukuma Ekiden for men in 2022, and since then participating teams have called for a women's event to be added. The women's race will be held in March because at that point in the season there are typically a lot of college and corporate league teams doing training camps nearby in Miyazaki, which organizers think will make it easier to assemble a good field.

The course is planned to start in front of Asagiri Station and follow Route 219 to a turnaround point in Mizukami before finishing in front of Yunomae Station. Individual stages will be relatively short because the event will come at a point in the season where people are transitioning from road running to the track. Organizers hope for a field of 35 teams in the high school division and 15 in the university and corporate league division.

Overseeing the official inauguration of the race organizing committee at Asagiri Town Hall, Yumae mayor and committee chair Kazuto Hase commented, "We want this to be a race that will contribute to raising the level of our nation's female distance runners and help them grow into internationally competitive athletes."

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translated by Brett Larner

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