On June 19 the KGRR, organizers of the Hakone Ekiden, published a press release on the new criteria for making the Kanto Region Student Alliance select team for the prestigious race. The new process will assign a single place on the team to 10 different universities, with an additional 6 spots for individuals.
The Kanto Region Student Alliance team is intended to broaden the opportunities for schools to participate in Hakone, making it possible for traditionally strong schools that failed to qualify to still be represented and for new programs to be able to take part for the first time. It was first created in 2003 for the 79th Hakone Ekiden under the name Kanto Region Select Team. From 2007 to 2013 its team results counted in overall placing, but after being eliminated in 2014 it was brought back a year later in a non-scoring capacity under its new name and has been a part of the event ever since with the exception of Hakone's 100th running in 2024.
Nomination to the Student Alliance team in the past has been based on results at October's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying half marathon. The top-placing individuals at the Yosenkai from schools that failed to qualify as a team would be named to the 16-man Student Alliance team, with a maximum of one runner per school. Any runner who had previously competed in the Hakone Ekiden, either for their own school or for the Student Alliance, was not eligible.
The new nomination procedure allow the top 10 schools that failed to qualify, in other words the 11th to 20th-place teams at the Yosenkai, to nominate one athlete from their lineup, with an additional 6 spots going to individuals from teams that placed 21st or below. The nominated athletes are now allowed to have previously competed in Hakone a maximum of once, whether for their school or the Student Alliance.
The KGRR explained its motivation in making the change as an effort to increase the motivation of teams on the cusp of qualifying to work as a whole, while maintaining 6 spots for talented individuals at very low-ranked programs. It said the increase in the number of times athletes may participate was intended to encourage the benefits of gaining experience on athletes' development.
This year's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai will take place at 8:30 a.m. on October 18. The 102nd Hakone Ekiden starts at 8:00 a.m. on both Jan. 2 and 3.
Translator's note: Although the 20 teams that qualify are allowed to run 1 non-Japanese athlete in the Hakone Ekiden, non-Japanese athletes have been excluded from nomination to the Select Team.
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translated by Brett Larner
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