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100 Teams Run 50th Anniversary Mt. Fuji Ekiden


Running from the foot of Mount Fuji to its peak and back on the Gotemba route, the 50th anniversary Mt. Fuji Ekiden took place Aug. 3 in Gotemba, Shizuoka. A total of 100 teams in the combined SDF base and independent divisions competed to show what they could do in what is called the toughest race in Japan.

Starting and finishing at Gotemba Field, the 48.19 km race is divided into 11 legs, with each team fielding 6 runners. Each runner handles one uphill and one downhill leg, with the 6th runner doing a non-stop run up the final section to the peak and back. Following a flyover by jets from the SDF Iruma Base in honor of the race's 50th running, mayor Masami Katsumata and local influencer Nano Nae fired the starting gun to get the race underway.

The turnaround point at the peak of Mount Fuji is 3199 m above Gotemba field. A temperature difference of 20˚ adds to the challenge for athletes trying to make the next exchange zone. Most teams put their best runner on the uphill 5th and downhill 7th legs, which have an elevation difference of over 1000 m and sandy, rocky terrain.

The local Gotemba Takigahara SDF Base won the SDF division race for the 9th year in a row, with last year's independent division runner-up Toyota Sportsman Club winning the independent title by just 24 seconds over 2024 winner Heisei Sangakukai. Individual stage winners who repeated their stage wins from last year included Yuya Asaka, Satoshi Nakamitsu, Toru Miyahara, Seiya Okimoto and Shogo Yokoi.

50th Mount Fuji Ekiden

Gotemba, Shizuoka, 3 Aug. 2025
100 teams, 48.19 km, 11 legs

Top Individual Stage Results
First Stage (6.54 km, 243 m gain)
Yuya Asaka (2nd Infantry Regiment) - 20:54 (3:12/km)

Second Stage (4.64 km, 345 m gain)
Hiroaki Yajiima (Gotemba Takigahara SDF Base) - 19:10 (4:08/km)

Third Stage (4.54 km, 371 m gain)
Satoshi Nakamitsu (Nerima 1st Infantry Regiment) - 19:54 (4:23/km)
Hiroaki Matsumoto (Hachioji Fujimori RC) - 19:54 (4:23/km)

Fourth Stage (2.84 km, 664 m gain)
Aki Inui (Team Kibidango) - 27:06 (9:33/km)

Fifth Stage (4.24 km, 1017 m gain)
Toru Miyahara (Gotemba Takigahara SDF Base) - 45:36 (10:45/km)

Sixth Stage (4.92 km, 618 m gain to summit, 618 loss)
Shotaro Nemoto (1st Airborne Brigade) - 41:13 (8:23/km)

Seventh Stage (3.66 km, 1017 m loss)
Tomoki Ito (Sapporo 18th Infantry Regiment) - 8:21 (2:17/km)

Eighth Stage (2.59 km, 664 m loss)
Seiya Okimoto (Hachioji Fujimori RC) - 6:37 (2:33/km)

Ninth Stage (4.44 km, 371 m loss)
Hitoshi Okuhira (Kokubun SDF Base) - 11:41 (2:38/km)

Tenth Stage (4.64 km, 345 loss)
Ryota Matsui (Team Kibidango) - 12:03 (2:36/km)

Eleventh Stage (4.88 km, 184 m loss)
Shogo Yokoi (Akagi Climbers) - 15:26 (3:10/km)

Top Team Results
1. Gotemba Takigahara SDF Base - 3:55:07
2. 1st Airborne Brigade - 3:58:45
3. Rumoi SDF Base - 4:03:13
4. Toyota Sportsman Club - 4:04:53
5. Heisei Sangakukai - 4:05:17
6. Nerima 1st Infantry Regiment - 4:06:13
7. Team Kibidango - 4:09:06
8. Sapporo 18th Infantry Regiment - 4:10:12
9. 2nd Infantry Regiment - 4:10:19
10. Hachioji Fujimori RC - 4:12:48

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Comments

TokyoRacer said…
How tough is this race? A team of 6 foreigners from the Namban Rengo (Barbarian Horde) running club, all good runners (about 33min 10K), who had run the race before so knew what to expect, finished 31st. A result they were happy with.
August 6, 2025 at 7:27 AM
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