Skip to main content

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

source article:

Labels:

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
Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Nagoya Asian Games Test Event Canceled After Insulation Falls From Venue Ceiling

A section of insulation material fell from the ceiling of Nagoya Kinjo Futo Arena, the official venue for squash competition at September's Nagoya Asian Games. There were no injuries, but the city suspended use of the arena until its safety could be guaranteed, resulting in the cancelation of the Asian Games squash test event which was scheduled to have begun on May 14. It is not yet clear whether the arena will be usable for the Asian Games as planned. According to city officials, arena staff found that the insulation material had fallen onto a work walkway 13 m above the ground on the night of May 11. The fallen material was 3.6 m long, 50 cm wide and 2.5 km thick, and was found to be waterlogged. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is possible that it was caused by rainwater leaking in from the roof. The same insulation material is installed across the entire ceiling, and the city plans to check for the extent of the possible flooding. Asked whether the arena will be re...
1 comment
Read more

Australian Male Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges After Entering Japan for Osaka Marathon

On Apr. 9 the Kinki Region Bureau of Health, Labor and Welfare's Drug Control Division arrested Matthew Inglis Fox , 38, an Australian business owner of no known fixed address, on charges of violating the importation regulations of the Narcotics Control Act by smuggling tablets containing marijuana elements from the United States. The suspect had entered Japan in February to run in the Osaka Marathon . The suspect was arrested on suspicion of smuggling approximately 12 pills containing marijuana by sending them from a U.S. airport to Osaka's Kansai Airport using an international courier service on Feb. 19. The Osaka branch of the Customs Service discovered the tablets in arriving cargo and suspected them to be narcotics. Customs contacted the Narcotics Control Division, which then began its investigation of the case. According to the Narcotics Control Division, the suspect denies the charges.  Translator's note: Fox, who received a lifetime ban from the Ageo City Half Mara...
41 comments
Read more

Chisato Fukushima Selected as First Women`s 100 m Olympian in 56 Years

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080706-00000027-yom-spo http://www.47news.jp/CN/200807/CN2008070601000467.html translated and edited by Brett Larner On July 6 Rikuren announced that it has added women`s 100 m runner Chisato Fukushima (20, Hokkaido HiTec AC) to the Beijing Olympic team. Fukushima will become the first Japanese woman to compete in the Olympic 100 m since Ayako Yoshikawa ran in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Fukushima broke the Olympic B-standard of 11.42 with her national record-tying 11.36 mark at April`s Oda Memorial Meet. Although she won June`s National Track and Field Championships, Fukushima was not initially selected for the team as she did not meet the Olympic A-standard. In light of her victory at today`s Nambu Memorial Meet in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Rikuren reversed its decision and added her to the Olympic team lineup. Fukushima reacted to the news of her Beijing ticket by saying, "It hasn`t really hit me that it`s real yet. I would be honored to be the tri...
Post a Comment
Read more