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

National University Championships Entry Lists and Streaming

The 95th National University Track and Field Championships run Friday through Monday at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The complete meet schedule and live results are here . The 10000 m races were already held separately earlier this season. Streaming starts at 9:00 a.m. Saturday Japan time, with separate field event channels and Day 2 and 3 streaming here . Top entries in each event with best performance in the qualifying window: Men 100 m Shoma Yamamoto (Hiroshima Univ.) - 10.04 Fukuto Komuro (Chuo Univ.) - 10.07 Naoki Nishioka (Tsukuba Univ.) - 10.09 Riku Oishi (Toyo Univ.) - 10.13 Kaito Kuroki (Chuo Univ.) - 10.14 Ryunosuke Mizuno (Waseda Univ.) - 10.14 Yugo Haitamataira (Juntendo Univ.) - 10.17 Shun Miyashita (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 10.19 200 m Akira Hayashi (Keio Univ.) - 20.36 Tomoru Funaki (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 20.39 Oma Asai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 20.47 Reishin Yamamoto (Toyo Univ.) - 20.49 Shingo Suzuki (Tokai Univ.) - 20.54 Haruto Nakamura (Fukuoka Univ.) - 20.55 400 m Shinya Hayashi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yuasa and Niiya Win Hokkaido Marathon, 6 Qualify for Olympic Trials

  Six more people picked up qualifying spots for next year's MGC Race at yesterday's Hokkaido Marathon in Sapporo, guaranteeing themselves places at Japan's 2028 Los Angeles Olympics marathon trials. In the men's race, Hibiki Yoshida tried to break away from the massive lead group at 30 km, opening a 25-second lead between there and 35 km before getting cut down by the chase trio of Jin Yuasa , Ken Tansho and Masato Arao . All three stayed together until the very end, Yuasa showing the same kind of closing speed he had in winning 2025 Nobeoka Nishi Nippon Marathon and pulling away to win in 2:10:46. The debuting Tansho was next in 2:10:55, with Arao, 6th at last year's Sydney Marathon in an excellent 2:07:42, 3rd here in 2:10:59. By clearing 2:12:00 all three picked up MGC qualifying spots, freeing them up to go overseas next spring. Continuing a great season, Soka University 's Shoki Yamaguchi was 4th in 2:11:47, missing out on trials qualification but bea...
1 comment
Read more

Monterey Welcomes Student-Athletes from Sister City Nanao, Japan

a press release by the Monterey-Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project photos here Fourteen student-athletes from Nanao High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, recently completed a weeklong visit to the Monterey Peninsula as part of the Monterey–Nanao Cross Country Exchange Project , bringing together young people from the two Sister Cities through running, education, environmental stewardship, cultural exchange, and friendship. The seven boys and seven girls from Nanao were paired with 14 members of the Monterey High School cross country team and stayed in their homes throughout the visit. The week marked the first half of a reciprocal exchange that will continue when the Monterey students travel to Nanao later this year. The visitors received their first introduction to Monterey shortly after arriving at Monterey High School, walking with their hosts to Sister City Park and gathering for photographs beside the sign honoring Nanao — a fitting beginning for a week devoted to bringin...
Post a Comment
Read more