Chuo Gakuin and Kipyegon Take Hakone Ekiden Qualifying Race Wins

With the best half marathon credentials in the field of 42 Kanto Region university teams, 11 runners with half marathon bests under 64 minutes, Chuo Gakuin University took the top spot at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai half marathon, the official qualifying race for January's 102nd Hakone Ekiden. With a 1:00:45 best Hiro Konda let the way for CGU as the top Japanese finisher in the race, running 1:02:04 for 7th overall. Taisei Ichikawa was next at 18th in 1:02:16 and Kotaro Osabe next in 1:02:57 for 38th, and CGU's other 7 scoring members all came through with a good run to give CGU the win in a combined time of 10:32:23, a 10-man average of 1:03:14.30.

That was a bit on the slow side given the excellent conditions which were thanks in part to the race starting an hour earlier this year. An all-African lead group took it out hard, splitting 14:25 and 28:43 at 5 km and 10 km. The projected finish time was 1:00:35 at that point, in range of the best Japanese athletes in the filed like Konda, but everyone hung back through conservative splits of 14:57 and 29:41.

Things went bigger over the second half at the front ends of both packs. Up front, Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) and Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) broke away after 15 km, Kipyegon throwing it down over the last km to win in a 1:00:16 PB with Kipkemei 15 seconds back in 2nd. Joseph Muigai (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) ran down Raphael Longisa (Takushoku Univ.) over the final 500 m for 3rd, 1:00:52 to 1:00:58.

In the 2nd pack people likewise got to work after 15 km, Konda, Ryuto Hirashima (Nittai Univ.), Hiroya Abe (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.), Kazuma Maeda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) and others pushing each other harder and harder as they started to run down people falling off the lead group. Konda outkicked Hirashima, Abe and Biniam Tesfay (Musashino Gakuin Univ.9 over the last km to take 7th in 1:02:04, with all 3 of the others within 5 seconds of him.

Given the slow pace in the Japanese pack for the first 3/4 of the race, density was high at the finish line. Apart from the top 4 who all went under 61 minutes only one other runner, Patrick Kamau (Jobu Univ.) was under 62 in 1:01:10 for 5th. But 38 people were sub-63, and the depth was incredible beyond that:

1st: 1:00:16

10th: 1:02:09

25th: 1:02:34

50th: 1:03:12

75th: 1:03:28

100th: 1:03:50

150th: 1:04:19

200th: 1:04:47

250th: 1:05:27

300th: 1:06:09

With that kind of depth, team scores in the battle to make the Hakone cut were going to be close. One of the other favorites for the overall win, Juntendo University finished only 12 seconds behind CGU in 10:32:35, with Yamanashi Gakuin University riding Kipyegon's momentum despite a lack of the same kind of half marathon credentials other top teams held to take a close 3rd in 10:32:44. The other favorite, Nihon University was a close 4th in 10:32:57. In other words, only 34 seconds separated the top 4 teams, 3.4 seconds per runner over the half marathon.

4th-ranked Tokai University was 5th in 10:34:07, with #12-ranked Tokyo Nogyo University having a fantastic day with 4 men under 63 minutes, more than any other team, including a great comeback from 10000 m U20 NR holder Kazuma Maeda, to take 6th in 10:34:59. #10-ranked Kanagawa University also had a good day at 7th in 10:36:07, #6-ranked Daito Bunka University underperforming a bit at 8th in 10:36:12 and #8-ranked Nittai University just off at 9th in 10:36:14. Razor-thin margins considering the distance and number of runners included in those scores.

The announcement of the last team to qualify for Hakone in 10th is one of the most dramatic in the sport, and this year's really paid off as #15-ranked Rikkyo University came through despite the absence of its best runner Kento Baba to take 10th in 10:36:56. Hakone regular Hosei University couldn't beat its ranking of 11th, finishing an agonizing 17 seconds back from Rikkyo in 10:37:13. Razor-thin margins.

The success of Tokyo Nogyo and Rikkyo meant 2 higher-ranked teams got bumped out of the qualifying bracket. #7-ranked Surugadai University couldn't survive the departure of head coach Kazuyoshi Tokumoto this year, finishing only 15th despite a great lineup with 9 sub-64 minute half marathoners. #9 ranked Meiji University has struggled to execute up to its abilities on paper for years, and this time was no exception as it ended up 12th, well out of qualification range at over 1:30 behind Hosei. Further back, Boei University was a rare DNF after 2 of its runners, Shion Kamada and Nao Ota, failed to finish.

Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai Half Marathon

qualifying race for 102nd Hakone Ekiden

team scores are cumulative times of top 10 finishers

top 10 teams qualify for Hakone

complete team results

complete individual results

Top Team Results

1. Chuo Gakuin University - 10:32:23

2. Juntendo University - 10:32:35

3. Yamanashi Gakuin University - 10:32:44

4. Nihon University - 10:32:57

5. Tokai University - 10:34:07

6. Tokyo Nogyo University - 10:34:59

7. Kanagawa University - 10:36:07

8. Daito Bunka University - 10:36:12

9. Nittai University - 10:36:14

10. Rikkyo University - 10:36:56

-----

11. Hosei University - 10:37:13

12. Meiji University - 10:38:54

13. Senshu University - 10:39:06

14. Nihon Yakka University - 10:40:25

15. Surugadai University - 10:40:42

-----

DNF - Boei University

Top Individual Results

1. Brian Kipyegon (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:00:16 - PB

2. Shadrack Kipkemei (Nihon Univ.) - 1:00:31

3. Joseph Muigai (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) - 1:00:52 - PB

4. Raphael Longisa (Takushoku Univ.) - 1:00:58 - PB

5. Patrick Kamau (Jobu Univ.) - 1:01:10 - PB

6. Stephen Lemayian (Surugadai Univ.) - 1:02:04

7. Hiro Konda (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:04

8. Ryuto Hirashima (Nittai Univ.) - 1:02:06

9. Biniam Tesfay Zeratsi (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:08 - PB

10. Hiroya Abe (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:09 - PB

11. Hisaya Hanaoka (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:10

12. Takuma Akiyoshi (Tokyo Univ.) - 1:02:12

13. Brian Kiptoo (Reitaku Univ.) - 1:02:12

14. Kazuma Maeda (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:02:12

15. Kio Furuhashi (Surugadai Univ.) - 1:02:13 - PB

16. Shunsuke Tajima (Nittai Univ.) - 1:02:15

17. Dennis Kipruto (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:02:16

18. Taisei Ichikawa (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:16

19. So Kawasaki (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1:02:20 - PB

20. Sota Harada (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:02:20 - PB

21. Koki Kurimoto (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:02:21 - PB

22. Shu Nagamoto (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:23 - PB

23. Kihiro Irihama (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:02:23

24. Akito Wada (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:32

25. Judah Hyodo (Tokai Univ.) - 1:02:34 - PB

26. Hiroto Yoshioka (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:02:34

27. Yosuke Harada (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:02:35

28. Mahiro Nakazawa (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:02:35

29. Akito Noda (Hosei Univ.) - 1:02:36

30. Yu Fukahori (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) - 1:02:38 - PB

31. Yuto Kobayashi (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:02:46 - PB

32. Fumiya Oshima (Hosei Univ.) - 1:02:49 - PB

33. Hiroto Kuniyasu (Rikkyo Univ.) - 1:02:49

34. Haruto Miyamoto (Kanagawa Univ.) - 1:02:50

35. Tomoya Inoue (Juntendo Univ.) - 1:02:50 - debut

36. Yuki Someya (Nihon Yakka Univ.) - 1:02:54 - PB

37. Duncan Maina (Senshu Univ.) - 1:02:54

38. Kotaro Osabe (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) - 1:02:57 - PB

39. Kazura Munakata (Daito Bunka Univ.) - 1:03:00

-----

50. Tomohiro Arai (Senshu Univ.) - 1:03:12 - PB

100. Shoma Tabara (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.) - 1:03:50 - PB

116. Shota Hashimoto (Rissho Univ.) - 1:04:00

150. Yuta Yamasaki (Reitaku Univ.) - 1:04:19

200. Jusema Yamanaka (Kokushikan Univ.) - 1:04:47

216. Kosuke Takaku (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1:05:00

250. Hanamichi Horiguchi (Tsukuba Univ.) - 1:05:27

286. Atsuki Nawa (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) - 1:06:00

300. Yuki Sato (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 1:06:09

350. Anri Murakami (Seiwa Univ.) - 1:06:58

351. Shoma Mori (Tokyo Univ.) - 1:07:00

378. Keishiro Mori (Musashino Gakuin Univ.) - 1:08:06

400. Haruki Adachi (Rissho Univ.) - 1:08:58

417. Wataru Shimada (Keio Univ.) - 1:10:04

431. Kazuma Hayakawa (Seiwa Univ.) - 1:11:04

445. Rento Mamada (Chiba Univ.) - 1:12:02

450. Haru Yamamoto (Saitama Univ.) - 1:12:11

462. Taichi Kodaira (Chiba Univ.) - 1:13:17

470. Daigo Nishimoto (Saitama Univ.) - 1:14:00

483. Shuya Otsuki (Tokyo Univ.) - 1:15:01

490. Rikuto Yoshida (Hitotsubashi Univ.) - 1:16:35

492. Koki Tamura (Saitama Univ.) - 1:17:04

493. Hiu Tsuchiya (Saitama Univ.) - 1:19:20

494. Atataka Yanai (Chiba Univ.) - 1:20:16

495. Ryuta Matsushita (Boei Univ.) - 1:22:16

-----

DNF - Rikuto Yasuda (Keio Univ.)

DNF - Jeremiah Kamau (Rissho Univ.)

DNF - Shion Kamada (Boei Univ.)

DNF - Nao Oto (Boei Univ.)

2026 Hakone Ekiden Field

Tokyo-Hakone-Tokyo, 2-3 Jan. 2026

Aoyama Gakuin University

Komazawa University

Koku Gakuin University

Waseda University

Chuo University

Josai University

Soka University

Tokyo Kokusai University

Toyo University

Teikyo University

Chuo Gakuin University

Juntendo University

Yamanashi Gakuin University

Nihon University

Tokai University

Tokyo Nogyo University

Kanagawa University

Daito Bunka University

Nittai University

Rikkyo University

Kanto Region Student Alliance University

Osako Breaks Marathon NR for 3rd Time - Weekend Roundup

It looked like it was going to be a big weekend, and it delivered. For the 3rd time in his career Suguru Osako broke the men's marathon NR, running 1 second under the standing record to take 4th in the Valencia Marathon in 2:04:55. All the way to 40 km he was steady on 2:58/km, 2:05:10 pace, and like a surprising number of other people in both the men's and women's races, there was a massive jump over the last 2.195 km from his projected finish time to his actual one. His run put Osako back on top of the Japanese charts, put the average of Japan's 10 fastest marathon times of the year under 2:06 for the first time, and got him into the L.A. Olympics marathon trials. Valencia has been trying to get top-tier Japanese athletes to come for years, and now that they finally managed to do it it paid off in a big way. Expect more next year. Back home, former Takushoku University captain Derese Workneh won a 3-way race against Toyota teammates Kazuya Nishiyama and Bedan Ka...

CK said…

Having slated the TBS presentation of the World Champs last month it was revitalising to watch Nippon TV's superb coverage of this race, complete with a couple of relevant and timely recent background stories for more casual viewers. The camera team were impeccable (as we've come to expect in Japan). Incredible live screen updates of data/team 10th runner relative position/"current" (at splits) team position/split team time updates at 5, 10, 15 and 17.4km. Camera team for reaction to results announcements in the right place every time with correct camera selected instantaneously by coordinator. Even time between race finish to results announcements filled with appropriate mini-documentaries from a few genuine Hakone contender universities.
Of course all of the above was so much more enjoyable after digesting JRN's excellent race preview with data from a week ago. (Thanks as ever Brett for the work that you put into these analyses.)
For any overseas enthusiast who didn't or couldn't watch but who is perhaps surprised to read about such attention to detail in the coverage of a mere (?) Hakone Qualifying Race, please please please figure out how to get a stream for the Ekiden in January.
(And drink a few cans of Sapporo Beer from time to time because they help to make it all possible every year.)

October 18, 2025 at 11:56 PM

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