University men's ekiden season got started with the Izumo Ekiden two weeks ago and last weekend's Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai qualifying race. This week it's the first national-level university women's ekiden of the season, the Morinomiyako Ekiden in Sendai. Because of Hakone's popularity and Tokyo's massive size the Kanto Region dominates men's running to the point that it's almost impossible for a university from any other part of the country to beat even a single Kanto team at Izumo or next month's National University Men's Ekiden. Not so at Morinomiyako or December's Mt. Fuji University Women's Ekiden.
The Kanto Region still has the biggest share of the field, with 11 of the 26 teams in the field this year based in Kanto. But it doesn't dominate the same way it does for collegiate men. There's almost always a Kanto Region team in the top 3, and it's almost always last year's 2nd-placer Daito Bunka University, but a Kanto team hasn't won the Morinomiyako national title since 2002 when Tsukuba University did it around the time this year's 4th-years were born.
The Kansai Region's Ritsumeikan University broke Kanto's control at the national level with a win in 2003, the first of 11 Morinomiyako wins since then including 5-straight titles from 2011 to 2015. The Tokai Region's Meijo University replaced Ritsumeikan as the dominant force in 2016, winning 7-straight years before Ritsumeikan came to the top again last year with a 2:03:03 CR for the 6-stage, 38.0 km race, 3:14.3/km pace. Daito Bunka was 6th in the 7 years of Meijo's dynasty, and again behind Ritsumeikan. 1998 and 2000 winner Josai University, coming back up in strength the last few years, was 3rd, knocking Meijo down to 4th, its lowest placing since 2015.
Ritsumeikan returns 4 of the 6 members of last year's winning team. All 4, Sayuki Ota, Yumi Yamamoto, Chiseno Ikeda and Makoto Tsuchiya, ran September's Kansai Region qualifying race with the addition of 4th-years Yu Muramatsu and Reina Sotoma, but over the 2nd half of the race they were run down by Osaka Gakuin University and Kansai University, OGU winning in 2:01:32 for the 36.2 km race, 3:21.4/km pace, with Kansai 2:02:56 for 2nd and Ritsumeikan only 3rd in 2:03:07.
In contrast, 2024 Morinomiyako runner-up Daito Bunka killed it at the Kanto Region qualifying race, setting a CR 1:50:05 for 34.4 km, 3:12.0/km pace, with only 3 members of last year's team, Mana Aiba, Sarah Wanjiru, and Akie Hirao. None of the other members of last year's team have graduated, and 2 of the remaining spots on its Kanto team were filled by 1st-years who broke their stage's CR, Yuna Naruse with a 13:26 for the 4.3 km 1st leg and Rinon Akitake with a 23:37 for the 7.3 km 5th leg. Wanjiru has been so dominant at DBU that it's easy to forget she's only a 3rd-year, but she crushed the CR at Kanto too with a 26:43 for the 8.6 km 3rd leg.
Josai also broke the CR at Kanto in 1:51:21 for 2nd, with 4 of its 6 runners breaking the CR on their stages. But although it didn't lose anyone from last year's team to graduation it looked to be a little short of a full team that could compete with DBU. Already seeded for Morinomiyako, Meijo sat out the Tokai Region qualifying race, making it a little harder to read. Only anchor Nanase Tanimoto graduated, and that's a big loss, and 1st-year Mei Hosomi made a splash with a 2nd-place finish behind Wanjiru in the 10000 m at June's National University Track and Field Championships, so there's reason to be optimistic for a return.
But based on how things look right now, with depth at quality DBU looks to be in the best position it's ever been in to take its first national title. Peaking is the big question. Did Ritsumeikan coast through the Kansai Region race with an eye to being at full strength a month later at Morinomiyako, and can DBU keep up the momentum? NTV has the live broadcast starting at 11:45 Sunday local time, with official streaming on TVer and Hulu.
Morinomiyako Ekiden Entry List
43rd National University Women's Ekiden
Sendai, Miyagi, 26 Oct. 2025
26 teams, 6 stages, 38.0 km
1. Ritsumeikan University (Kansai Region)
2. Daito Bunka University (Kanto Region)
3. Josai University (Kanto Region)
4. Meijo University (Tokai Region)
5. Tohoku Fukushi University (Tohoku Region)
6. Osaka Gakuin University (Kansai Region)
7. Takushoku University (Kanto Region)
8. Tsukuba University (Kanto Region)
9. Hokkaido University (Hokkaido Region)
10. Sendai University (Tohoku Region)
11. Teikyo Kagaku University (Kanto Region)
12. Tamagawa University (Kanto Region)
13. Chuo University (Kanto Region)
14. Juntendo University (Kanto Region)
15. Nittai University (Kanto Region)
16. Surugadai University (Kanto Region)
17. Niigata Iryo Fukushi University (Hokushinetsu Region)
18. Chukyo Gakuin University (Tokai Region)
19. Kansai University (Kansai Region)
20. Kansai Gaikokugo University (Kansai Region)
21. Kantaiheiyo University (Chugoku/Shikoku Region)
22. Fukuoka University (Kyushu Region)
23. Toyo University (Kanto Region)
24. Kyoto Sangyo University (Kansai Region)
25. Osaka Geijutsu University (Kansai Region)
26. Tohoku Region Select Team (Tohoku Region)
© 2025 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
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