Following a bear attack that critically injured an area man on Nov. 2, this week the Kansai Collegiate Athletics Association announced measures that will be taken if a bear appears on the course at Saturday's Tango University Ekiden, the 87th Kansai Region university men's ekiden championships. 22 collegiate teams from the Kansai region are scheduled to compete, along with 2025 Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University in a special guest appearance.
If a bear sighting is confirmed near the 1st leg of the race before the start, the race will be delayed until it is determined safe to start. If a bear appears along any section of the course during the race, that leg of the ekiden will be stopped and the next stage's runners will all start at the same time. In that scenario the winner will be determined by adding up the performances on completed legs and disallowing the stopped sections.
Translator's note: Assuming the race goes ahead as scheduled, streaming will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday Japan time with the race starting at 8:50.
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translated and edited by Brett Larner
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