Happy new year, everyone!
I would like to write about Japanese traditional event at the beginning of January. It is Hakone Ekiden. Ekiden means a long-distance relay road race and every runner has to run more than 20 km on average in Hakone. Male university students have the qualification to run there, which has been obtained by excellent universities. These universities have an Ekiden team of at least 14 fast runners who run 1km within 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
This event originated in 1920 and commemorated 90th race this year. It has a long history and has generated innumerable touching dramas.
This year, Toyo University won its fourth title with the second best time in the history of the race.
Many pairs of brothers ran the race, including twin brothers. There were four pairs of twin brothers and several pairs of brothers this year. The twin pair of Toyo University are very famous as they both are really fast. The twin mostly contributed to the victory.
But, Ekiden recently has tended to be faster and faster than ever. As a result, it has become harder for many other universities to keep up with strong teams such as Toyo University.
This is Kazu,
ReplyDeleteI did not have chance to watch Ekiden this year, but Ekiden always make me feel touched and pushes me to be positive on whatever I am doing.
I also watched the race and was interested in the slogan of Toyo University "Cut a second" written on each runner's arm. Moreover, three interval winners of the 7th, 8th and 10th contributed to their victory. I always agree with the strategy of the supervisor who leads the team to get victory. Thank you Minori, I think Ekiden race depends on the spirit as well as the flesh of the runners. Ryuko
ReplyDeleteHi, this is Ms. MacGregor. Are you a runner? I wonder how many people participate in this event and how long the run is. I often see people in my neighbourhood running and training. I wonder if any of them participate in marathons in Japan. I heard that the biggest marathon event in Japan (or in the world?) is the Tokyo marathon. However, I think that hakone marathon focuses on university teams while the Tokyo marathon is a general event for anyone. Is that correct?
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