18 March 2024
Intercollegiate Mixed Ekiden Championship 2024
On February 18th I was at Nagai Park in Osaka, where a course had been specially prepared for an intercollegiate running competition. The event was the 4th Intercollegiate Mixed Ekiden Championship and National East/West Universities Match. In this relay race, men and women take turns running a six-leg course made up of 3 km, 2 km, and 5 km sections. Sumitomo Electric has been a proud sponsor of this event since 2021, when it was established as the first mixed-gender race in Japan for university runners.
This year, the weather was much nicer for the runners than it had been the past two years – not rainy, but instead sunny and warm enough to work up a sweat. The first leg was an intense sprint by the male runners. The University of Tokyo led the race after 2.2 km, but then the other runners charged from behind with about 500 meters remaining. The lead subsequently changed hands from one team to another, with Toyo University and Nippon Sports Science University doing well in the second leg and then Kyoto Sangyo University leading the pack after the third. All along, Juntendo University was steadily moving up and getting into a better position. The eventual champions saved their best for last, setting a new record for the sixth leg and a new record for race overall.
The intensity of the competition made my palms sweat but it was truly a joy to be there. I wish to thank all the runners who came from near and far and who made this year’s race such an exciting event. My thanks also to everyone who came to cheer on the athletes and to the secretariat who organized this successful event.
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