I want to talk about Hakone Ekiden. The Hakone Ekiden is a historic relay race that began in 1920.The first tournament started with four schools Waseda University, Keio University, Meiji University, and University of Tsukuba.Since then, the number of participating universities has increased over the course of the program.This year marks the 101st time the event has been held. The preliminary rounds ended on October 19th, and the finals will begin in the lead-up to the New Year.
Next, let’s talk about the course. The course for this race starts in front of the Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo headquarters in Otemachi, Tokyo, and finish at Lake Ashi in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, covering a total of 217.1 km over 10 sections on both the outbound and return routes. Next,We will introduce the participating universities and the universities that have made it through the preliminary rounds.
The ten universities that participate almost every year
- Aoyama Gakuin University
- Komazawa University
- Josai University,
- Toyo University,
- Kokugakuin University,
- Hosei University,
- Waseda University,
- Soka University,
- Teikyo University, and
- Daito Bunka University
These are the well-known and leading universities in the tournament.
Other universities include:
- Rikkyo University (30th time in 3 consecutive years),
- Senshu University (72nd time in 2 consecutive years),
- Yamanashi Gakuin University (38th time in 5 consecutive years),
- Nippon Sport Science University (77th time in 77 consecutive years),
- Chuo Gakuin University (24th time in 2 consecutive years),
- Chuo University (98th time in 8 consecutive years),
- Nihon University (91st time in 2 consecutive years),
- Tokyo International University (8th time in 2 consecutive years),
- Kanagawa University (55th time in 2 consecutive years),
- Juntendo University (66th time in 14 consecutive years)
These 10 schools are the ones who survived the fierce preliminary round. Many schools competed for the qualification to participate in the preliminary round. Among them, Juntendo University, which advanced in 10th place, and Tokyo University of Agriculture, which advanced in 11th place, were in a very decisive battle. Just a difference of 1 second near the finish line decided whether they could participate or not.
Many schools competed for the qualification to participate in the preliminary round. Among them, Juntendo University, which advanced in 10th place, and Tokyo University of Agriculture, which advanced in 11th place, were in a very decisive battle. Just a difference of 1 second near the finish line decided whether they could participate or not.
