<102nd Hakone Ekiden> Soka University Ekiden Team places 8th overall, earning seed rights for the 7th consecutive year - Koike wins the 6th section!
On Saturday, January 3rd, the 102nd Hakone Ekiden (Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race) was held over the five return legs (109.6 km from Hakone-machi, Kanagawa to Otemachi, Tokyo), and our university's Ekiden Club placed 8th overall (8th on the outbound leg, 13th on the return leg), earning them a seed position for the seventh consecutive year.
Soka University, which placed 8th on the first leg, started the return leg 5 minutes and 54 seconds after Aoyama Gakuin University, which placed 1st on the first leg. Riki Koike (3rd year), who ran the 6th downhill leg, ran powerfully through the Hakone mountains from the beginning, and won the leg prize with a run that was just one second off the leg record. Junna Ishimaru (4th year), who ran the 7th leg, ran hard until the end on the final Hakone course, and maintained 17th place on the leg and 8th place overall, arriving at the Hiratsuka relay station.
Yuta Kinugawa (1st year), who took the sash for the 8th section, ran alone and confidently across his first Hakone course, finishing 11th in his section and 8th overall, before handing the sash over to Rintaro Enoki (3rd year) for the 9th section. Enoki, making his Hakone debut, turned the cheers from the roadside into strength and ran tenaciously, reaching the Tsurumi relay station in 18th place in his section and 8th place overall. Anchor runner Haruka Saito (3rd year), who ran the 10th section, put the hopes of the entire team into his sash and ran towards the finish line in Otemachi, determined to improve his position even by one place, crossing the finish line in 17th place in his section and 8th place overall.
The entire team of our university's relay team passed the sash to each other and ran the 217.1 km round trip in a time of 10 hours, 51 minutes and 40 seconds, the best time ever recorded by the team.
Looking back on the tournament, coach Enoki Kazutaka said, "Thank you to everyone who came out early in the morning on the 2nd and 3rd of the New Year, despite the cold, to line the roadside, and to cheer on the athletes enthusiastically in front of their televisions. Although we were unable to achieve our target of third place or higher overall, we finished in eighth place, earning us a seed for the seventh consecutive year and the right to compete in the three major Ekiden races for the fifth consecutive year. The race unfolded at a faster pace than expected on the outbound leg, and we finished in eighth place. On the return leg, we were determined to challenge ourselves to see how much we could come back, but we were unable to regain our momentum and some issues remain. From April, we will have a new structure with the addition of new students, so we will learn from last year and continue to strengthen the team so that we can set our goal of taking the top spot as a team. Thank you very much for your strong support over the two days."
Yoshihide Akiya The chairman said, "Thank you very much for your hard work on the two days of hard work. As a result of the players and staff of the Ekiden Club as well as the players who ran on the Hakone Road, we were able to win the seeding right for seven consecutive years, and as a result, we were able to win the seeding right. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you, including the graduates who have given warm support and support from all over the world, to the Ekiden Club, which inherits the tradition and strives to a new horizon. We will start further challenges for next year's Hakone Road."
Mika Suzuki President said, "Congratulations on winning the seeding right for the seventh consecutive year in 8th place on the outbound trip, 8th place overall. I would like to express my respect to everyone involved in the Ekiden Club who supported the athletes for two days, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who sent enthusiastic support from all over the country."
Thank you very much for your support.
