japan running news

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 s...

The Tango University Ekiden , the major ekiden for schools in the Kansai Region, will hold its 85th edition on Nov. 18. In 2013 the race returned to the Tango area of northern Kyoto after 9 years being held on the shores of Lake Biwa. To commemorate the event's landmark anniversary, 6-time Hakone Ekiden champion Aoyama Gakuin University will make a special appearance in the Tango University Ekiden this year without counting in its results. AGU head coach Susumu Hara had approached the organizers in the Kansai collegiate athletics federation some time ago about his team running, and with the 85th anniversary on the horizon plans were finalized. In order to cover AGU's travel from Tokyo and other costs for its athletes and staff, local government officials conducted a "government crowdfunding" scheme in which locals could donate a portion of their taxes. The scheme has been used in the last three years to fund a TV broadcast of the race, and this time the target of ¥1...

Regarding the Cancelation of the 52nd National University Ekiden Championships Kansai Region Qualifier On Apr. 23 the Inter-Collegiate Athletics Association of Kansai announced its planned policy with regard to the Kansai Region Qualifier for the 52nd National University Men's Ekiden Championships. However, due to the continued spread of the novel coronavirus, on Monday, May 4 the national government announced an extension of its declaration of a national emergency until Sunday, May 31. Because this situation mets the previously-announced criteria under which the June 13 Kansai Region Qualifier would be canceled, we regret to inform all ICAAK member schools that we are hereby canceling it. Our high performance committee is exploring an alternative method for selecting teams, and once it has been determined it will be announced on the ICAAK website. This selection method will be used to name three teams to October's Izumo Ekiden and four to November's National Champio...