We're less than a week out from the 100th running of the Hakone Ekiden , the two-day university men's road relay from central Tokyo to the foothills of Mt. Fuji and back that has become the biggest sports event in Japan. Tens of millions of people watch the live TV broadcast, millions more line the 217.1 km course, it has its own museum, and its own identity and place as a cultural icon. Over the next few days I'll be posting four excerpts from my upcoming book on the history of the race, May the Circle Be Unbroken: Hakone at 100 . The Hakone Ekiden came out of the same era that produced the world's other premier endurance races, specifically the Boston Marathon, Tour de France and Comrades Marathon. Comrades didn't come until a bit later in 1921, but Boston was first held in 1897, and six years later in 1903 the Tour de France got off the ground. In Japan Meiji University founded the Meiji University Race Club, the country's first collegiate track and field te...
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