by Brett Larner Far outrunning pre-race expectations, their own included, Aoyama Gakuin University pulled off an inspired win at the 2012 Izumo Ekiden as it broke powerhouse Waseda University 's two-year-old course record by nearly thirty seconds to set a new mark of 2:09:41 for the six-stage, 44.5 km course in Aoyama's first-ever Big Three University Ekiden win. Defending champion Toyo University was 2nd a minute and a half behind, Chuo University rounding out the top three just back from Toyo. The strongest teams on paper, Waseda, Komazawa University and the nominally Ivy League U.S. Select Team , had their share of problems and went 5th, 6th and 8th. In a solid team effort, Aoyama's first year Yusuke Ogura opened 7th on the First Stage ahead of favorites Toyo, Komazawa and Waseda. Second Stage runner Takuya Fujikawa surprised himself and everyone else by advancing to 2nd behind leader Juntendo University , putting Aoyama's first-y...
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