japan running news

Running from the foot of Mount Fuji to its peak and back on the Gotemba route, the 50th anniversary Mt. Fuji Ekiden took place Aug. 3 in Gotemba, Shizuoka. A total of 100 teams in the combined SDF base and independent divisions competed to show what they could do in what is called the toughest race in Japan. Starting and finishing at Gotemba Field, the 48.19 km race is divided into 11 legs, with each team fielding 6 runners. Each runner handles one uphill and one downhill leg, with the 6th runner doing a non-stop run up the final section to the peak and back. Following a flyover by jets from the SDF Iruma Base in honor of the race's 50th running, mayor Masami Katsumata and local influencer Nano Nae fired the starting gun to get the race underway. The turnaround point at the peak of Mount Fuji is 3199 m above Gotemba field. A temperature difference of 20˚ adds to the challenge for athletes trying to make the next exchange zone. Most teams put their best runner on the uphill 5th a...

Two classic midsummer ekidens happened during the Paris Olympics, the 77th Towada Hachimantai Ekiden in Akita and the 49th Mount Fuji Ekiden in Shizuoka. We didn't have time to cover them then, but better late than never. The Mount Fuji Ekiden was held Aug. 4 in Gotemba, Shizuoka starting at Gotemba Field, climbing 3258 m to the peak of Mt. Fuji, then making the return trip for a total distance of 48.19 km in 11 stages. Each runner on the 6-member teams handled one uphill leg and one downhill leg except the sixth runner, whose stage included the final climb to the peak and then the start of the descent after getting the tasuki stamped by a monk waiting at the top. For the 8th year in a row the Takigahara SDF Base team won the overall title, running 3:51:35 to win just 24 seconds off last year's mark. Individual stage winners from Takigahara included 2-time Hasetsune Cup winner Yuya Kawasaki on the uphill 4th leg, vertical king Toru Miyahara on the 5th leg, and Hiroya Morig...

For the 7th edition in a row, the Takigahara SDF Base team dominated the 48th Mt. Fuji Ekiden , a 11-stage, 48.19 km race up Mount Fuji and back down, with 3258 m elevation gain on the way up, 3199 m loss on the way down, every runner having to handle both an uphill and downhill leg, and the top men averaging 10:39/km on the steepest climb and as fast as 2:10/km on the steepest of the descent. Takigahara faced challenges early on from last year's 8th-place Moriyama 35th Infantry Regiment team and, in its debut, the pro Eldoreso team featuring 100 km NR holder Jumpei Yamaguchi . The anchor stage winner last year, Moriyama's Toshihiro Hayashi pulled off a rare double stage win this time, leading on the 6.54 km, 243 m uphill First Stage and winning the 4.88 km, 184 m downhill Eleventh Stage. Eldoreso's Takumi Kato duplicated that feat, winning the 4.64 km, 345 m uphill Second Stage and passing Moriyama to move into the overall lead, then winning the 4.64 km, 345 m downhi...

Along with Akita's Towada Hachimantai Ekiden another midsummer classic returned Sunday after cancelations in 2020 and 2021, the 47th edition of the  Mt. Fuji Ekiden . An eleven-stage race featuring 82 teams of six, the Mt. Fuji Ekiden sees the first five runners on each team work their way up the slopes of Mt. Fuji, first on roads and then on trails. The sixth runners climbs the final few kilometers to the summit 3258 m above the race's starting point, has his tasuki sash stamped by a priest at the shrine waiting there, then begins the descent. The first five runners then have to each a second time, downhill this time. Some of the downhill stages are wild, with powdery gravel covering steep slopes, and scenes like this one from 2014 at the exchange from the Seventh to Eighth Stage, are legendary. Spectators make the climb to the exchange zones just to see it happen. Doesn't it look like fun? The video up top is from the last edition in 2019 , when the Takigahara SDF Base ...

The 44th running of the Mount Fuji Ekiden , starting and finishing in the city of Gotemba and covering the entire ascent and descent of Mount Fuji, took place Aug. 4. A total of 132 teams from across the country took part. The local Takigahara SDF Base won the Self-Defense Force division for the fifth year in a row, with Kagoshima's Shimizu Running Club winning the open division. Complete results here . The course starts in front of JR Gotemba Station, with teams of six covering 47.93 km in 11 stages climbing 3258 m to Mount Fuji's peak and back down. Each runner must run twice, once uphill and once downhill, except the sixth runner whose stage covers the final ascent tot he peak and the beginning of the return trip down. Inclines of more than 35 degrees in the climb up to the turnaround point at Asama Shrine Okumiya and return descent challenged the strength of the Sixth Stage runners' legs. Likewise for the Seventh and Eighth Stage runners, who slide through loose san...

Running from central Gotemba to the peak of Mount Fuji and back, the 43rd Mount Fuji Ekiden took place August 5. 128 teams of six athletes each gathered from across the country to compete with each other and with Mount Fuji. Starting at JR Gotemba Station, the course climbed 3258 m to Mount Fuji's summit before returning back down to the finish at the municipal track and field grounds. The 11-stage race covered a total of 47.93 km, with five of the six members of each team running two stages apiece. Most teams' strongest members ran the uphill Fifth Stage and downhill Sixth Stage, each with an altitude difference of over 1000 m. Steep, sandy ground sucked the energy from their legs on the upward bound Fifth Stage, while on the famous deep sands of the Gotemba Route forced them to descend the Seventh Stage leaping and sliding. Sixth Stage runners had their tasuki stamped by a priest at Asami Shrine at the top of the mountain as proof that they had reached the summit. The ...

The 42nd running of the Fuji Mountain Ekiden took place Aug. 6 on an 11-stage, 47.93 km course to the peak of Mt. Fuji and back. 131 teams of 6 runners each from across the country competed, with the Takigahara SDF Base winning the overall title for the third year in a row. Toyota Sportsman Club won the amateur division for the tenth year straight. The race's course features 3258 m elevation difference from the start at JR Gotemba Station to the turnaround point at the peak of Mt. Fuji. Conditions were difficult this year with a 20-degree temperature range. Local residents turned out in numbers along the course to cheer the runners on. Mitsugi Club was the top local team at 10th in the amateur division. source article:  http://www.at-s.com/sp/sports/article/shizuoka/388811.html translated by Brett Larner