by Brett Larner click here for starting lists and additional preview University men's ekiden season kicks off Monday, October 10 with the first of the Big Three University Ekidens, the 28th running of the Izumo Ekiden . A week out from the race organizers released the entry lists for the 21-team field, 10 universities from the Tokyo-centric Kanto Region, 6 from other parts of Japan, 4 regional select teams and, for the 19th year, the Ivy League Select Team from the U.S.A., the last vestige of the international ekiden in Japan. The top 12-ranked teams at this year's Izumo Ekiden. Click to enlarge. Last year Aoyama Gakuin University did the incredible, breaking the 6-stage, 45.1 km Izumo course record despite a 600 m addition to the Third Stage. With the graduation of four key seniors including Third Stage winner Kazuma Kubota AGU is down slightly on strength this year, but only slightly. With 13 men on his roster having 5000 m bests under 14 minutes,...
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