Skip to main content

Ritsumeikan University Going for Third-Straight Mt. Fuji Women's Ekiden Title

by Brett Larner

In its third edition in the foothills of Mt. Fuji, the National University Women’s Invitational Ekiden Championships, renamed, appropriately enough, the Mt. Fuji Women’s Ekiden, continues to grow in popularity and stature. This year it moves from the Dec. 23 national holiday to Dec. 30, putting it into a prestigious block alongside the Jan. 1 New Year Ekiden corporate men’s national championships and the biggest of them all, the university men’s Hakone Ekiden on Jan. 2 and 3. Whether Mt. Fuji will reach the same level of popularity remains to be seen, but it’s a sign of faith in the event’s viability, its hilly course offering real racing and not just a handout to the fastest school.

The fastest school is again two-time defending champion Ritsumeikan University of the Kansai region, fresh from a course record win at October’s Morinomiyako Ekiden against the best from the Kanto region and the rest of the country. With wins on all six stages at Morinomiyako including a stage record from second-year Kotona Ota who played a major role in Ritsumeikan’s win last year as a first-year it will be a challenge for anyone to catch them no matter how much the hills level the playing field.

If any school can do it it will be top Kanto region school Daito Bunka University, winner of last month’s all-uphill Nikko Irohazaka Women’s Ekiden in course record time. Daito Bunka won four out of six stages there with one record by Soyoka Segawa and second-place finishes on the other two stages. A lot will depend on fourth-year Sakurako Fukuuchi, in training for her marathon debut at next month’s Osaka International Women’s Marathon.

Last year’s 3rd-placer Osaka Gakuin University was only 6th at Morinomiyako, meaning they will need a step back toward last year’s form to compete with Ritsumeikan and Daito Bunka. Other schools likely to turn up in the chase pack include Matsuyama University, 3rd at Morinomiyako, Nittai University with a 4th at Morinomiyako and 3rd in Nikko, and Morinomiyako 5th-placer Meijo University.

The Mt. Fuji Women’s Ekiden will be broadcast like on Fuji TV starting at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 30. Follow @JRNLive for live coverage and check back here on JRN for detailed results of the university women’s season-ender post-race.

3rd Mt. Fuji Women’s Ekiden Entry List
National University Women’s Ekiden Championships
Shizuoka, 12/30/15
20 teams, 7 stages, 43.4 km, 50 m net climb
click here for complete field listing

1. Ritsumeikan University (Kansai)
2. Daito Bunka University (Kanto)
3. Matsuyama University (Chugoku-Shikoku)
4. Nittai University (Kanto)
5. Meijo University (Tokai)
6. Osaka Gakuin University (Kansai)
7. Tokyo Nogyo University (Kanto)
8. Kansai University (Kansai)
9. Fukuoka University (Kyushu)
10. Josai University (Kanto)
11. Kyoto Sangyo University (Kansai)
12. Hakuoh University (Kanto)
13. Bukkyo University (Kansai)
14. Kanoya Taiiku University (Kyushu)
15. Kansai Gaikokugo University (Kansai)
16. Tohoku Fukushi University (Tohoku)
17. Tamagawa University (Kanto)
18. Toyo University (Kanto)
19. East Japan Select Team
20. Weat Japan Select Team
21. Shizuoka Select Team

© 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Takeuchi Wins Niigata Half in Boston Tune-Up

Running in cold, windy and rainy conditions, Ryoma Takeuchi (ND Software) warmed up for April's Boston Marathon with a win at Wednesday's Niigata Half Marathon . Takeuchi sat behind Nittai University duo Susumu Yamazaki and Ryuga Ishikawa in the early stages, then made a series of pushes to pick up the pace. Each time he tucked in behind whoever went to the front, while behind them others dropped off. Before 15 km only Yamazaki and Riki Koike of Soka University were left, and when Takeuchi went to the front the last time after 15 km only Koike followed. By 16 he was gone too, leaving Takeuchi to solo it in to the win in 1:03:13 with a 17-second negative split. "This was my last fitness check before the Boston Marathon next month, and my time was right on-target," he said post-race. "Everything went as planned. I'm looking forward to racing some of the world's best in Boston, and my goal there is to place in the single digits." Just back from tr