A Stronger Team Running with Gratitude for Everyone in Their Heart
The 97th Hakone Ekiden was held under a different atmosphere than usual, with people being asked to refrain 1 6 Section Section from cheering at the roadside due to the pandemic of the novel coronavirus. Otemachi – Tsurumi 21.3Km Hakone-machi – Odawara 20.8Km On the first half, Kazuki Matsuyama (1st year student) Yusuke Kodama Keishun Kushima ran the famous second section on his first appearance 2nd year student, Faculty of Economics 1st year student, Faculty of Economics with a section ranking 4th, pushing Toyo up the rankings and creating a good rhythm. Hayato Miyashita (3rd Time 1:03:24 Time 1:00:05 year student) ran the uphill fifth section for the second year running and pushed past three runners to finish Section ranking 9 Section ranking 14 second, 2mins 14s off the lead. The second half was th th run by a lineup of students facing their first Hakone Ekiden, except Kazuya Nishiyama (4th year student), who ran due to a change on the day. While temporarily 2 7 falling back to fourth place, Toyo passed over the sash Section Section
in third place for the final tenth section, and Taiga Tsurumi – Totsuka 23.1Km Odawara – Hiratsuka 21.3Km Seino’s (2nd year student) tenacious running brought Toyo home for an overall third place. Last year’s Kazuki Matsuyama Kazuya Nishiyama competition ended with a harsh result, but in one year, 1st year student, Faculty of Information Sciences and Arts 4th year student, Faculty of Information Sciences and Arts Toyo were able to return to the top spots. Time 1:07:15 Time 1:04:54
Section ranking 4th Section ranking 12nd 3 8 Section Section
Totsuka – Hiratsuka 21.4Km Hiratsuka – Totsuka 21.4Km
Yoshihiro Maeda Hideki Noguchi 2nd year student, Faculty of Economics 4th year student, Faculty of Science and Engineering First Half Time : : Time : :
1 03 55 Second Half 1 04 15
Section ranking 8th Section ranking 2 nd 4 9 Section Section
Hiratsuka – Odawara 20.9Km Totsuka – Tsurumi 23.1Km
Hirotsugu Yoshikawa Taiga Oda 4th year student, Faculty of Human Life Design 4th year student, Faculty of Economics
Time 1:03:39 Time 1:10:08
Section ranking 6 th Section ranking 7th
January 2&3, 2021 5 10 Section Section The 97th Hakone Ekiden Odawara – Hakone-machi 20.8Km Tsurumi – Otemachi 23.0Km Hayato Miyashita Taiga Seino 3rd year student, Faculty of Science and Engineering 2nd year student, Faculty of Economics
Time 1:12:09 Time 1:11: 12 Second Place in the First Half, Third Overall Section ranking 3 rd Section ranking 9th Photo:KGRR A Stronger Team Running Overall Result Comments from Head Coach Toshiyuki Sakai.
1st Komazawa University 10:56:04 Looking back over the Hakone Ekiden With Gratitude for Everyone 2nd 10:56:56 I am very grateful to everyone who, amidst this challenging situation, worked their hardest to put on this year’s Soka University Ekiden and to everyone who refrained from cheering at the roadside and supported us from home. 3rd Toyo University 11:00:56 In 2020 the dormitory was closed due to the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus, and there was a period where the team was temporarily disbanded. All team members were not able to return to the dormitory, but after 4th 11:01:16 in Their Heart Aoyama Gakuin University returning gradually, we resumed full training, and even in a restricted environment, the students made promising progress. 5th Tokai University 11:02:44 At last year’s Ekiden, despite setting new records in three sections and being awarded two single stage prizes, we 6th Waseda University 11:03:59 dropped down to 10th place in the end. We reviewed our tendency to depend on select or star runners, and we worked under the theme of “Autonomy and Independence,” with each runner having a sense of duty and a sense of 7th Juntendo University 11:04:03 responsibility. This year we were not awarded a single stage prize. However, we ran tenaciously without being easily overtaken in close contests, and I think we were able to embody SONO-ICHIBYO-O-KEZURIDASE － Every 8th Teikyo University 11:04:08 Second Counts! Returning to the top three within one year, I think, is proof that all team members grew tremendously, including 9th Kokugakuin University 11:04:22 runners who were running their first Hakone Ekiden and support members. For the next Ekiden, together with our 10th Tokyo International University 11:05:49 members and staff, we will continue to work towards becoming a more mature team. We ask for your continued support.
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