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The 100th tournament and nationalization

The Hakone Ekiden will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024. 23 schools have been selected to participate, and the qualifying round to be held in October will be open to universities across the country, not just schools affiliated with the Kanto Athletic Federation.

This decision opened up the possibility of universities across the country taking part in the Hakone Ekiden.

Looking back at history, there have been schools other than those affiliated with the Kanto Athletic Federation that have run in Hakone.

First of all, Kansai University ran in the Hakone Ekiden three times in the early days of the race, in 1928, 1931, and 1932. They placed 9th, 8th, and 8th.

Then, in 1964, the year the Tokyo Olympics were held, two schools participated: Ritsumeikan University (11th place) and Fukuoka University (13th place). Both were not open entries, but official rankings. So, it is not unprecedented.

Now that the opportunity has been opened up nationwide, I’ve been getting this question a lot.

“If strong schools from all over the country participate, won’t there be schools in the Kanto region that can’t participate?”

I feel really sorry for the people in schools outside of the Kanto region, but I answer this question with 100% certainty that there is no such thing. Because that is the reality.

Why?

One reason is that the Hakone Ekiden has become an overwhelmingly popular event, and as a result, there has been a stronger tendency than ever before for runners to concentrate in the Kanto region.

Looking at the top 50 Japanese high school seniors in the 5,000m, there are several athletes who choose to join corporate teams, and very occasionally there are athletes who go on to schools in the Kansai region. Talent is being drawn to schools in the Kanto region.

This is reflected in the difference in ability between universities. In intercollegiate competitions, there are times when they compete well, but when it comes to the qualifying rounds for the relay race, which is a team competition, the gap widens dramatically.