The final large race of the yr is Monday’s Mt. Fuji Ladies’s Ekiden, the season-ending nationwide championship race for college girls. Between Mt. Fuji and October’s Morinomiyako Ekiden, as much as this season Meijo College was undefeated in 13-straight championship ekiden races, with 7-straight wins at Morinomiyako and 6 at Mt. Fuji. However nothing lasts endlessly, and at this yr’s Morinomiyako the final large dynasty college earlier than Meijo, Ritsumeikan College, winner at Morinomiyako from 2011 to 2015 and at Mt. Fuji from 2013 to 2017, outran a flailing Meijo squad to take the win for the primary time in 9 years.
Meijo’s large names, particularly captain Mizuki Tanimoto and Nanaka Yonezawa, have been off their greatest most of this season, and it confirmed after they have been solely 4th at Morinomiyako. Mt. Fuji is a extra technical course with a giant uphill end and calls for a wider vary of abilities than Morinomiyako, however there hasn’t been a lot to indicate that Meijo has turned it round in time to have a shot at beating Ritsumeikan this time.
However to be truthful Ritsumeikan was solely 4th at Mt. Fuji final yr after a Third-place end at Morinomiyako, so it isn’t like they’ve it within the bag. Daito Bunka College has been 2nd at Mt. Fuji 4 instances within the final 6 years and 2nd at Morinomiyako 10 instances within the final 12 years, and one in every of as of late it’ll make the bounce. With star runner Sarah Wanjiru stronger than ever, together with setting a brand new collegiate 5000 m file of 15:00.86 earlier this month, this could possibly be its yr.
Josai College beat Meijo at Morinomiyako too, and it has been developing over the previous few years, going from a gradual Sixth-Seventh there to 4th in 2023 and Third this yr. On the present hilly model of the Mt. Fuji race it has but to do higher than fifth, however probabilities look good that it will go not less than 4th this time round. Final yr’s Mt. Fuji 2nd-placer Nittai College was a dismal ninth at Morinomiyako, and primarily based on {that a} prime 5 end can be stellar.
Seventh at Morinomiyako and eventually yr’s Mt. Fuji, Takushoku College will discipline collegiate 10000 m file holder Seira Fuwa for her final faculty ekiden. Fuwa rewrote the college girls’s ekiden ebook as a 1st-year 3 years in the past, however with too many lengthy races in too brief a time at too younger an age she’s spent more often than not since then injured. Again to racing commonly for her final season, Fuwa has been about 3 minutes slower for 10 km and 10000 m than she was pre-injury, sometimes within the 33-minute vary at greatest. It is unlikely she’ll set issues on fireplace, however because the final time we’ll see this large expertise right here it is a race of particular significance.
1. Ritsumeikan College (Kansai)
2. Daito Bunka College (Kanto)
3. Josai College (Kanto)
4. Meijo College (Tokai)
5. Tohoku Fukushi College (Tohoku)
6. Osaka Gakuin College (Kansai)
7. Takushoku College (Kanto)
8. Tsukuba College (Kanto)
9. Nittai College (Kanto)
10. Chuo College (Kanto)
11. Juntendo College (Kanto)
12. Teikyo Kagaku College (Kanto)
13. Toyo College (Kanto)
14. Tamagawa College (Kanto)
15. Kansai Gaikokugo College (Kansai)
16. Hyogo College (Kansai)
17. Asia College (Kanto)
18. Kyoto Sangyo College (Kansai)
19. Osaka Geijutsu College (Kansai)
20. Kansai College (Kansai)
21. Chukyo Gakuin College (Tokai)
22. Tokyo Nogyo College (Kanto)
23. Nationwide Choose Staff
24. Shizuoka Choose Staff
© 2024 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
