Special feature: 100th Hakone Ekiden
Seishi Ogawa
2023/12/23
(Final update: 2023/12/23)
From left, Umezaki, Matsuyama, Kobayashi, and Director Sakai attended the online interview (provided by Toyo University)
Toyo University has won the Hakone Ekiden overall championship four times in the past, but this season they are having a tough time in the three major student ekiden races. However, key players have returned from injuries and the team’s condition is improving. The Tekkon Blue Army will enter the 100th main tournament with the goal of “3rd place overall”. On December 19th, an online joint interview with Toyo University was held, with coach Toshiyuki Sakai and main players Kazuki Matsuyama (4th year, Gakuho Ishikawa), Ren Umezaki (3rd year, Uwajima Higashi), and Ryota Kobayashi (3rd year, Toyokawa). spoke about his enthusiasm and the current situation of the team.
[Special Feature]100th Hakone Ekiden
Seed rights for 19 consecutive years with the theme of “rebuilding the iron navy”
This season’s team has been working on the theme of “rebuilding the iron navy.” In the previous Hakone Ekiden, I was 11th on the outbound trip due to a slow start. While the seeding rights that had been in place for 17 years were in jeopardy, Daichi Kimoto (currently Sekino Kosan) showed a winning performance in the 8th ward, catching up in the final stages and finishing in 10th place, protecting his seeding rights. He placed 8th in the Izumo Ekiden in October this year. The following November, in his 31st appearance at the All-Japan University Ekiden, he finished in 14th place, his lowest.
The impact was felt by the fact that players who should have been key players left the team one after another due to injuries or poor health. Mayu Sato (4th year, Toyo Oushiku), who became the captain when the current team was established, Keishun Kushima (4th year, Kobayashi), who has participated in the Hakone Ekiden 6th section twice in the past, and Three athletes, including Kosuke Ishida (third year, second year student at Tokyo University of Agriculture), who set the Japanese high school record in the 5,000m at the time, were unable to run in either the Izumo Ekiden or All Japan University Ekiden this season. In addition, Matsuyama, who has been in charge of Hakone’s “Hana no 2 Ward” for two consecutive years since his first year, has been suffering from a left ankle injury since last season when he was a third year student. Although he ran in the 4th ward of the Izumo Ekiden this season, he avoided participating in the All-Japan University Ekiden.
Last time in Hakone, Kimoto (left) from Ward 8 won the section award, and Umezaki received the award (Photo by Shota Inoue)
Kazuki Matsuyama: “In addition to strengthening the physical aspect, I am also conscious of nutritional aspects”
Toyo University’s 18 consecutive years of winning seeding rights are currently the longest. Dark clouds appear to be gathering for the team’s 19th consecutive year of seeding. Coach Sakai says that after examining the previous year’s efforts, he found several points for reflection.
“Although we were able to practice as planned, we found a number of problems in our daily lives.Also, there were some areas that were lacking in terms of team cohesion.I think it was inevitable that we finished in 10th place. When we maintained third place or higher for 11 years in a row, we were able to do this. Our team’s color is “doing the ordinary things thoroughly.”
After reevaluating the lifestyle of club members in the dormitory, the team started preparations for the 100th Hakone Ekiden. Since the fall, key players have gradually returned to the team, and the team’s situation is reportedly improving.
Coach Sakai reconsidered his team’s “thorough approach” team color after the previous results (provided by Toyo University)
Matsuyama, who has struggled with injuries, ran the Koedo Kawagoe Half Marathon on November 26th, maintaining a pace of 3 minutes per kilometer and finishing in 1 hour 3 minutes 35 seconds. He is getting a feel for the race, saying, “I’m getting closer to my true running style.” “In order to correct my form, which had deteriorated since my injury in my third year, I have focused on strengthening my physical strength this season, and I have also been conscious of my nutrition, including taking supplements,” he said of his efforts this season.
Director Sakai plans to use Matsuyama in the second ward. When asked, “I want to improve his concentration, which is his weapon, and create a condition where he can push harder than other players and be able to go all out,” Matsuyama himself replied, “I want to improve his concentration, which is his weapon. I want to run. Last time, Chuo University’s Yamato Yoshii (4th year, Sendai Ikuei) ran 1 hour 6 minutes 22 seconds, so the minimum level is to break 1 hour 6 minutes 30 seconds. 1 hour 6 minutes. I’m aiming for a time in the 10 second range,” he said enthusiastically as he headed for the final Hakone route.
Matsuyama aims to be the top Japanese in Ward 2 (Courtesy of Toyo University)
Ren Umezaki and Ryota Kobayashi, who I pulled when my 4th graders were not feeling well.
Umezaki, who ran the 9th ward in Hakone last time and broke the Toyo University record for the 9th ward with a time of 1 hour, 8 minutes and 36 seconds, finishing 4th in the section, ran the 6th ward in this season’s Izumo Ekiden and the 8th ward in the All Japan University Ekiden. I was given the longest section. He put a lot of energy into his words, saying, “I want to run well in the section that I’m assigned to in Hakone.No matter where I run, I’ll aim to be in the top 3 in the section.”
Kobayashi, who ran in the 3rd ward last time and placed 9th in the section, hopes to run in the 3rd ward this time as well. “The team is aiming for 3rd place overall, so my personal goal is to be in the top 3 in my section.I think I have to break the Toyo University record in the 3rd ward,” he said emphatically. The Toyo University record for the third ward is 1 hour, 2 minutes, 13 seconds, set by Yuta Shitara (currently Nishi-Nippon Railway), a fourth-year student at the time, in 2014, when he won the overall championship. Challenging the record of a great senior.
Coach Sakai is pleased with the growth of the two third-year students, saying, “While the fourth-year students were not doing well, Umezaki and Kobayashi led the team.
Kobayashi was assigned the second ward where speed runners gathered throughout Japan (Photo by Kohei Saeki)
“The true value of Toyo University is running without giving up.”
This time, the players’ goal is to finish 3rd overall. From the 85th tournament in 2009, when they won their first championship, to the 95th tournament in 2019, Toyo University has finished in the top three for 11 consecutive years. For Ekiden fans, the image of the “Tekkon-gun” is that they are always involved in the battle for victory. This will be Director Sakai’s 15th Hakone Ekiden as a coach, but during this time he has only finished 4th or lower three times: 10th in 2020, 4th in 2022, and 10th last time.
“Ever since Akira Aizawa (currently Asahi Kasei) graduated, I haven’t been able to fight for the lead for a while.I think it will be very difficult to fight for the lead this time.The dismounting is low, but I have given up. The true value of Toyo University is to run without any problems.Obtaining seeding rights is the minimum goal, and the ranking that we have been focused on is finishing in the top 3.We will return to our “original position” and aim to “rebuild the iron navy.” I want to aim to run like this in the 100th tournament.”
Coach Sakai was prepared for it to be a tough battle, and during the press conference he repeatedly mentioned the words “our original position.” The players also fully understand the meaning.
Aiming to return to its “original position” with the theme of “rebuilding the iron navy” (provided by Toyo University)
2023-12-23 02:37:54
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