Ekiden Relays

Leg	Name	M/M	Time	Cum.
7.2k	Chris Starmer [6th in leg]	6:03	27:06	27:06
5k	Stuart Green [9th in leg]	6:08	19:04	46:10
10k	Nick Stephens [10th in leg]	6:13	38:40	1:24:50
5k	Adrian Doig [14th in leg]	6:32	20:18	1:45:08
10k	Roger Aldis [4th in leg]	5:52	36:29	2:21:37
5k	Peter Tricker	6:43	20:55	2:42:32

Striders Team B (M/Open 18th/21 teams - 29th/45 teams overall)

Leg	Name	M/M	Time	Cum.
7.2k	Bernard Debney	7:31	33:39	33:39
5k	Frank Moggan	8:12	25:31	59:10
10k	Chris Gladwell	7:13	44:56	1:44:06
5k	Jim King	7:51	24:24	2:08:30
10k	James Mwayi	7:45	48:10	2:56:40
5k	Chris Starmer [9th in leg]	6:09	19:08	3:15:48

Striders Team C (L/Open 4th/7 teams - 21st/45 teams overall)

Leg	Name	M/M	Time	Cum.
7.2k	Heidi Bingham	7:31	33:41	33:41
5k	Lorraine Phillips	7:39	23:48	57:29
10k	Tamara Jordan [1st Lady in leg]	6:14	38:50	1:36:19
5k	Becky Jack [4th Lady in leg]	7:26	23:08	1:59:27
10k	Louise Bunch	7:25	46:07	2:45:34
5k	Kimberley Zilke [4th Lady in leg]	7:16	22:35	3:08:09

Striders Team D (L/Vet 2nd/2 teams - 45th/45 teams overall)

Leg	Name	M/M	Time	Cum.
7.2k	Tracey Lee	9:14	41:20	41:20
5k	Jenny Relf	8:32	26:32	1:07:52
10k	Ronel Van Der Merwe	8:29	52:43	2:00:35
5k	Sue Seggar	9:49	30:31	2:31:06
10k	Ro Thurston	9:24	58:25	3:29:31
5k	Maria Reynolds	8:42	27:02	3:56:33

Click for the full race results.

The Origins of Ekiden

An ekiden is a long-distance relay race run on an ordinary road. The single runner from each team wears a cloth sash (tasuki) suspended from the shoulder across the chest. The sash is passed from one teammate to the next, like the baton in a regular relay. The ekiden relay, and the name itself, have spread from Japan to different parts of the world, including China, Kenya and Tanzania.

The first ekiden relay was run in 1917, the 50th anniversary of the transfer of Japan's capital from the ancient city of Kyoto to Tokyo. The anniversary was celebrated with a large exposition and a number of events, including one sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper--an ekiden race from Kyoto to Tokyo, over a distance of 508 km. Called the Tokaido Ekiden Toho Kyoso, the race was divided into 23 stages. It lasted three days.

This new type of relay race was named ekiden by the poet Toki Zemmaro (1885-1980), who was head of the newspaper's Social Affairs Department at the time. Eki means "station," while den means "transmit." Ancient China and Japan had an elaborate transportation and communication system using post stations (eki), which were established at fixed intervals along major roads. Horses carried people, important letters and various goods from one station to the next. The 1917 ekiden was meant to bring back the old days, using runners instead of horses. The race also symbolized the new, energetic Japan, since the distance would be covered in just three days, instead of the more than 20 days it would take someone to walk.

Advertisements in the newspaper attracted many hopeful competitors, and 46 were chosen. Two teams were formed--23 students from Tokyo faced off against 23 teachers and students from Aichi Prefecture. The three-day race was on, continuing all night without a break, whipping up enthusiasm all over Japan. When the runners got close to the goal in Tokyo, well over a hundred thousand fans cheered them on.

Ekiden races are now held in different parts of Japan every winter. The Tokyo-Hakone-Tokyo ekiden (commonly known as Hakone Ekiden) has many university student teams competing, and is a tremendously popular spectator sport every New Year. As runners struggle to reach a waiting teammate to pass on the sash, the excitement of the crowds that line the route is clearly evident. The runners as individuals want to break a record, of course, but they want even more to do their best for the team. In this sense, we could perhaps say that the ekiden is a truly Japanese sport.