Asahi Kuroda of Aoyama Gakuin University raises his fists in triumph in finishing the outbound leg of the annual two-day Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay on Jan. 2, 2026, in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Two-time reigning overall champion Aoyama Gakuin University won the outbound route of the annual two-day Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay on Friday, setting a record time to take an 18-second lead over second-placed Waseda University.
Five Aoyama Gakuin runners combined for 5 hours, 18 minutes, 8 seconds over 107.5 kilometers between Tokyo’s Otemachi business district and the mountainous hot spring resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, topping the first day for the third straight year.
Aiming to become the first team to win three straight overall titles on two separate occasions, Aoyama Gakuin was 16th after the first leg in the 21-team race but moved up to 11th, eighth and fifth in the following three sections.
Taking off 3:24 behind the top, their ace Asahi Kuroda propelled them to the top in the uphill 20.8-km fifth leg, producing a stunning record time of 1:07:16 for the section, shedding some 1:55 from the previous leg record.
“I was totally absorbed and have no memory toward the end. I’m relieved we’ve won the outbound leg,” Kuroda said. “I thought getting up to third was about the best I could manage…I’d like to declare myself the new god of the mountain (leg).”
Chuo University was third in 5:19:44 and Kokugakuin University came fourth in 5:20:02 ahead of Saturday’s return leg.
AloJapan.com