Hosei University grabs the last ticket in the Hakone Ekiden preliminaries; last year it was a tear with a 17 second difference

The qualifying round for the 103rd Hakone Ekiden was held on the 17th over a half marathon (21.0975km) course from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Tachikawa Garrison (Tachikawa City, Tokyo) to National Showa Kinen Park (Tachikawa City/Akishima City), with more than 500 student runners from 45 schools running an exciting race.

The top 10 athletes from each school will compete based on their total time, and the top 10 will qualify for the main event on January 2nd and 3rd next year. Every year, the difference between the 10th place who barely makes it to Hakone and the 11th place that just misses the mark is closely watched, and this year too, the spotlight was on them.

“I’m glad that my hard work over the past year has paid off.”

At the results announcement after the race, the names of the schools were read out in order, starting with first place. "No. 10, Hosei University." The players, who had grabbed the last Hakone ticket, shouted and hugged each other.

Last year, Hosei University fell short of Rikkyo University, which placed 10th, by 17 seconds, missing out on participation in the tournament. Captain Akito Noda (4th year) said, ``I'm glad that my efforts over the past year have paid off.I want to thank everyone.''

11th place is Kokushikan University, Keio University is 30th place

Kokushikan University fell short in 11th place, with a difference of 1 minute and 46 seconds. Coach Hiroyuki Ogawa praised the players, saying, ``They gave their 100%.The team is on a good flow, and I'm sure this regret will live on next year.''

Keio University, aiming to compete in the tournament for the first time in 33 years, finished in 30th place, the same as last year, and did not qualify for Hakone. However, there were some bright spots for the future, as Shohei Narisawa (3rd year) did well, finishing 27th out of all runners, and Clinton Remashon Roso (1st year) from Kenya, who joined the club in September, completed his first half marathon race.

Captain Rikuto Yasuda (4th year) entrusted his dreams to his juniors, saying, ``I was able to do my best because I have been inspired by the underclassmen this past year.If not only the club members, but also those around me and the alumni work together, the day will come when Keio returns to Hakone.''He entrusted his dreams to his juniors.

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The top 15 schools in the preliminary round are as follows (up to 10th place will participate in the main tournament).