The Hakone Ekiden's organizing body has announced reforms to expand participation to universities nationwide. This could disperse long-distance running talent concentrated in the Kanto region and boost Japan's overall competitiveness. The changes, revealed in December 2025, set the next expanded event for 2028.
The Hakone Ekiden, an annual university long-distance relay race held on January 2 and 3, reached its 102nd edition this year. This event, spanning 217.1 kilometers over 10 stages from the Yomiuri Shimbun Building in Otemachi, Tokyo, to Lake Ashinoko in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, and back, draws television ratings of about 30% in the Kanto region. It features 21 teams: the top 10 from the previous year, 10 qualifiers from October rounds, and one select team from non-qualifying schools, mostly from Kanto universities. The fifth and sixth stages traverse steep Hakone mountain roads, climbing to 874 meters in elevation, known historically as one of Japan's toughest ascents. Founded in 1920 by Shiso Kanakuri, Japan's first Olympian who withdrew from the 1912 Stockholm marathon due to heat, the race built on the 1917 Tokaido Ekiden from Kyoto to Tokyo. Initial participants included Waseda, Keio, Meiji, and Tokyo Higher Normal School (now Tsukuba University). Over the century, more than 100 Hakone alumni have competed in the Olympics, and over 90 in the World Athletics Championships since 1983. Notable achievers include Hiromi Taniguchi, who won marathon gold at the 1991 Tokyo championships (Nippon Sport Science University graduate); Nobuyuki Sato, bronze in 1999 Seville (Chuo University); and Tsuyoshi Ogata, bronze in 2005 Helsinki (Yamanashi Gakuin University). Nearly all recent Japanese long-distance Olympians and world champions have raced in Hakone. Yet, talent has concentrated in Kanto, as seen in November 2025's All Japan University Men's Ekiden, where the top 15 were Kanto schools, with 16th-place Kansai University lagging 8 minutes 40 seconds behind. In December 2025, organizers announced reforms: expanding commemorative races every four years instead of five, and opening qualifiers nationwide. This aims to nationalize the event. Hakone Ekiden Management Committee Chairman Susumu Hara said: 'If more regional universities want to take on the challenge of the Hakone Ekiden, it will contribute to revitalizing their hometowns. More talent aspiring to aim for Hakone will ultimately contribute to the development of Japanese long-distance running.' Tsuyoshi Ogata, coach at Hiroshima University of Economics, added: 'No other track and field event garners as much attention as the Hakone Ekiden, boosting enthusiasm among students nationwide. If regional universities genuinely commit to this effort, it would be ideal if it eventually becomes a nationwide annual event.' The next expanded race is the 104th edition in 2028, coinciding with the Los Angeles Olympics, with nationwide university preparations under scrutiny.
