“In our first year, we’ll qualify for the national championships. By our tenth year, we’ll be the champions.” When Daichi Kamino made that bold declaration at the unveiling event of the MABP Maverick Ekiden team back in April, the room filled with murmurs, followed by a wave of cheers, perhaps fueled more by the bubbles of Kirin beer than pure belief. Building a corporate Ekiden team capable of competing at the highest level is hard work. Recruiting raw talent is one thing;

Why do you like Ekiden? Asked no one in particular. But it's a question I reflect on quite often. Sure, it’s a running event, and I’m a runner, so on the surface it makes sense. But I was drawn to it long before I started running seriously. Maybe it’s tied to the memories I associate with the New Year holidays: going to my father-in-law’s place in the mountains of Wakayama, spending two cozy days under the kotatsu with the Hakone Ekiden on TV, peeling one mikan after another.

Run an Ekiden in Japan, and it’s hard to shake off over a century of history and tradition. For many runners, slipping on the tasuki...

What does it take to stand on the starting line of the Hakone Ekiden? In this interview, two elite runners reflect on the years leading up to Japan’s most iconic university race and what comes after the cheering fades. From early morning track sessions to the weight of team expectations, they share the realities of Japan's most popular Ekiden road race.

It’s a drizzly Wednesday afternoon in the suburbs of Tokyo. I’m standing on the third floor of a compact apartment block, just across...