It was a dreary day: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Okay, it wasn't quite a Dickensian level of dour, but it was gray and murky with low clouds and endless drizzly rain. And if it was tough enough just standing on the roadside as a spectator, spare a thought for those red-lining through a race they’d spent twelve months preparing for. But the girls didn't let the weather faze them. And they put on a classic. Here are my five (and a half) takeaways from

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.