The Hakone Ekiden might wrap up on January 3rd, but the post-race coverage rolls on well into the month. This year, the fresh green of Aoyama Gakuin and their generational talent, Asahi Kuroda, have dominated screen and print media, but for me personally, the school’s historic three-peat and athletic heroics weren’t the main story of Hakone 2026. That title belongs to Juntendo University.

Nothing ushers you deeper into the heart of Ekiden culture than joining a Saturday morning track session with the team, late in the season, ahead of the final major race on the university women's Ekiden calendar. The Fuji-san Women's Ekiden is a best-of-the-best showdown among Japan's top university women's teams, held at the base of Mt. Fuji. The race unfolds over seven legs, ranging from 3.3 to 10.5 km. That means the coaches have a very tricky job to ensure the team's top