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

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.

I've long been a fan of Ekiden, and my passion for the long-distance relay race grew even more when I started running a couple of years...