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Championing Equality in Ekiden -- Women's Race Deserves a Share of the Spotlight

jeremy kuhles

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 ago. As I laced up my running shoes and hit the roads, I began to appreciate the incredible speeds and remarkable endurance that Ekiden athletes possess.


The sub-3-minute kilometer elephant in the room is that I've only ever watched the men.

For almost two decades, I have always looked forward to the iconic Hakone Ekiden, which captures the nation's attention every New Year, and I have recently got into watching the other major men's Ekiden races and following the athletes' and teams' progress on social media.

But the sub-3-minute kilometer elephant in the room is that I've only ever watched the men.

This year, I did something different; I tuned in to watch the 2023 National University Women's Ekiden. The reason for my newfound interest was personal — my daughter has just joined Tamagawa Gakuen as an elementary school first-grader, so I was eager to see how her school's team would perform.

It was a super race packed with energy and passion and inspiring runs by athletes giving their all, and it wasn't just about the finish line; the battles within battles out on the course made it an absorbing spectacle. Having a horse in the race, as it were, created a stronger emotional attachment for me — the Tamagawa University team was brilliant, narrowly missing out on a seeding position, coming in 9th (seeds were awarded to the top eight). But they made up numerous places during the race, and their tenacity was inspiring.

As I watched the race, I couldn't help wishing women's Ekiden garnered the same attention as the men. This race is tucked away on the TV schedule at the end of October and takes place in Sendai, part of the Tohoku region, which, while being a beautiful part of the country, is far from the bright lights of Tokyo's financial district, where the men's Hakone Ekiden race begins and ends on January 2nd/3rd. It highlighted to me, even more keenly, the gender disparity in Japanese sports culture: turn on the TV in the summer, and high school boys' baseball dominates the agenda; do the same in the winter, and it's high school football, either side of Hakone.


#Justmythoughts, but I believe the key to building a stronger fan base for women's Ekiden lies in storytelling. The athletes go through so much and, unlike their male counterparts, face unique social and physiological challenges, all while exerting the same level of dedication and effort. I want to be able to support the women's teams, using whatever skills I have to bring their stories to a wider audience.


(Congratulations to Meijo University from Aichi Prefecture for their remarkable seventh consecutive victory — a testament to the dedication that fuels their achievements.)




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