Hakone Ekiden 2026 — Ten Takeaways from a Dramatic Day One

国学院大１区の青木瑠郁から２区の上原琉翔にタスキリレー（カメラ・岡野　将大）（報知新聞) Kokugakuin University started off strong before dropping back to a fourth place finish

Hakone Ekiden 2026 kicked off on a warm-ish morning in central Tokyo under a smattering of cloud. What unfolded over the next five and a bit hours was a game of cat and mouse that Tom and Jerry would have been proud of, followed by one of the most dramatic mountain-stage finales in recent history.

Here are my ten takeaways from day one.

Pre-Race Chuo Chat

The talk leading into the 2026 race was that this would finally be Chuo University’s year. The team has slightly flattered to deceive over the past few seasons, but their 10K track-time average (firmly in the 27-minute range) put them top of the tree. More importantly, there were signs of a squad peaking at exactly the right moment.

After the heartbreak of last year’s day one, when they were overtaken on the final leg by Aoyama Gakuin, you might have hoped fate would be kinder in 2026 and that history wouldn’t repeat itself.

For a while, it looked that way.

Then it didn’t.

Chuo were in the driving seat until around 10km into the mountain stage, and then history happened…

A Mountain Stage for the Ages

In a race as dramatic as this, you can't not start at the end.

Two-horse races heading into the mountains aren’t uncommon at Hakone, but a genuine three-way contest is rare, and this fifth stage was a thrill from start to finish.

So here’s how things stood. Chuo were leading. Waseda sat in second thanks to a barnstorming fourth-leg run from “super rookie” Rui Suzuki (more on him later). And then there was Aoyama Gakuin’s generational talent, Asahi Kuroda, lurking in fourth, 3 minutes and 24 seconds back.

That number matters. As we’ll find out.

Chuo looked in control, but it was impossible to shake the feeling they were being hunted, and that old heartbreak was about to resurface.

Waseda’s bespectacled Yama no Mei-Tantei (the “Mountain Detective”, a Detective Conan reference), Shunsuke Kudo, has proven his worth on these slopes over recent years and was closing relentlessly. Around the 10km mark, the inevitable happened: Kudo swept past the Chuo runner.

In almost any other year, that might have been the decisive moment. It should have been a Waseda victory.

But not in 2026. Aoyama Gakuin had other, quite extraordinary plans.

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

To understand what happened next, we need to rewind several hours to the second leg.

Leg two is a storied 23.1km, known as Hana no Ni-ku (the “glory second leg”). Traditionally, this is where teams deploy their star or “ace” runner. That approach often leads to dramatic yo-yos, particularly for unbalanced teams where one runner, often Kenyan, is head and shoulders above the rest.

That dynamic was on full display this year when Josai University’s Victor Kimutai stormed from sixth into first.

Howveer, not everyone buys into this philosophy.

Aoyama Gakuin head coach Susumu Hara has publicly said he disagrees with it, noting that, as someone not from the Kanto region, he views Hakone differently. This year, he placed his ace, Asahi Kuroda, on the fifth “mountain” stage instead, banking on his team being close enough for their star to strike late.

Hara even put a number on it. If Aoyama were within three minutes and 30 seconds of the leader, he said, they could win from behind.

After a pretty disastrous first leg, followed by some late rallying, Kuroda found himself 3 minutes and 25 seconds back from the leader.

Hara's prediction surely couldn't come true, could it?

Boy oh boy. It did with bells on.

Kuroda produced a run for the ages, passing Kudo and moving into first place with around 5km to go. It was a breathtaking performance on the steep mountain roads, and possibly the biggest head-coach flex in Hakone Ekiden history.

Aoyama first. Waseda second. Chuo third.

And yet, there was so much more to the day than just the finale.

A Back-to-Front First Leg

Bucking the recent trend of front-running from the gun, Rui Aoki (Kokugakuin University) ran a beautifully judged first leg. Starting at the back of the 20-man group, he waited patiently as an early breakaway burned its matches a little too soon.

Then, in the final third of the stage, he serenely made his way to the front. He thumped the tasuki around his chest, pulled off his arm warmers and took off with a smile, his head coach barking instructions through the crackly speakers of the boxy people carriers that shadow the race.

Aoki crossed the line 10 seconds clear, setting a new stage record and delivering the first-ever stage win in Kokugakuin’s history. A fantastic run, with Chuo University finishing second, also breaking the previous stage record.

Pressure Makes Diamonds (But Can Also Break Dreams)

An interesting hinge moment came when Waseda captain Tomonori Yamaguchi passed Kokugakuin captain Ryuto Uehara at the 13km mark of the brutal 23.1km second leg, moving into second place.

Last year, Yamaguchi went out like a rocket and paid dearly for it. It’s a familiar story on this notoriously tough stage, with its long, grinding climbs: captains feel they have to lead from the front. This year, the pressure told on Uehara instead. Handed an advantageous first position, he struggled and slipped back to sixth. Yamaguchi, by contrast, ran a controlled, sparkling race to lift Waseda into third, just one second behind Chuo.

Do You Wanna Be a Record Breaker?

With stage records falling on legs one and two, you started to wonder if a clean sweep might be on the cards. That run was halted on leg three, albeit narrowly, and stage four came within just two seconds.

Then Kuroda obliterated the fifth-leg record, almost unnoticed amid the unfolding drama.

You have to wonder what’s driving it. Is it the shoes? (They can’t have changed that much in a year, can they?) Are the shoes enabling better training? Is it fueling? Coach tactics? Or all of the above?

Whatever it is, there’s definitely something in the sports water.

Bring on the Super Rookie

Whispers of a future Waseda University Hakone victory have been growing, thanks to smart recruitment and a young squad. The general consensus, though, is that they’re still a little undercooked and need time. That proved true today, although tomorrow still looms.

With a late lineup change, whether tactical or forced, there was plenty of intrigue around how high-school superstar Rui Suzuki would fare in his Hakone debut and his first-ever race beyond 20km.

With his distinctive forward lean, à la Timothy Cheruiyot, Suzuki showed he is the real deal. His fourth-leg performance was outstanding, powering past more experienced runners to haul Waseda into second and missing the stage record by just a couple of seconds.

A genuine game-changer. What a talent.

Super Shoe Watch

Last year, Hakone felt like an adidas show, all cool grey with pink stripes. This year, ASICS seem to be the clear stand-outs in terms of visibility, with their electric-green METASPEED TOKYO prominent on the feet of many runners.

Having said that, it was two Pumas and three adidas that guided the five stage winners to their fastest times, so maybe visibility isn't everything if it doesn't match up with performance?

From a purely aesthetic point of view, the bright frog-green ASICS clashed horrendously with some school uniforms (haha), but maybe that was the point.

I hope to see more brands truly embrace the Ekiden concept in the years to come. New Balance, HOKA – I’m looking at you.

How Cute! Kitty-chan’s Hakone Ekiden Debut

Yamanashi Gakuin's new sponsorship by Sanrio saw the queen of cute herself, Kitty-chan, stitched onto the top right of the team's singlets. The team sits firmly in the middle of the pack and doesn't get a huge amount of TV time, but their star Kenyan runner Brian Kipyegon put in a strong second-leg performance, and their captain came to the party with a gutsy run on the mountain stage. That opened a brief window for the cameras to highlight this unlikely but very Japanese collaboration.

Best Race in Hakone History?

I’m convinced this will go down as one of the most legendary races in over 100 years of Hakone Ekiden history. The finish was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and Asahi Kuroda could go on to do extraordinary things in long-distance running if managed well.

Of course, this is only day one, and the race heads back to Tokyo tomorrow. The signs point toward a third straight overall victory for Aoyama Gakuin, but after today’s rollercoaster, nothing feels guaranteed.

Bring on tomorrow.