The New Year Ekiden, (officially the 全日本実業団対抗駅伝競走大会 (All-Japan Men's Corporate Team Ekiden Championships)), is an annual men's ekiden (road running relay) over 100 kilometres which takes place in Japan's Gunma Prefecture on 1 January. The race is a national championship contested between Japan's corporate (business) running teams.[1] There is also an annual championship race for women in Japan – the Women's Corporate Ekiden Championships. The race starts and ends in the city of Maebashi and the course passes through the major cities within the prefecture, including Takasaki, Isesaki, Ota and Kiryu.[2] The relay is divided into seven legs of varying lengths that alternate on a frequent basis. The 2012 race was divided as follows: 12.3 km, 8.3 km, 13.6 km, 22 km, 15.8 km, 12.5 km and 15.5 km.[3]

Historically, the race was conducted around Kashiko Island in Mie Prefecture at its inauguration in 1957. Over the first 30 years of the competition's life it expanded from an 83 km race to a 99 km one. The 31st edition in 1986 was held around Hikone and the Shiga Prefecture, but the race moved again the following year to its current location of Gunma. At this point the distance was reduced to around 85 km and the full 100 km format was introduced at the 2001 ekiden. The first competition featured 14 corporate running teams and this number steadily increased when the entry was limited to around 40 teams. The 50th edition in 2006 proved to be an except in this respect, as 43 teams were allowed entry in respect of the five people killed during the East Japan Railway derailment accident on 25 December 2005.[4]

The competition has been broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television every year since 1988 and there is also coverage on TBS Radio. The main commercial sponsor of the relay race is Yamazaki Baking. It has been claimed that the high TV viewing figures of this meet makes it the central motivating event in the annual calendar for professional runners in Japan.[5]

Participation

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Teams gain qualification into the final ekiden race through a series of preliminaries which are principally conducted on a regional basis.[6] Some qualifying competitions are for both men and women while others are single-sex qualifiers. The Eastern Japan Corporate Ekiden Championship qualifies men's and women's teams. The Kyushu men's qualifying race (Fukuoka City to Kita Kyushu city) is held in November.[7] and others include the Kansai Jitsugyodan Ekiden in Tabe, the Chubu and Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Ekidens in Gero, and the Chugoku Jitsugyodan Ekiden in Sera, Hiroshima.

Although the majority of the competing athletes are Japanese, a limited number of foreign runners are allowed to participate. These runners are mostly Kenyan immigrants and are often the best runners on the team. Companies are permitted foreign representatives on just one of the seven legs. Past Kenyans that have competed at the New Year Ekiden include Martin Mathathi, Josephat Ndambiri and Samuel Wanjiru.[8] Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeylan is another prominent East African to have competed.[1]

Past results

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Edition Date Location Distance Teams 1st (h:m:s) 2nd (h:m:s) 3rd (h:m:s) Notes
1st 1957 3 March Ise 83.5km 14 Yawata Iron & Steel (4:27:58) Asahi Kasei Kasei (4:32:21) Japan National Railway (4:37:11)
2nd 1958 3 February Ise 83.5km 15 Riccar Sewing (4:28:21) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:33:02) Kanebo (4:38:25)
3rd 1959 3 January Ise 83.5km 14 Riccar Sewing (4:27:56) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:30:57) Toyo Bearing (4:36:14)
4th 1960 21 February Ise 83.5km 15 Yawata Iron & Steel (4:30:11) Toyo Bearing (4:31:43) Meiji Seika (4:39:14)
5th 1960 18 December Ise 83.5km 17 Riccar Sewing (4:25:23) Tokyo Express (4:30:17) Kurashiki Rayon (4:32:17)
6th 1961 17 December Ise 83.6km 19 Tokyu (4:25:35) Riccar Sewing (4:28:10) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:28:11)
7th 1962 16 December Ise 83.6km 16 Yawata Iron & Steel (4:16:04) Tokyu (4:19:27) Kurashiki Rayon (4:22:53)
8th 1963 15 December Ise 83.6km 19 Tokyu (4:16:13) Asahi Kasei (4:18:37) Toyo (4:19:11)
9th 1964 20 December Ise 83.6km 18 Asahi Kasei (4:13:28) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:14:34) Tokyu (4:14:37)
10th 1965 19 December Ise 83.6km 21 Asahi Kasei (4:14:21) Tokyu (4:15:13) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:15:25)
11th 1966 18 December Ise 83.0 km 23 Asahi Kasei (4:15:44) Kurashiki Rayon (4:16:40) Riccar Sewing (4:17:04) Distance reduced
12th 1967 17 December Ise 83.0 km 26 Denden Chugoku (4:14:57) Kurashiki Rayon (4:15:21) Kyushu Electric Works (4:15:51)
13th 1968 22 December Ise 83.0 km 24 Asahi Kasei (4:11:45) Yawata Iron & Steel (4:13:15) Toyo Bearing (4:13:30)
14th 1969 21 December Ise 83.0 km 23 Toyo (4:08:11) Asahi Kasei (4:08:23) Denden Chugoku (4:08:55)
15th 1970 20 December Ise 99.4km 23 Denden Chugoku (5:00:59) Asahi Kasei (5:02:30) Riccar Sewing (5:02:40) Distance extended
16th 1971 19 December Ise 99.4km 25 Toyo (5:02:08) Kanebo (5:03:57) Kuraray (5:04:21)
17th 1972 17 December Ise 99.4km 26 Kuraray (4:58:10) Toyo (4:58:54) Asahi Kasei (4:59:03)
18th 1973 16 December Ise 99.0 km 26 Asahi Kasei (5:06:47) Nippon Steel (5:06:53) Toyo (5:06:54) Distance reduced
19th 1974 15 December Ise 99.0 km 25 Kanebo (5:01:42) Asahi Kasei (5:05:47) Kobe Steel (5:05:47)
20th 1975 21 December Ise 99.0 km 25 Asahi Kasei (4:58:48) Kanebo (4:59:05) Riccar Sewing (4:59:24)
21st 1976 19 December Ise 99.0 km 27 Kanebo (4:58:42) Asahi Kasei (5:02:05) Kobe Steel (5:03:35)
22nd 1977 18 December Ise 99.0 km 27 Kanebo (5:00:10) Kyushu Electric Works (5:02:40) Asahi Kasei (5:03:07)
23rd 1978 17 December Ise 99.0 km 27 Asahi Kasei (5:00:09) Kanebo (5:03:35) Nippon Steel (5:05:55)
24th 1979 16 December Ise 99.0 km 28 Asahi Kasei (4:57:15 Kyushu Electric Works (5:03:12) Riccar Sewing (5:04:16)
25th 1980 21 December Ise 99.0 km 26 Asahi Kasei (4:56:00) Kobe Steel (5:00:56) Riccar Sewing (5:03:56
26th 1981 20 December Ise 99.0 km 28 Asahi Kasei (4:59:18) Kanebo (5:01:38) Riccar Sewing (5:02:06)
27th 1982 19 December Ise 99.0 km 28 Asahi Kasei (4:56:42) Kanebo (4:57:07) Kobe Steel (5:00:48)
28th 1983 18 December Ise 99.0 km 28 Asahi Kasei (4:57:11) Kobe Steel (4:59:08) Kanebo (5:00:48)
29th 1984 16 December Ise 99.0 km 30 S & B Foods (4:48:32) Asahi Kasei (4:54:46) Nissan (4:56:45)
30th 1985 15 December Ise 99.0 km 29 S & B Foods (4:48:32) Asahi Kasei (4:54:46) Nissan (4:56:45)
31st 1986 21 December Hikone 84.4km 30 S & B Foods (4:04:01) Asahi Kasei (4:07:39) Nissan (4:08:55) Distance reduced
32nd 1988 1 January Gunma 84.9km 27 S & B Foods (4:05:45) Nissan (4:07:40) Asahi Kasei (4:09:32) Distance extended
33rd 1989 1 January Gunma 86.3km 25 Nissan (4:14:52) Asahi Kasei (4:16:53) NEC HE (4:19:26) Distance extended
34th 1990 1 January Gunma 86.3km 24 Asahi Kasei (4:13:52) Kyushu Electric Works (4:14:51) Nissan (4:16:16)
35th 1991 1 January Gunma 86.3km 25 Asahi Kasei (4:10:04) Nissan (4:13:20) Honda Saitama (4:13:55)
36th 1992 1 January Gunma 86.3km 26 Asahi Kasei (4:08:24) Kyudenko Corporation (4:12:24) Yaskawa (4:13:30)
37th 1993 1 January Gunma 86.3km 32 Asahi Kasei (4:10:50) Kyudenko Corporation (4:14:22) Honda (4:15:33)
38th 1994 1 January Gunma 86.3km 32 Asahi Kasei (4:14:21) Honda (4:18:22) Kanebo (4:18:38)
39th 1995 1 January Gunma 86.3km 37 Asahi Kasei (4:15:02) Kanebo (4:17:00) S & B Foods (4:17:05)
40th 1996 1 January Gunma 86.3km 37 Kanebo (4:14:33) Asahi Kasei (4:14:34) S & B Foods (4:19:29)
41st 1997 1 January Gunma 86.3km 37 Asahi Kasei (4:07:54) S & B Foods (4:07:57) Daiei (4:12:00)
42nd 1998 1 January Gunma 86.3km 37 Asahi Kasei (4:06:28) S & B Foods (4:06:43) Daiei (4:10:07)
43rd 1999 1 January Gunma 86.4km 37 Asahi Kasei (4:11:34) S & B Foods (4:12:24) Chugoku Electric Power (4:14:54) Distance extended
44th 2000 1 January Gunma 86.4km 37 Fujitsu Limited (4:12:07) Asahi Kasei (4:12:45) NEC (4:15:37)
45th 2001 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica (4:49:44) Fujitsu Limited (4:50:59) Chugoku Electric Power (4:53:25) Distance extended
46th 2002 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica (4:45:32) Chugoku Electric Power (4:46:21) Nissin (4:49:38)
47th 2003 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica (4:44:48) Nissin (4:47:02) Chugoku Electric Power (4:47:11)
48th 2004 1 May 1 Gunma 100.0 km 37 Chugoku Electric Power (4:47:03) Konica Minolta (4:49:05) Nissin (4:50:35)
49th 2005 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica Minolta (4:48:57) Chugoku Electric Power (4:49:44) Nissin (4:50:41)
50th 2006 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 43 Konica Minolta (4:44:54) Chugoku Electric Power (4:45:53) Fujitsu Limited (4:46:52) Memorial race
51st 2007 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Chugoku Electric Power (4:47:02) Asahi Kasei (4:47:53) Nissin (4:48:16)
52nd 2008 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica Minolta (4:46:28) Chugoku Electric Power (4:49:45) Honda (4:49:56)
53rd 2009 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Fujitsu (4:51:55) Nissin Group (4:51:56) Asahi Kasei (4:51:56)
54th 2010 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Nissin Group (4:50:07) Konica Minolta (4:50:36) Fujitsu (4:51:37)
55th 2011 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Toyota (4:51:56) Fujitsu (4:51:57) Nissin Group (4:52:05)
56th 2012 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Nissin Group (4:49:32) Konica Minolta (4:50:52) Asahi Kasei (4:51:16)
57th[9] 2013 1 January Gunma 100.0 km 37 Konica Minolta (4:51:32) Toyota Kyushu (4:55:24) Honda (4:55:25)

Stage records

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Stage Distance Time (m:s) Runner Team Year
1st 12.3 km 34:16 Martin Mathathi Suzuki 2007
2nd 8.3 km 21:54 Josephat Ndambiri Komori 2009
3rd 13.7 km 37:52 Chihiro Miyawaki Toyota 2012
4th 22.0 km 1:02:51 Yuki Sato Nissin Foods 2012
5th 15.8 km 44:57 Tomoo Tsubota Konica 2002
6th 12.5 km 36:35 Kazuharu Takai Kyudenko 2012
7th 15.5 km 44:53 James Ndungu Honda 2002
2003

References

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  1. ^ a b Nakamura, Ken (2011-01-01). Toyota takes first New Year Ekiden title. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  2. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2010-01-01). Nissin Foods finally wins New Year Ekiden in Maebashi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  3. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2012-01-01). Nissin Foods wins men’s corporate Ekiden title in Maebashi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  4. ^ Champions (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  5. ^ web page
  6. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2005-12-30). Preview of the 50th ‘New Year Ekiden’. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  7. ^ 2010 video.
  8. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2006-01-01). Konica-Minolta wins 50th New Year’s Ekiden. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  9. ^ Nakamura, Ken (2013-01-01). Konica Minolta wins Japan Corporate Men's Ekiden. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-17.
Winners and stage records
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