The All-Japan Women’s Corporate (Jitsugyodan) Ekiden Championship is held in mid December. The 6 stage 42.195 kilometer

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competition, but it sim ...

race had been held in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

Prefecture from 1983 to 2010. For the December 18, 2011 race, the site was moved to

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships

The All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships is a series of races contested between Japan's corporate (business) running teams. The structure involves regional qualifying races and a national championship for women and for men.Nakamura, Ken (2011-01-01)
Toyota takes first New Year Ekiden title
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16. The All-Japan Men's Corporate Ekiden Championship, also called the

New Year Ekiden The New Year Ekiden, (officially the ), 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 (busi ...

takes place in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

on 1 January.

Qualification Structure

Teams for the women's championship gain qualification into the final ekiden race through a series of 3 preliminaries
(2011 summary)
The Eastern Japan Corporate Ekiden Championship qualifies men's and women's teams. Two other qualifying meets for the women are held for Central Japan and Western Japan

The Western Japan women's qualifying race (6 stages, 42.195 km, 31st race on October 23, 2011) begins in

Munakata, Fukuoka is a city in Japan, located in Fukuoka Prefecture, in the north Chikuzen region of the prefecture. The city was founded on April 1, 1981. As of April 30, 2022, the city has an estimated population of 97,098 and a population density of 810 perso ...

website
After the 3 regional qualifying ekiden events, the field is typically narrowed to 24 to 27 teams, although new qualification standards in 2011 increased the field to include any corporate team that could break the 2:30 mark in one of the regional qualifier meets. Further details and results of the qualification races can be found at All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships. The men have a slightly different patter
(men's divisions detailed in Japanese)
One of the men's qualifying races is the Kyushu men's qualifying race (7 stages, 78.8 km, 48th on November 23, 2011), which begins in

Fukuoka City is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

and ends in Kita Kyushu city
2010 video
Other regionals include Kansai Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 53rd, held in Tabe), Chubu Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 50th, held in Gero, Gifu), Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 40th, held in Gero, Gifu), and Chugoku Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 49th, held in Sera, Hiroshima).

Championship Ekiden Race

The 33 women's teams that qualified for the championship race in mid December, 2011, ran on the new Sendai course. One of the characteristics of the new course is its uphill natur

with a prevailing headwind.Larner, Brett. ''A Quick Guide to National Championship Ekiden Season''. December 13, 201

accessed Feb. 1,2012.
TBS broadcast homepage, with results (Japanese)
Like the men's championship race, participation of foreign team-members is restricted to the shortest stage, in this case the 3.6 km fourth stage; the same rule applied to the second stage on the Gifu course.Larner, Brett. ''Koide's Team Toyota Jidoshoki Takes Surprise All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Title (updated)''. December 18, 201

accessed Feb. 2,2012.

Results

References

{{Ekiden Ekiden Road running competitions in Japan Sports competitions in Miyagi Prefecture Sports competitions in Gifu Prefecture Women's athletics competitions