Takezawa Kensuke, Japanese long-distance runner

The

International Chiba Ekiden The Ekiden#Other_Major_Ekiden_Events_in_Japan, International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race (athletics), relay race, or ekiden as it is known in ...

was an annual team

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

competition held in

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

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 ...

in late November. The

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

relay race A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

, or

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 ...

as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is split into six legs which combine to make up the

distance of 42.195 km. The Chiba Ekiden was first held in 1988 and featured separate competitions for both men and women. Since 2007, each competing country selects three men and three women for their team. The legs are divided as follows: 5 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), and 7.195 km (women). The men's

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the event was set at the competition in 2005 as the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n team of

Josephat Ndambiri Josephat Muchiri Ndambiri (born 12 February 1985) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007. He is based in Japan and trains with PACE Sports Management. He moved to Japan as a te ...

Martin Mathathi Martin Irungu Mathathi (born 25 December 1985 in Nyahururu) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in track, cross country and road running events. Mathathi won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in O ...

Daniel Mwangi Daniel Muchunu Mwangi (born 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is a joint world record holder for the ekiden marathon relay race. Biography He gained an athletic scholarship as a teenager to train and study in Japan. In 2003 he ran bests ...

Mekubo Mogusu Mekubo Job Mogusu (born 25 December 1986) is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running, particularly the half marathon. An emigrant to Japan, he has won the Sapporo Half Marathon on three occasions and the Kagawa Marugame Hal ...

Onesmus Nyerere Onesmus Nyerere (born 10 November 1983) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner. He was a member of the team that set the world record for the Ekiden road relay on 23 November 2005 in the International Chiba Ekiden. The team, which consisted of ...

and

John Kariuki John Kariuki (born 10 November 1986) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner. At the age of 14 he emigrated to Japan, where he attended Shiga Gakuen High School. After graduating from school, he started competing professionally for the Toyota B ...

completed the course in a time of 1:57:06. In the same race the Japanese team ran an Asian record, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

men ran a North American record and the fourth-placed

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n team broke the European record.

Winners

:Key: ''Stage winner''

References

External links

Official site
Race commentaries in English

{{Ekiden __NOTOC__ Recurring sporting events established in 1988 2014 disestablishments in Japan Road running competitions in Japan Ekiden Sport in Chiba (city) Autumn events in Japan

Winners

See also

References

External links