JAPANESE CULTURE, EXPLAINED

Ekiden: a road race shared across a team

駅伝

An ekiden is a long-distance relay, usually run on roads. Runners cover successive legs and pass a tasuki sash at exchange points. Individual pacing matters within a larger problem: matching runners to sections and carrying the team through the whole course.

Legs, runners and tactics

The route becomes a set of responsibilities

Video still of the second Okumusashi exchange zone; hands are obscured, so this is not a clear sash-handover demonstration. Credit: Bruce Carrick; CC BY-SA 3.0.

Before the exchange: the green runner holds the removed sash as the yellow runner reaches back. — Before: the green runner holds the removed sash as the yellow runner reaches back.

During the exchange: the same flexible cloth loop passes between runners’ hands; it is not a baton. — During: the flexible cloth loop passes between runners’ hands; it is not a baton.

After the exchange: the yellow runner wears the sash diagonally and runs on, while the green runner slows behind. — After: the yellow runner wears the sash diagonally and runs on; the green runner slows behind.

The three action illustrations are generalized, not a named race or rules for hand choice or putting on the sash.

A course is divided into legs that can differ in distance, gradients and conditions. Each runner covers an assigned section rather than the entire route. The sash is worn diagonally and passed to the next runner at an exchange point. The team’s overall performance is built from those successive efforts.

Legs form one continuous team route

Runner A covers leg 1

Pass the sash at the exchange

Runner B covers leg 2

Two legs shown schematically; events can have more legs with different distances and gradients.

Leg selection is a tactical decision

Short sections, long sections, climbs and descents ask different things of speed, endurance and experience. An athlete interview in JAAF’s 2018 women’s ekiden leaflet describes coaches considering abilities and personalities when choosing the order. Winning a leg and winning the whole race are different achievements; earlier pacing changes the situation later runners inherit.

Modern ekiden and its expansion

The modern race took shape in 1917

The 1917 Tōkaidō relay linked Kyoto’s Sanjō Bridge with Tokyo’s Shinobazu Pond over 23 legs and three days. Its name drew on older vocabulary for road stations and transmission, rather than preserving the ancient transport system as a sport. Hakone began in 1920 with four schools, becoming one particular event within the developing form.

Several kinds of teams take part

Ekiden extends beyond Hakone’s men’s university teams. JAAF’s 2018 leaflet lists school, university, corporate and prefectural women’s events. The national women’s prefectural race began in 1983 and combines runners from different age groups. Each event defines its own leg count, distance and eligibility.

The team beyond the course

Support extends beyond the runners

Road relays depend on exchanges, officials, transport and practical support as well as training. Hakone’s account describes students organising the event; the women’s leaflet records volunteers guiding runners towards exchange transport and distributing supplies. Live television coverage of Hakone began in 1987, bringing a geographically dispersed relay into household viewing.

Check your understanding

Does every runner cover the whole course?

No. Each covers an assigned leg.

Must every ekiden have ten legs?

No. The particular event defines its route and leg count.

Why is the fastest individual leg not the whole result?

The team’s performance combines successive legs, shaped by runner selection and order.

Sources and images