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First Japan, from Kyoto
Three-day Ekiden
race
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| The First Ekiden Race Went on for Three Days in 1917 |
Start scene at Sanjo Ohashi Bridge |
On 27 April 1917, two athletes wearing a sash started from Sanjo Bridge for Shinobasunoike,
Ueno, Tokyo. This is how the first ekiden race began. Runners of the two teams,
namely the east team and the west team, ran the course divided into 23 sections
stretching 514km day and night for three days.
A student of Doshisha University reportedly joined this historic start and accompanied
the runners as far as Kusatsu, Shiga to cheer them. There were no bridges across
big rivers such as the Kiso River so that to our surprise, the runners crossed
rivers by ferry. The 13th runner of the east team cut his Achilles' tendon. Then
the 14th runner with a sash handed over at the point where the 13th runner dropped
out ran two sections of about 42km. Through such an accident, the ekiden race
was closed with the victory of the east team.
Today in Kyoto, Interscholastic Ekiden Championship, Interprefectural Women's
Ekiden Championship, and other races take place every winter. Sensing the feeling
of winter from ekiden races, people in Kyoto cheer the runners from both sides
of the street. |
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