Powerhouse Aoyama Gakuin University is back. At least halfway.
Aoyama finished in the lead on Day 1 of the Tokyo-Hakone Intercollegiate Ekiden on Thursday when anchor Takayuki Iida crossed the finish line in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, for a first-day record of 5 hours 21 minutes 16 seconds over 107.5 kilometers.
The university, which failed to win a fifth consecutive overall title last year, takes aim today at finishing with the best time on both days for a decisive victory as it starts the second half from Hakone to Tokyo with a lead of more than 90 seconds in the two-day race. Aoyama is seeking its fifth overall Hakone title.
Aoyama was second when the race entered the fourth leg, 81 seconds behind Tokyo International University (TIU). However, Aoyama senior Yuya Yoshida put on a strong performance, posting a section record of 1:00:30 over the 20.9-kilometer distance to push his school into the lead, and sophomore Iida maintained the cushion over the fifth and final stage.
"I have worked so hard over the past 10 years for only this one hour [of running a Hakone stage]," Yoshida said. "I tried to enjoy the very last part, and I'm so satisfied with my result."
The university took the lead at the end of the second leg, but the TIU's Kenyan freshman Yegon Vincent clocked a stage-record 59:25 in the third leg to push his group to the front.
Thanks to Vincent's inspiring performance, the unseeded TIU finished the first half in third at 5:24:33.
Kokugakuin University did not clock the best time over any of the first-day legs, however, its runners were steady throughout, good for a second-place finish in 5:22:49. Last year's overall winner Tokai University was fourth at 5:24:38. It will start the second day more than 3 minutes behind Aoyama in its quest for its second overall title.
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