Overview
- Five runners from Aoyama Gakuin covered the 107.5-kilometer outbound route in 5:18:08 between Tokyo’s Otemachi and Hakone.
- The team holds an 18-second advantage over Waseda after the first day of the two-day collegiate relay.
- Chuo finished third in 5:19:44 and Kokugakuin placed fourth in 5:20:02 heading into Saturday’s return leg.
- Asahi Kuroda clocked a mountain-leg record of 1:07:16 for the 20.8-kilometer fifth section, nearly two minutes faster than the previous mark.
- Aoyama Gakuin climbed from 16th after the opening leg to first by the end of the fifth, keeping its overall title defense on track.