Overview
- The 102nd Hakone Ekiden ran its outbound stage on Jan. 2 over 107.5 km from Tokyo’s Otemachi to Hakone with 21 university teams, with the return leg set for Jan. 3.
- Aoyama Gakuin, seeking a third straight overall title, executed day-of changes by inserting Asahi Kuroda on the mountain-heavy fifth section and Shota Iida on section two.
- Komazawa University, the reigning All-Japan University Ekiden champion, lined up Shunsuke Kuwata for section two and Yuta Kaeriyama for section three.
- Kokugakuin’s Ryuto Uehara clocked 1:07:08 for section two to rank 12th on the leg and passed the sash in sixth overall, while planned starter Junpei Kakazu did not run after a same-day switch.
- Section highlights included Juntendo’s Rinto Ikema taking ninth on the opening leg in 1:01:20 and Toyo’s Kaito Matsui placing third on section one to deliver a strong start.