The

International Chiba Ekiden The International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race, or ekiden as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is s ...

was an annual team

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

competition held in Chiba,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in late November. The

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

relay race A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, oriente ...

, or

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competiti ...

as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is split into six legs which combine to make up the

distance of 42.195 km. The Chiba Ekiden was first held in 1988 and featured separate competitions for both men and women. Since 2007, each competing country selects three men and three women for their team. The legs are divided as follows: 5 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), and 7.195 km (women). The men's

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the event was set at the competition in 2005 as the

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

n team of

Josephat Ndambiri Josephat Muchiri Ndambiri (born 12 February 1985) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007. He is based in Japan and trains with PACE Sports Management. He moved to Japan as a te ...

, Martin Mathathi, Daniel Mwangi,

Mekubo Mogusu Mekubo Job Mogusu (born 25 December 1986) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running, particularly the half marathon. An emigrant to Japan, he has won the Sapporo Half Marathon on three occasions and the Kagawa Marugame H ...

, Onesmus Nyerere and John Kariuki completed the course in a time of 1:57:06. In the same race the Japanese team ran an Asian record, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

men ran a North American record and the fourth-placed

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n team broke the European record.

Winners

:Key: ''Stage winner''

References

External links

Official site
Race commentaries in English

{{Ekiden __NOTOC__ Recurring sporting events established in 1988 2014 disestablishments in Japan Road running competitions in Japan Ekiden Sport in Chiba (city) Autumn in Japan

Winners

See also

References

External links