, officially called the , is an ekiden (relay marathon) race held between Tokyo and Hakone in Japan on January 2 and 3. Hakone Ekiden is one of the most prominent university-level Ekiden races of the year and is part of the two ekiden race events that celebrate the new year, the other one being the New Year Ekiden for corporate teams on January 1st.
The race is telecast on Nippon Television and streamed on TVer and in the special Yomuri coverage website for the event.
This two-day race from Ōtemachi to Hakone and back is separated into five legs on each day. Due to slight variations in the courses, the first day distance is 107.5 km while the distance on the second day is 109.6 km.
Rules Five legs are provided between Tokyo and Hakone each way. Each runner runs one section, and alternates with the next runner at a station. Each team has ten runners, who each run with their team's sash which is handed over to the next runner on the team at each station.
Participation Twenty universities, which belong to , can participate in this Ekiden. Ten of them are seeded teams that qualify by virtue of finishing in the top ten the previous year. Ten more teams qualify through their team results at the Hakone Ekiden Yosenkai, a 20 km qualifier held in the October preceding the race. A final non-competing select team, the , made up of top-placing individuals at October's Yosenkai 20 km Road Race from universities that do not qualify for Hakone as teams. The 2014 and 2024 races did not include a select team, and before 2014, the select team was called the , and were also constituted by a selection of top runners from universities that did not qualify as one of the 20 participating teams.
Seed rights Teams who finished 10th place or better will be seeded and guarantees participation in the Hakone Ekiden for the next year.
Forfeiture If a runner retires en route to a station because of an accident, injury, or dehydration, his team is treated as retired. Although runners for following sections may run, their times are not officially recorded.
Early Start Failing to get to the relay station within 10 minutes (End of legs 1-2), 15 minutes (End of legs 3-4) or 20 minutes (End of legs 6-9) after the first runner has passed the same station will result in an "Early Start." In the case of an early start, the next runner departs before the previous runner finishes. When the runner is done, the time of the previous runner and the next runner are added together to the ending time. "Early Start" rules apply in the start of Day 2 as well. If, on the day before, a runner finishes 10 minutes after the first runner has finished, an early start is instituted.
The Tsurumi Relay Station (on the return) is notorious for its "Early Starts." Almost every year there is an "Early Start" at Tsurumi, and the 160m exposed path leading to the relay station can cause teammates to get high emotions, as the clock ticks down.
Course
The Climb: Day 1, January 2
Leg 1 (21.3 km) From Ōtemachi, Tokyo to Tsurumi, Yokohama
Course Record : Aoki, Rui (Senior, Kokugakuin University) - 1:00:28 (2026)
The race begins promptly at 8:00a.m. in front of the Yomiuri Shimbun Building in Ōtemachi, Tokyo, and follows a relatively flat course along Hibiya-Dori and National Route 15 past various Tokyo landmarks such as Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo Station, Hibiya Park, Zōjō-ji, and Tokyo Tower. Past Shinagawa Station, the runners will encounter some slopes at as well as Rokugōbashi over the Tama River at the 17 km mark, before arriving at the Tsurumi relay station.
This is one of the defining legs because the first runner's rank affects the flow of the entire ekiden for his team. Usually, for the first 10 kilometers of the race, runners clump into one group. Eventually this group breaks down as people go ahead of the group or fall behind. Therefore, colleges put decently strong runners in the first leg whom can either pace with this group or go ahead. In addition, usually runners with faster sprints run this leg.
Episodes:
In the 66th Hakone Ekiden, the Nihon University runner Yoshihide Tanigawa accidentally diverted from the course. Other runners soon followed, and before long every runner had diverted from the course. Due to traffic regulations not being properly done, there was a scene when a car passed by a runner at a dangerously high speed. For the fact that everyone had diverted from the course, the 1st leg results were not nullified. In the 95th Hakone Ekiden, Komazawa University lost 10 seconds of time when 2nd Leg runner Ichitaka Yamashita failed to appear at Tsurumi relay station on time.
In the 102nd Hakone Ekiden, the 1st leg was run at such a high pace that the first 8 runners (including the OP runner) ran at a sub-1 hour, 1 minute time. The distance of this leg has barely changed historically.
Leg 2 (23.1 km) From Tsurumi to Totsuka Course Record : Victor Kimutai (Senior, Jōsai University) - 1:05:09 (2026)
After departing the Tsurumi relay station, the runners reach Yokohama Station before following National Route 1 on their way to Totsuka relay station. As part of the traditional 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō, the runners will face a significant uphill climb at Gontazaka at the 13 km mark. The last 3 km section at Totsuka (Sometimes called “Totsuka no Kabe (戸塚の壁) or “Totsuka wall”) is also made up of a combination of uphill climbs and downhill descents.
As this is the longest leg of the race, the fastest runner in each team traditionally runs on this course. In addition, the overseas runner for international schools usually runs this course. This is a decisive leg in the Hakone Ekiden, not because it is the longest one and decides the winner, but rather because this leg sets the stage for later legs.
This is the type of leg in which going too fast can easily cause a loss of stamina in the latter half.
The leg is often referred to as in reference to its often star-studded runners and status.
Episodes:
Historically (46th-54th Hakone Ekidens), this leg had been 25.2km, which is over 2km longer than today. The fastest Japanese runner for this leg is Yoshida, Hibiki, at 1:05:43. Ever since the 65th Hakone Ekiden, the only times when an overseas runner did not run Leg 2 was during the 73th-76th Hakone Ekidens, the 88th Hakone Ekiden, and the 91st Hakone Ekiden. Between the 82nd and 92nd Hakone Ekidens, Leg 5 was actually longer than Leg 2.
Leg 3 (21.4 km) From Totsuka to Hiratsuka Course Record : Vincent Yegon (Freshman, Tokyo International University) - 59:25 (2020)
The first 9 km of leg is marked with a gentle descent through Yugo-ji-zaka as the course gradually departs the urban areas towards the Shōnan coastline. The runners join National Route 134 at Chigasaki, and travel along the coastline with Mount Fuji in front of them and Sagami Bay to their left. Leg 3 finishes after the runners cross the Shonan Bridge over Sagami River, and reaches the Hiratsuka relay station on the coast.
Though considered to be the most scenic leg of the entire race, strong and sometimes unpredictable sea winds force runners to adapt as they exit the urban sections of the race. Usually runners specializing in more short-distance runs (5000m, 10000m) run this leg.
Episodes:
The fastest Japanese runner for this leg is Ota, Aoi, at 59:47. The distance of this leg has barely changed historically.
Leg 4 (20.9 km) From Hiratsuka to Odawara
Course Record : Vincent Yegon (Senior, Tokyo International University) - 1:00:00 (2023)
The shortest flat section of the race, leg 4 leads runners parallel to the Tokaido Main Line past towns of Ōiso and Ninomiya, before crossing the Sakawa River into the heart of Odawara. Passing by Odawara Castle, the last 3 km stretch of this leg sees a gradual uphill climb, a prelude to leg 5.
Usually, one of the strongest runners of the team runs this leg, as it is one of the most decisive legs of the Ekiden.
Episodes:
Though nowadays the strongest runners of the team runs this leg, that had not always been the case. Between the 82nd and 92nd Hakone Ekidens, this leg had been shortened into a mere 18.5km. The aim in shortening this leg was to bring more speed runners into the scene. However, the ups and downs of this leg prevented the runner from increasing speed anyways. For this reason, colleges tended to put fast runners on the 3rd leg instead. As a result, in the 93rd Hakone Ekiden, the leg was put back to normal distance. The fastest runner for the old course was Tamura, Kazuki, at 54:28. The fastest Japanese runner for this leg is Rui Suzuki, at 1:00:01.
Leg 5 (20.8 km) From Odawara to Lake Ashi, Hakone
Course Record : Kuroda, Asahi (Senior, Aoyama Gakuin University) - 1:07:16 (2026)
After passing by Hakone-Yumoto Station, the runners run past (or in earlier editions, run through) the Kanreidoumon Gallery to begin their climbs, and pass by various Hakone sights such as the Fujiya Hotel, Hakone Kowakien, a railroad crossing for the Hakone Tozan Line near Kowakidani Station, and Hakone Keimei Gakuen before reaching the highest point of National Route 1 at the 16.2 km mark. Finally, the runners run through the town of Moto-Hakone under the Torii of Hakone Shrine at 19 km, and reach the finish line at Lake Ashi
Colloquially called , leg 5 is considered to be one of the most grueling sections of the race that sees runners climb up to 874 m at the highest point of leg. While almost all competitors forego tank tops and opt to dress in long sleeved apparel to combat the low temperatures, leg 5 sometimes sees runners fall to conditions such as hypothermia and hypoglycemia due to its trying nature. This leg often sees uphill specialists from each team being deployed, with many often only running this section for their universities throughout their collegiate career. Those who have consistent high finishes in this section are traditionally referred to as .
Episodes:
In the 82nd Hakone Ekiden, the distance was changed to 23.4km, making it the longest Hakone leg of the time. The fastest record for this course was Katsuwabawa, Ryuji, at 1:16:39. In the 91st Hakone Ekiden it was remeasured to 23.2km. The fastest record for this course was Kamino, Daichi, at 1:16:15. In the 93rd Hakone Ekiden, it was changed back to 20.8km, following hypothermia and hypoglycemia concerns to those that ran this leg. By this point, three runners had prematurely ended their run due to these harsh conditions.
The Descent: Day 2, January 3
Leg 6 (20.8 km) From Lake Ashi, Hakone to Odawara
Course Record : Nomura, Akimu (Senior, Aoyama Gakuin University) - 56:47 (2025)
Day 2 of the race begins at 8:00a.m. with leg 6 being a reverse course of leg 5 from day 1, and its first 4 km section is an uphill section before rapidly descending the mountains, past the same sights as those of leg 5. The teams' coaches are not allowed to join the teams until they have reached Hakone-Yumoto Station at the base of the mountain.
As a reverse of leg 5 and colloquially called , the downhill leg 6 is a very speedy affair with average runner speeds of 25 km per hour. However, there are a lot of turns that can gradually cause knee pain, and the last 3km of the leg is completely flat, making it feel like an upward climb for the runners. In addition, runners also need to combat the morning chills of starting early in the morning atop of the mountains, which can feature icy and slippery course conditions. As a combination of these challenging conditions, leg 6 also sees a high number of specialist runners much like leg 5, and those who participate often take tolls on their legs and feet as they reach the bottom of the mountain.
Episodes: