All-Japan Women's Corporate Ekiden Championships


The All-Japan Women’s Corporate Ekiden Championship is held in mid December. The 6 stage 42.195 kilometer ekiden race had been held in Gifu Prefecture from 1983 to 2010. For the December 18, 2011 race, the site was moved to Sendai.

All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships

The All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships is a series of races contested between Japan's corporate running teams. The structure involves regional qualifying races and a national championship for women and for men. The All-Japan Men's Corporate Ekiden Championship, also called the New Year Ekiden takes place in Japan's Gunma Prefecture on 1 January.

Qualification Structure

Teams for the women's championship gain qualification into the final ekiden race through a series of 3 preliminaries . The Eastern Japan Corporate Ekiden Championship qualifies men's and women's teams. Two other qualifying meets for the women are held for Central Japan and Western Japan, . The Western Japan women's qualifying race begins in Munakata, Fukuoka; . After the 3 regional qualifying ekiden events, the field is typically narrowed to 24 to 27 teams, although new qualification standards in 2011 increased the field to include any corporate team that could break the 2:30 mark in one of the regional qualifier meets. Further details and results of the qualification races can be found at All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships.
The men have a slightly different pattern . One of the men's qualifying races is the Kyushu men's qualifying race, which begins in Fukuoka City and ends in Kita Kyushu city; . Other regionals include Kansai Jitsugyodan Ekiden, Chubu Jitsugyodan Ekiden, Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Ekiden, and Chugoku Jitsugyodan Ekiden.

Championship Ekiden Race

The 33 women's teams that qualified for the championship race in mid December, 2011, ran on the new Sendai course. One of the characteristics of the new course is its uphill nature with a prevailing headwind. . ; ; ; ; .
Like the men's championship race, participation of foreign team-members is restricted to the shortest stage, in this case the 3.6 km fourth stage; the same rule applied to the second stage on the Gifu course.

Results

First stage
6.6 km		Second stage
3.3 km		Third stage
10.0 km		Fourth stage
4.1 km		Fifth stage
11.6 km		Sixth stage
6.595 km
2009 - 26th
Gifu Course		Aya Isomine
Team Shiseido
20:35		Doricah Obare
Team Hitachi
10:02
new stage record		Kayoko Fukushi
Team Wacoal
31:02
new stage record		Yuka Kakimi
Team Daiichi Seimei
12:46		Yukiko Akaba
Team Hokuren
37:00		Kaori Urata
Team Tenmaya
21:01
2010 - 27th
Gifu Course		Mizuho Nasukawa
Team Univ. Ent.
20:46		Ann Karindi
Team Toyota Jidoshokki
9:56		Kayoko Fukushi
Team Wacoal
31:26		Yuka Kakimi
Team Daiichi Seimei
12:43		Risa Shigetomo
Team Tenmaya
37.36		Kaori Urata
Team Tenmaya
20:39
First stage 7.0 km Second stage 3.9 km Third stage 10.9 km Fourth stage 3.6 km Fifth stage 10.0 km Sixth stage 6.795 km
2011 - 28th
Sendai course		Yoshimi Ozaki
Team Daiichi Seimei
22:17		Riko Matsuzaki
Team Sekisui Kagaku
12:17		Kayo Sugihara
Team Denso
35:43		Felista Wanjugu
Team Univ. Ent.
11:29		Risa Shigetomo
Team Tenmaya
32:51		Tomomi Tanaka
Team Daiichi Seimei
21:06