Our story in the Inaugural UK Ekiden

The first UK Ekiden was run along the Thames from Oxford to Windsor on June 24th, 2024.

Our club did not disappoint as we placed 5th overall, behind 3 elite university teams and “Team Paris Marathon” – a club of Japanese runners in London who can never get a place in the London Marathon, so cross the channel each year.

A big thank you to Yumi, for her tremendous effort on the organization and for making our team shine abroad!

Below are the write-ups from each of the team members.

Leg 1: Andy Robinson: 13.5k in 58:31

It was a great honor to lead off Namban Rengo, in my first race for the club since 1989!  This race connected up so many parts of my life, as a former student in Oxford as well as with Namban in Japan.  It was lovely to see and chat to Mara Yamauchi (the UK’s most successful female marathoner, who I knew as an undergraduate) who turned up to the start and the finish.

I had been hoping for 4:20 pace – 7 min miles, my best recent 10 – but that assumes perfect terrain – and it was already hot at 8am.  I have not raced beyond 5k in a while so started easily down the paved towpath – as for an 800m – safest to start last and pick it up!

After the paved path ended 3k in, we suddenly hit tougher dirt sections and a bunch of swing gates; I very nearly “took out” the Financial Times editor with one such gate, as he was riding with us on his Brompton bike!

I found myself in a group of three Oxford students – one current student for Momiji, one 24-year-old running for Arcus, and one “old fart” – and it stayed that way for most of the course, running at about 4:30 pace. I’d never been down the towpath past Sandford Lock before – the run to Abingdon is a delight, although there are plenty of tough rutted dirt sections which are very narrow, a lot of long grass and nettles, and some uncertain moments where we wondered if we were on the route.  From time to time one pops out onto a beautiful lawn by the riverside, and there’s a beautiful park and lawn coming to the finish at Abingdon Bridge, where Pat O’Grady was waiting impatiently 😉

A liter of Poccari Sweat was waiting at the finish, and logistics were eased by the express bus from the finish back to Abingdon, allowing me to grab a cheeky shower!  My Japanese aunt, who lives 200m from the course in Marlow, then made a lovely lunch for Pat and I, with sashimi, miso shiro and chicken Kara-age, and we strolled to the river to watch the lead Oxford runner on stage 9.  Then onto Windsor for festivities!

Leg 2: Patrick O’Grady (63) – 14k

Editor’s note: on the Friday before the Ekiden, 63-year-old Pat recorded the fastest time in the world for an over-60 in the 5k – 16:13
It was such a great event and I’m delighted to have been part of it. I ran the 2nd leg which was just over 14km.
At the hotel we were treated to a taiko drum performance as we were dispatched to our respective changeover points. The sun was shining and you could feel the day warming up. I was glad I was on an early leg. After about 45 mins , the shout went out “runner coming” snd the first team appeared through a tunnel next to the river. Everyone on the 2nd leg was now focused on the tunnel in anticipation of which team would come through next.

“Runner coming” rang out and Andy appeared from the tunnel with a very sweaty sash . Off I went and after a km I passed 1 runner, can’t remember the team but he seemed more interested in his phone than the Ekiden. After a couple of km the ground became extremely rough under foot. It felt dangerous so I decided to pull back on the pace as I was afraid I’d twist an ankle. Eventually I started to see my finish point in the distance, it wasn’t hard as it was a big hill with trees on top. Anyway it seemed quite far away but I pushed on .My last km approached as and boy was it hard . The run to the top for the changeover had a 23% hill , it nearly killed me. On the top was a smiling Yumi who was looking forward to her. 8k with a 1 k downhill start.
I was happy at the end and delighted to have participated in my first Ekiden in 30 years.
After my leg, I was picked up my Andy who brought me to his aunt’s house in Marlow for sushi and beer.

What a super day

Leg 3: Yumi Asada 8km in 37:56

I am extremely glad that Namban could take part in this great initiative. Ekiden is a unique running culture in Japan, and thanks to Namban, many non-Japanese runners have enjoyed participating in it for the last 40 years! As soon as I heard about this race from Bob, I contacted the organizer to secure a spot for us. It was my honor to be involved in this as a Namban runner, team organizer, and race organizer too. Everything worked out great, and I am so grateful for that.

I ran leg 3, which was initially 9.5 km but was shortened to 8 km, making it the shortest distance among the other legs. It started at the top of a big hill in Little Wittenham, so I began with a steep downhill. A big thanks to Patrick, who endured the uphill at the end of his hard run before passing the tasuki to me! My route was beautiful, going through flat fields and then along the Thames. There were some tricky sections, and I would have easily gotten lost if I hadn’t done a practice run a few weeks earlier. There were some gates and blocked paths, so it wasn’t a typical road race; it was more like a trail or adventure run. After running in the field, along the Thames path, and on paved roads, I passed my tasuki to my next teammate, dear Renaud.

It was amazing to bring Namban members in the UK together! I probably would never have met them if this hadn’t happened. Everyone was so great! Namban rocks!

Leg 4: Renaud Isman – 12.8k in 1:02:34

The runners of the first four legs, Andy, Patrick Yumiko and myself stayed in Oxford the night before the race. We were joined by Adam, who was running the last leg, for a light diner and a few drinks. It was an amazing opportunity to meet Namban runners from different era, Andy and Patrick from the late 80’s early 90’s Adam from the early 2000’s, share anecdotes about the club, our respective memories of Ekiden racing, especially Okutama (Bob’s favorite) and running in general. The next morning Patrick, Yumiko and I were dispatched by bus to our respective starts.

My leg was leg four, 12 kms between Wallingford and Goring. All runners of leg 4 were waiting in the gorgeous setting of the perfect lawn of an English Manor House, on a blue sky sunny morning. While waiting for the arrival of our teammates of leg 3 we mixed and chatted with the other runners providing again a great opportunity to meet wonderful people from all walks of life, keen runners or more occasional one, brought together by their passion for running and desire to experience the comradeship and team spirit of the ekiden. We also learnt that our leg had been extended by 2kms – I secretly admired Yumiko’s wisdom for picking up leg 3 !

The university runners arrived in short order followed by the Mizuno runner then the Paris marathon one. I was waiting in the relay zone nervously when I saw Yumiko dashing through the lawn looking very strong. I grabbed the tasuki from her and started my race. The first 2.5 km were exclusively road so I settled in a stable 4mn per km pace under a sun that had turned extremely strong. I then reached the path – an uneven mixture of grass, dirt, mud with holes where I had to constantly look at the ground and carefully figure out where my feet should land. My pace started to drop 4.10, 4.15, 4.20,4.30 4.40 … and I was thinking to myself how low can it go! Another unexpected challenge proved to be the opening ( and closing) of the many path gates – there were about 15 in total – with 3 or 4 different opening mechanisms latch, lever, pulley …- I wished I had trained as an engineer!

One was closed with a padlock which meant I had to climb over it, giving a slight Spartan twist to the race…somehow I managed to gather a bit more momentum towards the last 3 km, where the terrain became more even. I finally reached the road and the bridge in Goring – I could see the Mizuno runner about 300 m away from me – I must have managed to catch up a bit of time with him. I reached the end of the bridge and then … disaster struck! The path to the finish was not particularly well signaled … I took a wrong turn, ran about 400m and ended up in the middle of a church graveyard … (literally and figuratively I guess). I realized my mistake , cursed myself and swore (in French) loudly… I retraced my steps in panic and somehow managed to get back to the right path.

I sprinted as fast as I could to the handover zone where I could see Tony waiting for me with a very worried look. I handed over the tasuki to him and sat down on the ground in a pool of sweat, cursing myself profusely for letting my teammates down! Later on I was joined by Yumiko and we drove to Henley to watch Jon handing over to Ed and then to the finish where we gathered with Kelly, Tony Andy and Patrick to watch Adam blasting through the finish line under a blistering sun…Altogether it was an amazing experience, with great bonding with old and new friends … on what would probably turned to be the best day of English summer… I am already looking forward to next year second edition!

Leg 5: Anthony (Tony) Collins: 11.1k in 53:46

My day started early morning and an arrival at Reading station at 8. We had a few false starts, 10 people waiting at the wrong registration point and a bus that took us to the finish point rather than the start. But I made it to the Goring on Thames handover ready for my 11.1K leg around midday.

I waited in anticipation for Renaud gauging arrival time on a What’s App location share. In he came, looking rather stressed and apologizing for a wrong turn….. Sweaty sash in hand and I was on the road, or rather on the trail.

Most of the path was hard mud / grass with a fair number of gates and one ascent that looked perpendicular…. I marched up as fast as I could and quickly understood that my fitness wasn’t great. I was on my own but waiting for an Oxford University student to appear on my shoulder at any time.

Navigation wasn’t something I had considered, just follow the signs or river path, I thought. Alas I missed an arrow and resorted to shouting at a random person on the high street if he had seen any runners. ‘You’re going the wrong way’ he confirmed. Running with me and shouting directions I slowed to a respectful pace, but fast enough to try not to lose further time.

After a 0.5K detour I was back on the Thames, a beautiful section, like the Tama the river has such a different feel away from the city.

Finally I arrived, hot and pretty exhausted for the handover to the incredibly cheerful and friendly new Namban member Kelly and off she went.

My average pace was 4:38. Not brilliant but like other members we had to bear in mind the sun, trail, roots, grass, gates, the occasional dog walker and wrong turn.

The day concluded in a beautiful field where the finish line held views of Windsor castle one way and Taiko drummers the other. What an incredible day, where the memories and friendship spread in the heat of a sunny day. The Namban team consisted of newer and older members and showed the international dimension of the club in a warm Japanese context. Special thanks to Yumi for all her hard work and making it happen.

Leg 6: Kelly Willis – 12.2k in 1:02:09

The First UK Ekiden along the lovely Thames Path was a wonderful experience and I am so happy to have been a part of it with Team Namban Rengo! My day began in Reading with teammates Tony and Jon. We wished Tony well as he left first and then Jon and I boarded the bus for our respective starts. We had a nice chat and wished each other a great race!! The social club was a wonderful place to wait, but Tony was too quick and I was soon off and running!

The beginning of Leg 6 is in a quaint neighborhood and it is uphill. I felt the heat, but tried to not let it get to me. I was happy when the hill was over and I saw the entrance to the canopy covered Thames Path. For several kilometers I enjoyed running along the lovely dirt path in the shade of the trees. Trying to make up some time I lost on the hill. Upon entering Reading, there was a path closed sign, but the yellow sign with the red arrow said to continue straight, so I did. A minute later, a gentleman told me I had to turn around and go back out and around. It was during this time that I noticed the Oxford Team 2 runner. Unfortunately, she passed me and I did my best to keep her close. She was a local and knew the way, so at least I was happy to know that by following her I would not get lost, we ran in an open field for a couple kilometers which exposed us to the sun and was tricky for running, but beautiful and exciting. Soon we were closing in on the end of our leg. I turned up a steep path and was delighted to have cheerleaders and Jon waiting for me at the church in Sonning. I passed the sash to Jon and knew my team would eventually catch us up. I did my very best and I was exhausted, but happy.

Leg 7: Jon Morrell: 13.8k in 1:02:43

Leg 7 was mostly flat and I was hoping to run about 4:15 pace, but I under-estimated the terrain and heat, and over-estimated my ability. I set off 3 minutes behind the Oxford Uni B team and hoped to catch him, but for 14k I didn’t see another runner in front or behind me. My pace started at 4:10 but slipped with every passing km. I finished with a 4:32/km average in the same position. The route was fun, it was great to meet up with some Namban faces (old and new) and I really enjoyed the event…but hopefully it will be a bit cooler next year!

Leg 8: Edward Louth: 14.3k in 1:03:03

It was a warm and sunny morning while we waited under a bandstand in Henley for the previous leg runners to come in. Rather than read my book, I ended up chatting to some bemused locals and tourists, doing my best to explain what a Japanese Ekiden is. While the fastest university teams were far ahead, I was able to see on the online tracker that Namban had been jostling with the Oxford second team for the last few legs. I was waiting in the start pen with my opposite number, but when the time came he got a three minute head start. Somewhat optimistically I shot off at high speed, hoping to catch a glimpse of him on one of the straighter sections. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, and the heat out in the open fields of Henley got the better of me, as I progressively slowed down over the 14 or so kilometers. Overall it was a lot of fun and a beautiful part of the countryside to run in on a fabulous day, even if a bit less sun would probably have helped me run a little faster.

Leg 9: Jürgen Wittstock (V65) – 13.9k in 1:06:19

I really enjoyed participating in the inaugural UK Ekiden. The race was well organized, despite some occasional signs of inexperience. I especially liked the well-provided handoff locations and the sponsorship; there was enough food and drink available, and the people were incredibly friendly. The course was a bit tricky, with some animal gates and stairs when crossing the Thames, so I was happy to average 4:48 minutes per kilometer. This was a bit slower than planned, but still solid. I encourage the club to join the event again next year, and I will consider coming over if I have the time.

Leg 10: Adam Osborne – 10.3 in 38:27

Leg 10 meant a long wait to run but most of it was spent in air-conditioned buses and hotels, which was a blessing in such a hot day! Once I started, I instantly gained a place as the 5th place team’s runner, who Juergen had reeled in, was, impressively, running legs 9 and 10 and stopped for some well-deserved water. Leg 10 made its way past some huge Thames-side mansions before heading under the welcome shade of the tree-lined river path, a bit rutted but decent running. I set off like it was 2002 and I was still racing in Tokyo, but soon settled into a more sensible pace. The last mile took in a big open field and the heat rose again but by then I could almost hear the taiko drums at the finish line! Great to be part of a Namban team again and to meet several generations of the club, as well as a reminder of how much I always enjoyed ekidens! Hopefully the event will go from strength to strength and we can return!