All-Japan Interprefectural Ekiden Championships
The All-Japan Interprefectural Ekiden Championships are two annual ekiden competitions between the 47 Prefectures of Japan. The championships are both held in January and are divided by gender. The Empress Cup - Interprefectural Women's Ekiden is held in Kyoto on the third Sunday in January. The Interprefectural Men's Ekiden is held in Hiroshima in recent years on the fourth Sunday of January.
Women's Championship
The Empress Cup - Interprefectural Women's Ekiden Championship is held in Kyoto on the third Sunday in January. The 2012 running marks the 30th annual event. Forty seven teams from the 47 prefectures of Japan compete. The course is the same as the course for the high school boys national ekiden race held on the third Sunday of December, except that the women's relay has 9 stages over the 42.195 kilometers. The stages are 6k 4k 3k 4k 4.0175k 4.0875k 4k 3k and 10k. The two 3k stages are reserved for junior high athletes and generally high school athletes run the 5 stages that are 4k or just over 4k. Collegiate and open runners take the 6k and 10k stages. The mixed-age squads maintain a rapid pace. In 2009 the first 10 team teams finished under 2 hours and 20 minutes, and 12 teams broke 2:20 in 2012. In 2009, the team from Kyoto took its 13th championship, and as of that year, in the ekiden's 20 years Kyoto has only twice placed outside the top 6. Okayama took its first ever title in 2010, Kyoto reclaimed it in 2011, and in 2012 Kyoto finished second, a minute back from the winning team from neighboring Osaka.| Edition | First Place | Second Place | Third Place |
| 2009 27th Cup | Kyoto 2:15:39 5th_consecutive | Okayama 2:17:03 | Hyogo 2:17:42 |
| 2010 28th Cup | Okayama 2:16:24 first-ever title | Chiba 2:16:39 | Kyoto 2:17:12 |
| 2011 29th Cup | Kyoto 2:17:16 | Okayama 2:18:07 | Fukuoka 2:19:00 |
| 2012 30th Cup | Osaka 2:16:37 | Kyoto 2:17:33 | Chiba 2:17:49 |
- Note: Jr.HS = Junior High School, H.S.= High School
| Edition | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
| 2009 | Yurika Nakamura & Ryoko Kisaki Okayama & Kyoto - 19:14 | Yuriko Kobayashi Hyogo - 12:07 new stage record | Haruka Kyuma Kyoto - 9:21 | Risa Shigetomo Okayama - 12:50 | Ikumi Natsuhara Kyoto -13:11 | Ai Kuboki Okayama - 12:54 | Aya Ito Kyoto - 12:26 | Moe Kyuma Kyoto - 9:41 > new stage record | Hitomi Niiya Chiba - 32:31 |
| January 17, 2010 | Kasumi Nishihara Kyoto - 19:11 | Kaori Urata Okayama - 12:31 | Tomoka Kimura Shizuoka - 9:22 | Ryoko Kisaki Osaka - 12:50 | Katsuki Suga Okayama - 13:02 | Mahiro Akamatsu Okayama - 12:42 new stage record | Minami Nakaarai Hyogo - 12:24 | Yume Tanaka Shizuoka - 9:46 | Kayoko Fukushi Aomori - 31:03 |
| January 16, 2011 | Hanae Tanaka Fukuoka Ritsumeikan Univ. - 19:41 | Tomoka Kimura Fukuoka Chikushi Jyogakuen H.S. - 12:22 | Hanami Sekine Tokyo Kanai Jr.H.S. - 9:21 | Yuriko Kobayashi Hyogo Team Toyota Jidoshoki - 12:41 new stage record | Mutsumi Ikeda & Erina Maki Hyogo & Kyoto Suma Gakuen H.S. & Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 13:26 | Nanako Kanno Kyoto Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 12:39 new stage record | Ayano Ikeuchi Kyoto Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 12:35 | Ayaka Nakagawa Saitama Asaka Dai-San Jr.H.S. - 10:02 | Kayoko Fukushi Kyoto Team Wacoal - 31:53 |
| January 15, 2012 | Ryoko Kizaki Osaka Team Daihatsu - 19:21 | Yuka Ando Aichi Toyokawa H.S. - 12:26 | Ayaka Nakagawa Saitama Asaka #3 Jr. H.S. - 9:17 | Risa Takenaka Shiga Ritsumeikan Univ. - 12:48 | Nanami Aoki Kyoto Ritsumeikan Uji H.S. - 12:57 | Mika Kobayashi Hyogo Suma Gakuen H.S. - 12:58 | Risa Yokoe Hyogo Suma Gakuen H.S. - 12:33 | Kokoro Sawairi Shizuoka Fujioka Jr. H.S. - 9:53 | Hitomi Niiya Chiba Sakura A.C. - 32:06 |
Men's Championship
In the men's All-Japan Interprefectural Ekiden Championship, 7 runners run 48 kilometers in stages of 7k 3k 8.5k 5k 8.5k 3k and 13k. In both races, each team is composed of runners selected to represent one prefecture, a total of 47 teams in each race. The majority of the team members are high school and junior high school elite runners. Junior high runners are assigned to the two 3k stages and high school runners are assigned to the 7k, the 5k and 8.5k stages. Open runners are placed in the remaining 8.5k stage and the 13k stage. Despite the youth, the first 7 men's teams in 2009 finished under 2 hours and 21 minutes, the equivalent of 14:40 5k pace or 8:48 3k pace. In 2009 the team from Nagano took its 5th title in 6 years.| Edition | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| 2009 14th Annual | Nagano - 2:18:43 Course Record 5th title in 6 years | Hyogo - 2:20:03 | Miyazaki - 2:20:07 |
| 2010 15th Annual | Hyogo - 2:20:02 | Fukushima - 2:20:05 | Saitama - 2:20:20 |
| 2011 16th Annual | Tochigi - 2:19:31 First ever Title | Nagano - 2:20:02 | Hiroshima - 2:20:37 |
| 2012 17th Annual | |||
| 2013 18th | Hyogo - 2:19:51 | Tokyo - 2:19:56 | Aichi - 2:20:35 |
- Note: Jr HS = Junior High School, HS= High School
| Edition | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| 2009 | Shodai Hattori Saitama - 20:10 | Yuta Katsumata Shizuoka - 8:30 new stage record | Yu Mitsuya Fukuoka - 23:49 | Shota Hiraga Nagano - 14:28 | Akinobu Murasawa Nagano - 23:55 new stage record | Hideshi Ikegami Kyoto - 8:51 | Naoki Okamoto Hiroshima - 37:55 |
| January 24, 2010 | Shota Hattori Saitama - 20:12 | Koki Maeda Fukuoka - 8:39 | Tomoya Onishi Gifu - 24:16 | Hirotaka Tamura Aomori - 14:10 new stage record | Keita Shitara Saitama - 24:38 | Taiga Machizawa Chiba - 8:31 new stage record | Yuki Sato Nagano - 37:12 |
| January 23, 2011 | Genki Yagisawa Tochigi/Nasu Takuyo H.S. - 20:07 | Kengo Takamori Chiba/Abiko Jr.H.S. - 8:31 | Akinobu Murasawa Nagano/Tokai Univ. - 23:48 | Keita Shioya Tochigi/Nasu Takuyo H.S. - 14:25 | Kenta Murayama Miyagi/Meisei H.S. - 24:33 | Yuichi Yasui Chiba/Tokiwadaira Jr.H.S. - 8:40 | Yusuke Takabayashi Mie/Team Toyota - 37:25 |
| January 22, 2012 | |||||||
| 2013 | Keisuke Nakatani 19:56 | Shiki Shinsako 8:29 | Suguru Osako 23:39 | Yuhi Akiyama 14:07 | Rintaro Takeda 24:50 | Mashide Saito 8:52 | Keigo Yano 37:54 |