The Hakone ekiden, one of the biggest amateur sporting events in Japan and the nation's tradition for the New Year, gets underway in three weeks and the head coaches of the 21 participating teams presented their ambitions for their respective squads at a Tokyo news conference on Thursday.
Aoyama Gakuin University, which grabbed its first-ever Hakone title last winter, will again be one of the favorites to capture the championship, while Komazawa University, Toyo University and Waseda University are expected to compete for the major trophy as well.
An Aoyama Gakuin staffer said the team won't rest on its laurels after the Tokyo school captured the championship last year with a time of 10 hours, 49.27 seconds, the fastest time ever on the current course. In fact, he added, under the leadership of head coach Susumu Hara, the team is fired up at the prospect of making more history by winning the title for a second consecutive year.