New mixed race format for Chiba International Ekiden – Preview

Arguably the most famous marathon relay of them all, the Chiba International Ekiden, which takes place this year on Friday 23 November, a national holiday in Japan, will be quite a different race this year.

Since its inaugural year of 1988, two separate races – one for men and one for women – were contested in Chiba. However, this year for the first time in its history, a single ekiden race will be contested among the fifteen mixed teams (three men and three women).