Jan 6, 2021
The 2021 Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race concluded as a last-mile thriller between the eventual winner Komazawa University and runner-up Soka University.
But the latest edition of the biggest New Year sporting tradition in Japan delivered many other intriguing topics.
One of the most talked-about stories was the number of fans seen along the roadsides of the 217.1-km route amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to organizers, this year’s race saw a total of 180,000 spectators on the sidewalks during the two-day event, an 85% decrease from the 1,210,000 who came out for the 2020 race. The 2014 edition’s crowd of 1,260,000 was the largest of the last decade.