The inaugural Mizuno Ekiden race was held last year and it returns this year on 16 July at The Promontory @ Marina Bay. Commencing at 4pm that day, the race will be Singapore’s first full fledged Ekiden race that will be taking place in the evening.
If you’re wondering what Ekiden mean, it refers to a relay-styled long distance running in Japanese. This is exactly how the Mizuno Ekiden 2016 will work.
Last year, the race attracted 3,000 participants, This year it hopes to attract 5,000 runners. Runners form teams of four where the first runners of each team will start the race at The Promontory @ Marina Bay while donning a traditional tasuki Sash. Upon completing the first lag of the relay race, the sash will be passed on to the second runner at the transition area. This continues until the sash is donned by the fourth runner who will finish the race and join the rest of the team members at the finish line.
The rest of the team can enjoy a spread of Japanese gourmet including ramen and desserts at the Matsuri Race Village. Matsuri refers to a festival or holiday in the Japanese context. There will also be a line up of cultural activities for supporters and the public to join in.
There are three categories for the race:
- Open Category (42.195km)
- Open Category (21.1km)
- Corporate Category (21.1km)
For more information on the event, please visit http://www.mizuno.asia/ekiden or https://www.facebook.com/MizunoEkiden.
