With growth and self-awareness in our hearts,
Aiming to compete in the Hakone Ekiden

College of Health and Welfare Third-year students
Ekiden Club
Komyo Gakuen Sagamihara High School graduate

Kosuke Shimura

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"I want to run faster," he said, becoming engrossed in track and field.

In elementary school, I participated in judo and swimming. I started track and field in middle school, after being invited by a friend. My attitude towards training changed when I participated as a middle school representative in a relay race held by a different city or town in Kanagawa Prefecture. Interacting with people of other generations, such as university students, made me want to run faster.

I entered Komyo Gakuen Sagamihara High School, a powerhouse in ekiden relay races, but at first, I was just barely able to keep up with the practice. Still, being able to compete and improve alongside teammates with strong running ability has become a great asset for me. I didn't intend to continue track and field at university, but I was happy to be approached by the coach of the J. F. Oberlin University ekiden team, and I decided to enroll.

Be aware of your role as a key player

Because I had put in a considerable amount of practice during high school, I didn't have any trouble adjusting to the differences between high school and university. On the contrary, during my first and second years, I was so focused on my own practice that I may have neglected to consider those around me and caused them trouble.

I participated in this year's Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon and was able to run my personal best of 1:03:14. At the same time, by breaking the J. F. Oberlin University record, I felt a sense of responsibility to act as a key player. Little by little, I'm also encouraging my juniors toward the goal of participating in the Hakone Ekiden.

All of my classmates in their third year are close and we can talk about anything with each other. When we get a good time at a track meet, we all celebrate together, and conversely, we are also honest with each other about what we did wrong. I also keep in touch with my high school classmates who went to other universities, and their hard work motivates me to work hard too. Right now, I'm really enjoying running.

In the future, I want to be involved in community development and local exchange.

We've been steadily increasing our running distance during training camp, and I think we're making good progress with this season's training. In the Hakone Ekiden qualifying race in October, the combined times of the top 10 runners from each team will be used to determine the team record. We'll continue to adjust our training so that each runner can perform at their best.

I am studying social welfare at College of Health and Welfare, and in the future, I hope to work in the welfare industry or public service, where I can broadly benefit people. While continuing to run marathons as a citizen runner for a long time, I also want to be involved in organizing local marathon events. I want to continue growing as a working adult who can promote community development and community exchange in various ways.

Interview date:
This was done in June 2024 for the "Obirin Sports" website.

With growth and self-awareness in our hearts,Aiming to compete in the Hakone Ekiden

Main content

"I want to run faster," he said, becoming engrossed in track and field.

Be aware of your role as a key player

In the future, I want to be involved in community development and local exchange.

Related content

With growth and self-awareness in our hearts,
Aiming to compete in the Hakone Ekiden