The All-Japan Women’s Corporate (Jitsugyodan) Ekiden Championship, also known as Queen´s Ekiden (クイーンズ駅伝) is held in mid December. The 6 stage 42.195 kilometer ekiden race had been held in Gifu Prefecture from 1983 to 2010.Nakamura, Ken. Third straight for Mitsui-Sumitomo? All Japan Women’s Corporate Ekiden Championships Preview. December 16, 2005, International Association of Athletics Federations. iaaf.org. accessed Feb 19, 2009. For the December 18, 2011 race, the site was moved to Sendai.Larner, Brett. National Jitsugyodan Women's Championships to Move from Gifu to Miyagi Next Year. Dec. 8, 2010. . accessed Feb. 1, 2012.
All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships The All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships is a series of races contested between Japan's corporate (business) running teams. The structure involves regional qualifying races and a national championship for women and for men.Nakamura, Ken (2011-01-01). Toyota takes first New Year Ekiden title. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-16. The All-Japan Men's Corporate Ekiden Championship, also called the New Year Ekiden takes place in Japan's Gunma Prefecture on 1 January.
Qualification Structure Teams for the women's championship gain qualification into the final ekiden race through a series of 3 preliminaries (2011 summary). The Eastern Japan Corporate Ekiden Championship qualifies men's and women's teams. Two other qualifying meets for the women are held for Central Japan and Western Japan, (women's divisions detailed in Japanese). The Western Japan women's qualifying race (6 stages, 42.195 km, 31st race on October 23, 2011) begins in Munakata, Fukuoka; website. After the 3 regional qualifying ekiden events, the field is typically narrowed to 24 to 27 teams, although new qualification standards in 2011 increased the field to include any corporate team that could break the 2:30 mark in one of the regional qualifier meets. Further details and results of the qualification races can be found at All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships.
The men have a slightly different pattern (men's divisions detailed in Japanese). One of the men's qualifying races is the Kyushu men's qualifying race (7 stages, 78.8 km, 48th on November 23, 2011), which begins in Fukuoka City and ends in Kita Kyushu city; 2010 video . Other regionals include Kansai Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 53rd, held in Tabe), Chubu Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 50th, held in Gero, Gifu), Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 40th, held in Gero, Gifu), and Chugoku Jitsugyodan Ekiden (2010 - 49th, held in Sera, Hiroshima).
Championship Ekiden Race The 33 women's teams that qualified for the championship race in mid December, 2011, ran on the new Sendai course. One of the characteristics of the new course is its uphill nature (video map) with a prevailing headwind.Larner, Brett. A Quick Guide to National Championship Ekiden Season. December 13, 2011 . accessed Feb. 1,2012.(Japanese wiki page) TBS broadcast homepage, with results (Japanese). English 2008 Results; English 2009 Results; English 2010 Results; English 2011 race preview; English 2011 post race summary.
Like the men's championship race, participation of foreign team-members is restricted to the shortest stage, in this case the 3.6 km fourth stage; the same rule applied to the second stage on the Gifu course.Larner, Brett. Koide's Team Toyota Jidoshoki Takes Surprise All-Japan Jitsugyodan Women's Ekiden Title (updated). December 18, 2011 . accessed Feb. 2,2012.
Results + All-Japan Women's Corporate Ekiden Championship (42.195 km) First Place Second Place Third Place Fourth Place Fifth Place Sixth Place Seventh Place Eight Place Ninth Place Tenth Place 2009 - 26thGifu Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo - 2:15:27 Tenmaya - 2:15:38 Daiichi Seimei - 2:16:27 Shiseido - 2:16:43 Wacoal - 2:16:58 Denso - 2:17:16 Daihatsu2:17:35 Hokuren - 2:17:37 Toyota Jidoshoki - 2:17:57 Nihon Chemicon - 2:18:40 2010 - 27thGifu, Last running Tenmaya2:14:35 Daiichi Seimei2:15:36 Toyota Jidoshoki2:15:46 Universal Entertainment2:16:17 Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo2:16:23 Shiseido2:16:48 Daihatsu2:16:49 Wacoal2:16:54 Denso2:17:04 Sekisui Kagaku2:17:17 2011 - 28thSendai, First running Daiichi Seimei2:17:17 Panasonic2:18:15 Sekisui Kagaku2:18:25 Tenmaya2:18:32 Denso2:18:40 Wacoal2:18:44 Daihatsu2:18:55 Kyocera2:19:15 Starts2:19:40 Universal Entertainment2:19:41
+ All-Japan Women's Corporate Ekiden Championship Stage Winners First stage6.6 km Second stage3.3 km Third stage10.0 km Fourth stage4.1 km Fifth stage11.6 km Sixth stage6.595 km 2009 - 26thGifu Course Aya IsomineTeam Shiseido20:35 Doricah ObareTeam Hitachi10:02new stage record Kayoko FukushiTeam Wacoal31:02new stage record Yuka KakimiTeam Daiichi Seimei12:46 Yukiko AkabaTeam Hokuren37:00 Kaori UrataTeam Tenmaya21:01 2010 - 27thGifu Course Mizuho NasukawaTeam Univ. Ent.20:46 Ann KarindiTeam Toyota Jidoshokki9:56 Kayoko FukushiTeam Wacoal31:26 Yuka KakimiTeam Daiichi Seimei12:43 Risa ShigetomoTeam Tenmaya37.36 Kaori UrataTeam Tenmaya20:39 First stage 7.0 km Second stage 3.9 km Third stage 10.9 km Fourth stage 3.6 km Fifth stage 10.0 km Sixth stage 6.795 km 2011 - 28thSendai course Yoshimi OzakiTeam Daiichi Seimei22:17 Riko MatsuzakiTeam Sekisui Kagaku12:17 Kayo SugiharaTeam Denso35:43 Felista WanjuguTeam Univ. Ent.11:29 Risa ShigetomoTeam Tenmaya32:51 Tomomi TanakaTeam Daiichi Seimei 21:06
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