On the second day of the New Year in 2026, the 102nd Hakone Ekiden fired the starting gun in Tokyo. Today was the outbound leg from Tokyo to Hakone. Aoyama Gakuin University, after placing only 16th in the first leg, chased back throughout the race and ultimately—relying on Asahi Kuroda’s heroic performance in the fifth leg, where he overtook three runners in succession to produce a sensational comeback—claimed the outbound title. Kuroda ran 1 hour 07 minutes 16 seconds (1:07:16), substantially breaking the record for the fifth leg. Waseda University finished second and Chuo University third. Tomorrow will be the battle for the return leg—can Aoyama Gakuin complete a three-peat? #HakoneEkiden #AoyamaGakuin #AsahiKuroda #TrailRunningBigBang #WasedaUniversity