October is the official start of ekiden season, and this past weekend had the first 3 big races. Saturday in Chiba was the Kanto Region University Women’s Ekiden, the regional qualifier for the Morinomiyako Ekiden in Sendai at the end of the month. Daito Bunka University, Josai University, Takushoku University and Tsukuba University were already qualified thanks to podium finishes at Morinomiyako
Source: japanrunningnews.blogspot.com