In a lot of ways this was one of the more interesting races in National Men’s Ekiden history. 2 of the country’s current top high schoolers, Fukushima’s Yota Mashiko and Hyogo’s Haruki Niizuma, made sure the race got off right with a CR-pace attack from the beginning. Everyone went with them, but it quickly shook down to the 2 of them and Miyagi’s Hiroto Suzuki, a relatively unknown factor.
Source: japanrunningnews.blogspot.com