Training With Tokai University – Ekiden Winning Team
of Uni[Article by Tait Hearps of Sweat Elite]
The Odakyu Rapid Express took us through drab suburbs on the outskirts of the city, heading South West towards Kanagawa Prefecture. Winding through the back streets of the town we eventually made our way to Tokai University, renowned for having one of the strongest athletics teams in the country. The campus was nice. Neat. It’s currently winter break for Japanese university students but as we traversed campus on this quiet Saturday afternoon there was still quite a number of students using facilities.
The bright blue tartan of Tokai University jumped out at us as we surveyed the southern half of campus from up on the hill. Waiting for us on the far side of the track was Noriaki Nishide. Assistant coach of the squad. He was cheerful and friendly, but it was clear that he took each session very seriously. Before we left Tokyo that morning Noriaki warned us that due to the Coronavirus he would have to ask us from refraining from getting close to the athletes. He didn’t want to imperil the team. We could observe the session and take photos, but the interview was to be with him and not the athletes.
Coronavirus has had more of an effect on Japan than you would expect based on the case count, which at this point remains low. Two hundred and thirty cases belie the impact the threat of the virus has had. Tokyo Marathon cancelled. Disneyland closed. Schools locked down. And for Tokai University – the half marathon championships they were meant to compete in next week has been called off.
Noriaki takes us over to a building off to the side of the track of Tokai University. As we approach the group, we ask Noriaki about whether he is still running. He bashfully laughs and says that he only jogs these days, but he turns his gaze towards Coach Morozumi and tells us that the fifty-four-year-old has recently run a 35-minute 10km. Impressive.
Athletes are stretching and doing mobility exercises together under the attentive supervision of head coach Hayashi Morozumi. A number of athletes doing some rehab exercises and clearly aren’t running the session. “Injured.” Noriaki sweeps his hand across the group. “The Japanese surface is road. It’s tough on the athletes. Many injuries.”
A mask obscures his face but kind brown eyes grin at us as we approach. Noriaki introduces us, and coach introduces himself as Moro. Noriaki tells us that the recent cancellation of the upcoming race has meant that today’s session has been altered. More of a focus on speed, getting the group back into some work oriented towards the track before they have a week off to go home and see their families. I ask whether they have a long period each year where they take a break from training. Noriaki immediately replies with a drawn out “ahhhhhh, no!” and a big chuckle… “All season!” Moro interjects, “Nothing off, no rest” Noriaki concludes. The men both seemed to find the question to be quite funny.
Noriaki is a wealth of knowledge. He tells us all about the team’s training and some of the camps they have recently been on. Just back from Flagstaff, we’ve caught him in the brief interlude before he travels to Okinawa with some of the group’s middle-distance athletes. The athletes we are watching are mainly focussed on the Ekiden and longer distances, a number of the group – some yet to reach twenty – have run sub-63 for the half. The talent in the group is deep.
This is one of the top university squads in Japan. They won Hakone Ekiden last year, the crown jewel in Japanese athletics. This year they were narrowly knocked off the throne by Aoyama Gakuin University, a team that have won each year since 2015, bar Tokai University’s 2019 victory. This year both teams ran under the record pace, with Aoyama Gakuin finishing the 217.9km course in 10 hours, 45 minutes, 23 seconds. This year’s edition of Hakone Ekiden saw a veritable massacre of previous records, with seven of ten segment records being rewritten. A standout among these was Vincent Yegon’s (Tokyo International University) 59:25 for the 21.4km fourth leg of the relay. The nineteen-year-old ran through the half marathon in 58:35!
The group does two hard workouts per week. Wednesday and Saturday. Mainly track, sometimes road. They do an easy run and a gym session on the morning of their workout days, before completing the evening session. Thursday, rest. Sunday, long run. He guesses they average around 160km per week.
The athletes strip down to singlets and shorts. Next% adorn the feet of all but a few athletes, and we follow the fluorescent queue of feet out onto the track. There are a number of students at the infield next to the start line, wearing Tokai University tracksuits but evidently not running. Noriaki says they’re the team assistants. The half dozen assistants are gathered around a cooler box and a small whiteboard. The athletes join them and form a circle leaving a gap for the two coaches to make their address. After attentively listening to both coaches speak, a collective bow by the students indicates the session is about to start.
Five by one-mile, repeats followed by five two-hundreds. Jogging a lap between each rep. Noriaki explains that he and Moro asked the athletes to keep it very steady, make sure pace was constant. Now that the half marathon race is cancelled this is the squad’s first track-oriented session for the season, he said he wanted them to ease into it. The whiteboard shows the requisite paces for each of the three groups into which the squad split. The A group was designated a pace of 2:52-2:55min/km (4:36-4:40 through the mile). The C group 3:00min/km (4:48min/mile). Like I said, the talent in the group is deep.
Three groups assembled, taking off at regular intervals. Moro and Noriaki attentively followed each group’s progress around the track. Two assistants were at the start line giving splits. This seemed unnecessary as the groups adhered flawlessly to the pace. Other assistants were taking photos, some waited on the side chatting, waiting to fulfil their roles later in the session. Moro and Noriaki separated, each providing encouragement and advice each time a group passed. The athletes were in perfect single file, sticking together well. No gaps opened up, they moved in unison.
As the session progressed the whole operation became even more impressive. The pace was right on, every time. And the groups seemed to be doing it easy. The expression of some of the athletes began to indicate that their level of exertion was creeping upward as they got into the fourth and then the final mile repeats, but some seemed to barely even be puffing. One athlete in particular caught our attention, he was really cruising. We inquired with Noriaki. The baby-faced boy with the floppy hair that was floating around the track. Sakito Matsuzaki. Only nineteen-years-old and he’s already logged a half-marathon in 62:11.
He pointed out a couple others that were clearly doing it pretty easy. One who had recently run 1:31 for a 30km, going right up against a field of older, more accomplished athletes competing for corporate teams.
Miles concluded. Night had fallen by this point and the temperature had dropped right off. The assistants passed around drinks; a couple athletes changed shoes, but most remained in their Next%. After a quick break the groups started jogging off to start their 200m reps. These ran just as flawlessly.
The groups file in. Assistants distributed pre-packaged protein drinks. Moro and Noriaki gave a short talk to the athletes congregated yet again in a large circle. A deep bow yet again concludes the proceedings. We had a quick chat with Noriaki and Moro after the session, thanking them for allowing us to observe and for sharing so much. They invited us back for another session once the athletes are back on campus. After such a fascinating exhibition here, the upcoming session is really something to look forward to. We’ll keep you posted.
