The Acerta Brussels Ekiden is a relay marathon run by 6 runners per team. All teams start together at 1PM as a team they will span the mythical marathon distance. The distances (in order) are as follows: 5 km + 10 km + 5 km + 10 km + 5 km + 7.195 km (total 42.195 km).Marathons and long distance running are immensely popular in Japan. A popular form, especially around New Year's, is the Ekiden. It's from "the land of the rising sun" that this form of athletics has made its way to us.
In Japanese, Ekiden is combination of two words: "Eki" meaning place and "Den" meaning delivery. In the olden days important documents were transported across Japan by different runners at lightning speeds.
The Ekiden is based on this classic courier service. The bundle of documents is represented by a sash, the Tasuki.
Six people form a team in which every team member runs their own distance.
The relays are done by handing over the special relay sash, called a tasuki, which is worn diagonally from the shoulder over the chest to the hip. An Ekiden is always an exciting competition, as the success of the team is dependent on each of the six runners.
Every member of the team has an important function.
This is the reason the competition is popular in a business setting.
My team, "Go For IT", came in second place within our company, with a speed of approximately 11,16 km/hour.
