New Year Ekiden

Teams gain qualification into the final ekiden race through a series of preliminaries which are principally conducted on a regional basis. Some qualifying competitions are for both men and women while others are single-sex qualifiers. The Eastern Japan Corporate Ekiden Championship qualifies men's and women's teams. The Kyushu men's qualifying race (Fukuoka City to Kita Kyushu city) is held in November. and others include the Kansai Jitsugyodan Ekiden in Tabe, the Chubu and Hokuriku Jitsugyodan Ekidens in Gero, and the Chugoku Jitsugyodan Ekiden in Sera, Hiroshima. Although the majority of the competing athletes are Japanese, a limited number of foreign runners are allowed to participate. These runners are mostly Kenyan immigrants and are often the best runners on the team. Companies are permitted foreign representatives on just one of the seven legs. Past Kenyans that have competed at the New Year Ekiden include Martin Mathathi, Josephat Ndambiri and Samuel Wanjiru. Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeylan is another prominent East African to have competed. ==Past results==

• Rikuoh is a 2013 Japanese novel by Jun Ikeido that features the backstage of japanese rack & field world, Rikuoh main plot features some parts that happens during the New Year Ekiden. It has been adapted to live action drama in 2017 for TBS, featuring Koji Yakusho and Ryoma Takeuchi as protagonists. ==References==