Canada finishes seventh at Chiba Ekiden
Canada finished seventh at the prestigious Chiba Ekiden early this morning in Chiba, Japan. The event is a relay with both male and female legs, totalling a marathon. Runners wear a sash which is handed off between themselves, similar to a baton in most relays.
Canada’s team was comprised of many of the country’s top road runners. Lucas Bruchet, the defending national cross-country champion, led off the relay with an impressive 13:35 5K leg, handing off the Jessica O’Connell, who ran a 15:33 5K. The first men’s 10K was ruin by Bruchet’s training partner Kelly Wiebe in 29:14, a strong result after dropping out of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last month. The 20K-25K section was run by Natasha Lebeaud in 16:20, who handed off to Sammi Jibril for the second men’s 10K leg. Jibril ran 30:37 before passing the sash to Canadian marathon and half-marathon record holder Lanni Marchant for the final 7.2K. Marchant anchored the team to seventh with a 24:09 time over the off-distance leg.
The team finished with a total time of 2:09:28 for the 42.2K relay. Japan won in 2:05:53, regaining the title. The host nation hadn’t won since 2010.
There is a strong running culture in Japan. The country produces strong elite athletes and has a wide public appeal.
A previous version of this story noted the team finished fourth. The team finished seventh.
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