Canada finishes eighth at Japanese relay

Team Canada before the race. Photo: Chris Winter
Team Canada before the race. Photo: Chris Winter

Team Canada took eighth at the prestigious Chiba Ekiden in Japan on Saturday.

The ekiden is a six-person relay where the runners race various distances that add up to a marathon (42.2K) in distance.

The Kenyan team won the event, setting a new course record in a combined time of 2:03:59. Japan place second in 2:07:13 and were in a tight battle with Russia to the end, who took third in 2:07:22. Thirteen teams from Europe, North America, Africa, Oceania and Asia competed.

The Canadian team, which featured Olympians Dylan Wykes, Alex Genest, Reid Coolsaet, Nicole Sifuentes, along with new marathon record holder Lanni Marchant, Leslie Sexton, Andrea Seccafien and Chris Winter ran a combined 2:11:30. That was among Team Canada’s top performances at the annual international event.

Here’s a breakdown of their individual finishes:

Leg 1 Alex Genest 5K (13:54)

Leg 2 Nicole Sifuentes 5K (15:57)

Leg 3 Dylan Wykes 10K (30:51)

Leg 4 Leslie Sexton 5K (16:45)

Leg 5 Chris Winter 10K (30:14)

Leg 6 Lanni Marchant 7.2K (23:49)

Lanni Marchant has been sending us short videos from Chiba in order to give us a glimpse into the race and cultural experience at a Japanese running event.

Organizers hand out “best smile” awards to the runners.

The New Zealand team performs what seems to be an impromptu Maori war chant.

New leg 3 10K record holder Zane Robertson makes a speech at the post race banquet.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The best trainers in Canada under $150

We curated the best performance trainers under $150 to meet your 2024 running goals, while staying on budget