It was announced on October 19th that Jun Ikeido's novel "Our Hakone Ekiden" will be broadcast as a TV drama series on Nippon Television in 2026. The exact broadcast date of the drama has not yet been decided.
The unpredictable drama of the race itself, with the runners and coach of the university track and field team striving to win from the depths of despair, the TV crew broadcasting the Hakone race live, and the passion, pride, and tactics of each individual... Nippon Television, which has been broadcasting the Hakone Ekiden live since 1987, is producing this series with the full cooperation of the organizer, the Kanto Student Athletics Federation.
Meisei Gakuin University, a veteran school that has missed out on the finals of the Hakone Ekiden for two years in a row. To participate in the Hakone Ekiden, they must pass the qualifying rounds held in October. Will Meisei Gakuin be able to run the Hakone course? An unexpected incident also occurred at the television station that was responsible for broadcasting the race... This is the story.
Ikeido commented, "The relay points in the Hakone Ekiden are called by their place names, so why is Kowakien-mae called by the name of the facility rather than by the place name? I never thought that such a small question would develop into an enormous story and human drama spanning two volumes. The passion of the students who are committed to Hakone as runners and those supporting them, and their feelings for the sash. The determination of the TV crew who work hard to deliver the footage realistically. Even though it is entertainment, how do you incorporate into a novel a serious competition that you cannot get careless about...? Before I knew it, many years had passed from when I wanted to write it to when I actually finished writing it."
He continued, "This is a truly heartfelt work that I wrote with the same passion as the student runners, and with respect for everyone involved in the Hakone Ekiden, not to mention the student runners. I hope that viewers and readers will become one of the runners and run through all 10 sections, 217.1 kilometers, where friendship and trust, as well as stubbornness and determination, collide as they pass the sash. I don't think I'll ever be able to write a novel like this again."
