It may seem counter intuitive to recommend participating in a team event during a pandemic when we are asked to maintain social distancing outside of our immediate family circle. But now is the best time to run with teammates more than ever…in a social distancing kind-of-way.
The ASICS World Ekiden 2020 relay ‘race’ is one such event that you and six of your family/friends can participate in for free. It’s a global relay that will motivate, inspire and test your ability as you prepare to compete against teams from all over the world.
What is Ekiden? The characters of Ekiden 駅伝 means ‘stagecoach’ and the means of transmitting communication with messages delivered from station to station. Today, it’s a long distance race in stages, and in the case of the ASICS World Ekiden 2020 challenge the total distance is 42.2K. Each runner has a ‘tasuki,’ or a cloth sash that is similar to a baton and is handed off to the next runner as they complete their distance. Stages can be divided into six distances such as, 5K (3 runners), 10K (2 runners) and 7.2K (1 runner), but teams are not limited to any specific number of people.
Ekiden is more than just a race, it represents camaraderie, perseverance and a sense of unity with the passing of the tasuki.
See below about how you can participate in The ASICS World Ekiden virtual challenge that starts on November 11th, until the 22nd. Interested parties can sign up now using Runkeeper™ for free. Remember to celebrate your achievements using the hashtags #ASICSWorldEkiden #iRunNation.
Team iRun Magazine Ekiden will be hitting the road this month to compete in the ASICS World Ekiden event. You can follow our team performance on the iRun Instagram account.
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