Sports · Running & Athletics · 3 hrs ago
Route Inn Hotels wins Princess Ekiden as Panasonic’s Saito sets stage record
Route Inn Hotels won the Princess Ekiden women’s relay qualifying race in Fukuoka, Japan.
The six-stage race covered 42.195 kilometres and decided which teams would advance to the Queens Ekiden.
Route Inn Hotels’ Masayuka Fujita overcame a 17-second deficit on the fifth stage to help secure the win.
The team qualified for the Queens Ekiden for the 10th time, extending its run of appearances to nine years in a row.
Panasonic’s anchor runner Miu Saito set a stage record of 21 minutes over 6.695 kilometres.
She passed eight runners, helping Panasonic climb from 13th to fifth and qualify for the next race.
The Queens Ekiden is the next competition for the teams that secured places in the qualifying race.
Route Inn Hotels won the Princess Ekiden for the first time on October 18, qualifying for the Queens Ekiden for the 10th time in nine consecutive years.
The race was a six-stage, 42.195-kilometre women’s relay held in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Fujita Masuyuka of Route Inn Hotels made up a 17-second deficit on the fifth stage.
Panasonic’s Saito Miu set a stage record of 21 minutes on the final, 6.695-kilometre stage.
Saito passed eight runners and helped Panasonic finish fifth after starting the race’s first stage in 23rd place.
- Who
- Route Inn Hotels won; Panasonic runner Saito Miu set a stage record.
- What
- Route Inn Hotels won the Princess Ekiden, a qualifying race for the Queens Ekiden.
- When
- October 18, 2026.
- Where
- Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
- Why
- The race determined which teams qualified for the Queens Ekiden.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Princess Ekiden was held over six stages and 42.195 kilometres in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Route Inn Hotels’ Fujita Masuyuka made up a 17-second deficit.
Panasonic’s Saito Miu passed eight runners and recorded a stage-best time of 21 minutes.
Route Inn Hotels won the race and qualified for the Queens Ekiden.
- Winner
- Route Inn Hotels
- Race distance
- 42.195 kilometres
- Route Inn Hotels’ Queens Ekiden appearances
- 10th time, and ninth consecutive year
- Saito Miu’s final-stage time
- 21 minutes
- Saito Miu’s stage distance
- 6.695 kilometres
3 sources
What people are saying
There seems to be no anxiety about the distance. She has been rapidly improving since the World Championships. It is a captivating run.