University of Lincoln Team to Run at Ekiden UK Relay Race

Taking part on Friday 20 June, the Ekiden UK course runs for 114km along the scenic Thames Path, from Brocas Field in Windsor to Kings Meadow in Reading and back. 16 university teams, and 15 corporately sponsored teams will take part.

The Ekiden races are among Japan’s most prestigious sporting events, with roots tracing back hundreds of years to when runners relayed important messages between stations on predetermined routes.

The inaugural Ekiden UK took place in 2024 to mark 100 years of the competition. The Ekiden is not just about individual ability, the race tests how well the teams can work together with each member having an important role to play.

Lewis Knight, of the University of Lincoln Team, believes that the team will be the underdogs in the race, but will cause a few pleasant surprises along the way.  He said:

“We’re really excited to be representing the University of Lincoln at this year’s UK Ekiden.

“After a fantastic year for our Athletics Society this is a great way to really show how hard we’ve worked and all we’ve achieved.

“I’m amazed to see how far we’ve come, and I’m incredibly proud of all the hard work we’ve put in to get to where we are.

“For me, the Ekiden encompasses all of what running can be, the idea of self-determination, motivation and supporting your fellow teammates to achieve their goals.

“We are under no illusion that event will be tough, and we will be going up against some of the best sports universities in the country.

“We are very much the underdogs in this scenario, but I think people will be surprised at what we can do.”

The course is broken up into ten legs of between 5km and 15km, all starting and finishing with a handover point. This will give each of the teams a strategic challenge to deploy their best middle and long-distance specialists to suitable legs.

All teams, including the one from the Athletics Society at the University of Lincoln, will feature ten runners, each completing a leg and handing over the ‘Tasuki Sash‘ to the next runner at the handover point.

The University of Lincoln Team runners and legs are as follows:

1st Leg (10.6km) – Archie Wright – 1st Year Business & Entrepreneurship

2nd Leg (14.2km) – Alasdair Grierson – 1st Year Chemistry

3rd Leg (14.1km) – Anna-Maria Wake – 3rd Year Medicine

4th Leg (12.8km) – Lewis Knight – Masters Human Resource Management

5th Leg (5.4km) – Daisie Jeffries-Williams (Captain) – 3rd Year Bio-Medical Science

6th Leg (5.4km) – Freya Sheekey – 3rd Year Adult Nursing

7th Leg (12.8km) – Richard Harrison – 1st Year Architecture

8th Leg (14.1km) – Izzy Vinter – 1st Sports and Exercise Science

9th Leg (14.2km) – Evan Holley-Harland – 1st Year Economics

10th Leg (10.6km) – Libby Bakkes (President) – 3rd Year Medicine

Live tracking will be available throughout Friday’s event, so you can follow the University of Lincoln team here.