旭化成 won in 4 hours 18 minutes 46 seconds, claiming its record 49th victory, its first in 2 years. In the final edition of the Kyushu Corporate Teams Mainichi Ekiden, it held the lead from the 2nd section in a commanding win.
旭化成 won the Kyushu Corporate Teams Mainichi Ekiden (7 sections, 89.3 km), recording 4 hours 18 minutes 46 seconds for its 49th title, the most in history and its first in 2 years.
旭化成 took a narrow lead in the 2nd section, after which Yamamoto Ayumu (山本 歩夢) won the section award in the 3rd section and pulled away from the closely trailing Ogikubo Hiroya (荻久保 寛也) over the final kilometer, creating the momentum for victory. A foreign runner closed the gap in the 4th section, but Kameda Jinichiro (亀田 仁一路) produced a section-winning performance in the 5th section to open up a wide gap. Veteran runners Mogi Keijiro (茂木 圭次郎) and Daikuno Shuho (大六野 秀畝) protected the lead over the final 2 sections.
Despite fielding a lineup centered on younger runners, the team demonstrated the strength of the Kyushu powerhouse and will be covered by the new system awarding the top 9 teams qualification for next year's All-Japan Corporate Teams Ekiden, the New Year Ekiden. Under the new system, qualification will shift to a seeding system in which the top 10 teams receive places in the following year's competition, while the qualifying event will be held at a single venue in Aichi Prefecture. The current regional qualifier to determine the top team in Kyushu is coming to an end.
The final results for the top teams were: 1st, 旭化成; 2nd, クラフティア; 3rd, 安川電機; 4th, 西鉄; 5th, 黒崎播磨; 6th, トヨタ自動車九州; 7th, 三菱重工; 8th, ひらまつ病院; 9th, 実業団混成A; 10th, 実業団混成B; 11th, 戸上電機製作所; 12th, JR九州.