[63rd] The 35th Midori Ward 26th Aoba Kumin Ekiden Tournament, Midori Ward Running Festa 2022 was held!

On the morning of Saturday, December 24, the Midori Ward Minden Ekiden Tournament hosted by the Midori Ward Association of Athletic Federations (Chairman: Hideo Mochizuki) was held jointly with the Aoba Kumin Ekiden Tournament at Shin-Yokohama Park.

The day was blessed with wonderful sunny weather in the cold and clear air of early morning winter, and it was a great day to run.
A total of more than 500 athletes participate in the “elementary and junior high school section”, “general boys (including high school students)”, “middle boys (over 40 years old)” and “general mixed gender section”. Four people became one team, and I felt that my heart became hot while attending as a starter in a hot battle trying to connect "as fast as one second."

In the afternoon, the road race competition “Midori Ward Running Festa 2022 (Chairman: Takayuki Hirai)” was held for the first time in three years after cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this time, the temperature was so high that the sun could feel the heat, and about 100 participants ran on the 5km course while sweating refreshingly.

From the Panasonic Women's Athletics Club "Panasonic Angels", who also supported this tournament, Shiori Morita, Minami Ito, Kona Kawaguchi, and Mika Kikkawa will support the participants as guest runners. After running, we also awarded a certificate of commendation to the top prizewinners.

This time, thanks to the efforts of the people concerned, both tournaments have been successfully held. I hope that today's tournament will be a memorable one for everyone who participated, and that you will continue to enjoy the fun of running and the joy of growing.

December, 2022

Hiroo Okada, Mayor of Midori