A few days before the start of a new academic year at Kansei University in Western Tokyo, former high school track and field star Kakeru is running away from a shopkeeper after stealing some bread. Fourth-year student Haiji immediately notices Kakeru’s speed and races after him on his bike. When Kakeru says he gambled all his money away before the start of term, Haiji tells Kakeru that he’s living in an old dormitory "Chikusei-so" near campus that is very cheap. They have a spare room if Kakeru is interested. After introducing Kakeru to the other eight residents, Haiji declares his grand plan: for the 10 of them to compete in the legendary Hakone Ekiden relay marathon.

Held each January, the Hakone Ekiden is a relay race spanning two days where teams of 10 university students run from Tokyo to the mountain town of Hakone and back again, spanning a total distance of over 200 km. The race is broadcast on Nippon Television and is extremely competitive, with each university putting forward its best team. When Haiji suggests that the 10 residents of Chikusei-so form a team to compete at the Hakone Ekiden it seems like a pipe dream.

Haiji and Kakeru are the only two members of the team with extensive running experience and the other residents are incredibly reluctant about Haiji’s plan. However, with about ten months left to train, Haiji manages to get each of them on board. Takashi, an honour student from a small mountain village, is the easiest to convince. Identical twins Joji and Jota sign up when Haiji tells them it’ll help them attract girls. Musa, an international student from Tanzania, agrees partly because he’s inspired by Takashi. Among the most reluctant residents are law student Yuki, heavy smoker Nico, and trivia lover ‘KING’. Nico ran in high school and hopes running will help him overcome his smoking addiction, while KING hopes competing in the Hakone Ekiden will make him stand out to employers after months of unsuccessful job hunting. Lastly, there is Prince, a manga enthusiast with almost zero physical stamina whose room is stuffed to the brim with books.

While officially the dormitory landlord is their coach, it is Haiji who gets to know each team member’s needs and strengths before making a tailored training programme. Over the gruelling six months that follow, Haiji leads the team through the highs and lows of training and competitions as their race times steadily improve and they become a close-knit group both on and off the track. Prince’s times are still much slower than everyone else’s but Takashi gets him a treadmill so he can read manga while he runs. Nico makes wire figurines to keep his hands occupied after giving up smoking and Yuki starts selling them to raise money for the team’s training trip to the mountains. Haiji helps Kakeru overcome his disillusionment with competitive racing and find meaning in running with others, while Kakeru’s talent and support inspire Haiji to persevere despite his knee injury.

Thanks to a combination of Kakeru’s exceptional speed, Haiji’s determination and the whole team’s diligent training, they miraculously qualify for the Hakone Ekiden. During the race, each of them overcomes their own mental and physical demons, Kakeru sets a new record and Haiji pushes through his injury, putting the team in 10^th place and guaranteeing them a position in next year’s race.

Story background

Hakone Ekiden (箱根駅伝), which is officially called the Tokyo-Hakone Round- Trip College Ekiden Race (東京箱根間往復大学駅伝競走), is one of the most prominent university ekiden (relay marathon) races of the year held between Tokyo and Hakone on January 2 and 3. This two-day race from Ōtemachi to Hakone and back is separated into five sections on each day. Due to slight variations in the courses, the first day distance is 108.0 km while the distance on the second day is 109.9 km. It has been held since 1920, stopped during WII and started again in 1947.