NEWS
Team of ICU students came in 5th place at a relay road race held in Marunouchi Tokyo
Update: June 8, 2017
The Square Mile Relay, a relay road race that takes place at the center of financial districts around the world, which is sponsored by Bloomberg L.P., was held at Marunouchi Tokyo on Friday, May 26. A team consisting of students and other team consisting of faculty members and students entered the race from ICU and the students' team came in 5th among the 55 participating teams.
The Square Mile Relay is an even Bloomberg L.P. holds in 10 major cities of the world including Tokyo, London, New York and Singapore. Ten members of a team take turns to run a one-mile (about 1.6 km) each. This year, the race was held in Tokyo with the participation of as many as 55 teams representing various organizations including companies, government agencies, NPOs and universities.
Comment by Associate Professor Takuya Kaneko (Major: Management), who served as the general manager of the ICU teams
Two teams, a students' team and a mixed team comprising students and faculty members, participated in the race. Being a small university, ICU can be characterized by the intimate relationship between students and faculty members. Having a chance for students and faculty members to participate in a sports event together is one aspect that may be difficult to experience in other universities. I'm glad not only because we achieved good results in the race but also because we were able to build strong ties among team members. When I stood at the start line of the race, I only meant to enjoy the race as part of recreation. But I got a little carried away when I heard all the cheers from the students and the crowd along the street and made a mad dash right from the start, which was not part of my plan. However, wearing light sportswear and running through the streets of Marunouchi, which was shut to all traffic, is really a refreshing experience, which certainly contributed to improve motivation in my daily work. I've renewed my awareness of the importance of balancing learning and sports. Next time, I'll aim at marking the fastest time of the stage I'll run.
Comment by Kento Terao (third year student in College of Liberal Arts, majoring in Information Science), leader of the students' team that won 5th place
When I was in high school, I used to be involved with various people through sports, but after I entered university, I didn't have the chance to engage with people through sports. That's why I decided to take part in this race. I thought I already knew well the joy of running with team mates since I used to be a track athlete, but I realized anew how fun it is to run together with wonderful faculty members and classmates, and also, recalled the feeling of tension to compete with other teams. As a result, we were able to win 5th place and I'm more than satisfied.
In addition, I was able to talk with various business people at the after-party. I will remember the experience I gained through this race and hope that it will help me build my future career.