In celebration of the 100th Hakone Ekiden, the UK Ekiden brings this format of competitive university team racing to the UK. Split into two categories; racers and runners, the UK Ekiden sees top university athletes race against each other in a team of 10 (5 men and 5 women. Corporate teams have the opportunity to participate by sponsoring the event and entering ka team of their own to compete in the runner's category.

Celebrating the best of Japan and the UK, the UK Ekiden offers an opportunity for participants and spectators to celebrate Japanese culture against the scenic Thames Path that connects both Britain and Japan.

The scenic route from historic Windsor will take runners along the Thames Path to King's Medow in Reading, and back. The route has a total of 10 legs and 9 handover stops.

The 114km course is mix of paved road, grassland ad gravel paths, with runners having to navigate across lochs, bridges, busy roads, towns, and fields - all making the race so much more interesing and challenging.