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Late this summer, Lee Troop reached out to Brett Larner. Larner, who lives in Japan and is the founder of Japan Running News, is often the first stop for English-speaking runners seeking advice on Japanese running culture. Troop, who coaches T.E.A.M. Boulder and soon-to-be Olympic marathoner Jake Riley, had a request: He needed some authentic tasuki. 

A tasuki is a sash runners wear in an Ekiden, a multistage distance relay race that originated in Japan. And Troop, who was working with Kevin Hanson, Amy Begley, and Ben Rosario to put on an Ekiden in Michigan during a pandemic, wanted to do things right. Larner consulted on Ekiden rules and etiquette, and he offered to help secure authentic tasuki. 

Larner, who is the former agent and often-times translator for 2018 Boston Marathon champion Yuki Kawauchi, reached out to some folks at Sanwa Shokai, a manufacturing company in Osaka who could make tasuki according to official specs. Using an online ordering system, Larner selected colors and entered stitching instructions and styles—Larner wanted embroidered sashes rather than print—for eight custom tasuki; one for each team set to run the Michigan version of the Ekiden. 

One week after putting the final touches on the design, the tasuki were with Larner. About one week later, the sashes, a 65/35 percent cotton/polyester blend with embroidered team initials, were with Kevin and Keith Hanson, the brothers behind the Hansons Brooks Original Distance Project, in Michigan, ready for racing.

On October 21, seven men stood at the start line of the Michigan Pro Ekiden in Stoney Creek Metro Park, about 45 minutes north of Detroit. They fidgeted one last time with their tasuki, which were draped over one shoulder, under the other, and—for most competitors—tucked into their shorts. The gun fired, and they took off for a 10-kilometer leg. After about 4 miles, Northern Arizona Elite’s Tyler Day broke away from the pack. At points, with the wind howling around, Day’s tasuki untucked from his shorts, and he grabbed it to keep it stable. Once he hit the final 100 yards of his leg, with teammate Lauren Paquette in sight, Day, who said he hadn’t worn a sash since his Boy Scout days, took the sash off and “white knuckled” it, as he said, around his hand. Then, he stretched it out between two hands and handed it to Paquette, who carefully yet hurriedly placed it over her left shoulder and wriggled her right arm through it while beginning her 6.1-kilometer leg.

Just minutes after finishing, and still catching his breath, day walk-jogged over toward the start line where Paquette was doing a loop early in her stage. He cheered her on. This was his first race with N.A.Z. Elite, and he was excited to be doing it with a team. He was also excited about the future. Paquette was less than five minutes into her run and Day told me, “I would love to come back here if they make this an ongoing thing.” 

The question is, will the Michigan Pro Ekiden be back next year? 

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