Monterey Ekiden
Teams of four. One tasuki. Twilight at Laguna Seca.
A 4-person twilight relay at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in Salinas, run for a cross-country exchange between sister cities Monterey and Nanao, Japan. This year's event is cancelled, but the vision lives on. Leave your email and you will be the first to know when we set a new date.
WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca, Salinas, CA View map
Pass the tasuki, not a baton
You run. A student gets to cross an ocean.
Monterey and Nanao, Japan, have been sister cities for thirty years. This race supports a new cross-country exchange built on that bond. Students from Nanao visit Monterey in August, and the Monterey High team travels to Nanao in October. They train together, stay in each other's towns, and build friendships that cross a language barrier and an ocean. We are creating a fund so a student's financial situation is never the barrier. A place is earned through merit and commitment, not through what a family can afford. In a region with deep Japanese roots, an ekiden is a fitting way to honor that history and open the door for the next group of students.
A relay from Japan, run since 1917.
An ekiden is a long-distance relay that has been part of Japanese culture since 1917. Teams race a set course, but instead of a baton, each runner wears a cloth sash called a tasuki and hands it to the next teammate at the exchange. The sash carries the team's effort from one leg to the next. The format was built around collective effort over individual glory, and that tradition has endured. Japan's New Year Hakone Ekiden is a two-day, nationally televised event, watched the way Americans watch the Super Bowl.
A Japanese tradition with Monterey roots
A Japanese immigrant named Otosaburo Noda settled in Monterey in 1895. He started a small fishing colony made up of fishermen from the Wakayama Prefecture. Almost immediately, abalone divers from the Chiba Prefecture arrived, and for the next 20 years the Japanese dominated the fishing industry in Monterey Bay. By the mid-1930s, 80 percent of the businesses on the Monterey Wharf were Japanese owned. Monterey had its own Japantown, bounded by Alvarado, Adams and Pearl Streets.
Bringing an ekiden here carries that story forward.
For more, pick up a copy of The Japanese On The Monterey Peninsula, by Tim Thomas and the Monterey Japanese American Citizens League.
Build a team of four. Pass the tasuki.
Form a team
One runner starts the team as captain. That is how the ekiden begins.
Invite three
Send invites to three teammates. It is free for them to join your team.
Run your lap
Each of the four runs one 2.2-mile lap, then passes the tasuki to the next.
Finish together
8.8 miles as a team. Cross the line as four, off the track by 7:00 PM.
Four runners, one team, one tasuki.
A team of four splits four 2.2-mile laps, handing the tasuki from runner to runner. Solo runners and walkers are welcome too. This is the format we will bring back on the next date.
See the course before you run it.
A 3D run-through of the actual Laguna Seca course, built from satellite imagery. Climbs and descents are marked so you know the lap before race day.
Our supporters.
Wasshoi Foundation
Beneficiary & Partner
Big Sur International Marathon
PartnerHeld at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca, Salinas, California.
Be first to know when the Ekiden returns.
The 2026 race is cancelled, but we intend to bring it back. Drop your email and we will reach out with the new date and news from the exchange fund. No spam, ever.
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