<figure id="attachment_410401" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1667px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-410401"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bec972e5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/e02b2add1f8994186a38e4d7f4b832ba.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-410401" class="wp-caption-text">Director Hara smiling as he gave an interview.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>With the employee from the workplace where his former student got a job</h2>
The harsh cold continued in early January. It seems many New Year&#8217;s parties were held in Tokyo’s Shimbashi (Minato Ward), and the streets were filled with the sound of celebratory claps.
Around 11 p.m., when the drunken guests began heading home, a reporter from our magazine spotted Aoyama Gakuin University Track and Field Club&#8217;s manager, Susumu Hara (57), coming out of an izakaya in high spirits. Hara is known for leading Aoyama Gakuin University to a two-year consecutive victory in the Hakone Ekiden, held on January 2–3.
It must have been a fun gathering, as Hara’s face was flushed as he left the building, enjoying a chat with those around him.
&#8220;That day, Manager Hara had attended a dinner with employees of Nippon Life Insurance. Nippon Life is the company where Hiroki Wakabayashi, who set a new section record in the fifth stage of this year’s Hakone Ekiden, will be working. The atmosphere in the restaurant was quite lively, and it seemed very fun, though it was a little noisy (laughs). He drank quite a bit, opening two or three bottles of Dom Pérignon. The generous drinking made the staff very happy&#8221; (a fellow customer).
Trying to offer congratulations, we approached the flushed Hara directly.
— Manager Hara! This is Friday. Congratulations on your Hakone Ekiden victory!!
&#8220;What? Huh?&#8221;
— I saw you entering the restaurant, so I wanted to congratulate you directly and waited for you (laughs).
&#8220;You waited the whole time? You’re amazing! It must have been cold, huh? I didn’t do anything bad (laughs).&#8221;
— No, no, it’s just congratulations!!
&#8220;Thank you! But don’t write anything bad, okay? (laughs).&#8221;
After smiling and chatting with the reporter, Manager Hara got into the waiting taxi.
Building a good relationship with his student’s future employer, contributing to the restaurant with Dom Pérignon, and responding with a smile even to a reporter’s direct approach—this is why he is one of the best coaches in track and field.

 Ichiro Takatsuka

 In early January, the weather was bitterly cold. There seemed to be a lot of New Year's parties going on in Shinbashi (Minato-ku), Tokyo, and the town was a storm of Ipponjime.

Coach Hara Hosts Aoba Gakuin Ekiden Victory Party with Calm Confidence

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