Takashi Sugiyama

Known by the nickname 'Shindo,' Takashi Sugiyama is a third-year student at Kansei University hailing from a rural mountain village in Yamagata Prefecture. Earnest by nature and driven by a strong sense of duty, he handles administrative tasks and negotiations behind the scenes for the track club. Though a relative newcomer to competitive running, he compensates through relentless effort and perseverance. During the Hakone Ekiden, he took on the grueling fifth mountain leg while battling a high fever—pushing through fading consciousness to complete the course, demonstrating a level of grit and willpower that left everyone in awe.