Aoyama-Gakuin University won the race of EKIDEN of all Japanese universities in Mie Prefecture on November 4th. Recently Aoyama-Gakuin has won the races of EKIDEN many times.
In the past, Aoyama-Gakuin was a weak team, and so the university thought the abolition of the EKIDEN club. At that time, about fifteen years ago, Mr.Hara has assumed the manager.
Mr.Hara's teaching method has been different from other universities. The teaching method has been usually top-down, that is, like the army. But Mr.Hara has said that members of the EKIDEN club are equal, and they should discuss how to exercise and win together.
Of course Mr.Hara is a manager, but he says that free opinions of members are very important. About fifteen years later, Aoyama-Gakuin has been the strongest team of EKIDEN in Japanese universities.
Of course there are many other strong teams, but Mr.Hara has suggested the new type of the teaching system.