Why are Hokkaido teams so weak in Ekiden or relay marathon?

  It was so cold today, too. I attended the funeral service of late Miyakawa in the morning. In the afternoon, I watched on TV the inter-prefectual relay marathon women's race. Hokkaido team is so weak that every year the result is lower than the 30th of the 47 teams which participate in the race. This year's result was, again, the 35th.