ekiden

is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.

The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competition, but it simply referred to the age old post-horse or stagecoach courier system which transmitted communication by stages, instead of one horse or a man covering the entire long distance. means "station" and translates as "to communicate, to convey", therefore ekiden could be roughly translated as Station to station. The original meaning of the word is reflected in its rule where each runner at the end of their run has to pass down their sash to the next runner.