#and so it ends...

No mention of birthdays (I figured as much)!

Haiji became a coach in a corporate running team (and I had to google that because I wasn’t aware it was thing in Japan) and yes, Kakeru would be joining his team after he graduates, even though he had received offers to join more prestigious corporations. Much like the anime, they really didn’t touch on what the other members were doing now.

Chikusei-so was scheduled to be torn down the next day after their reunion, and in place a new dorm facility for the Kansei track and field team will be built to house future members.

There’s still no concrete answer as to who Hana really likes, and it remains unspecified till the very end. (Not canon but personal speculation here, I’m inclining towards Joji a little bit more than the other two because the novel seems to place a bit more emphasis to Hana blushing when she talks about Joji, and also because it’s more likely that the other two would let Joji win because of their temperament, aka, Jota loves his brother a lot, and Kakeru respects Hana and knows Joji is head over heels for her).

There’s no answer as to whether Yuki reconciled with his family, but there’s every reason to believe so, because while running, he had come to the conclusion that it’s time to put aside his childish pride because his mother is genuinely happy, and isn’t that what his dream for her was in the first place?

We don’t know if Haiji and Kakeru’s family situation ever improved. “Reconcile” would not be the word I’d use for their story unlike Yuki, since they’ve always had dad issues. Haiji did get a call from his dad though (!!!!), after the dad learned that Kansei has qualified for the ekiden. (His dad mentioned he had bought a TV set just so he could watch the race, and mentioned that Haiji looked happy with his teammates and Haiji said yeah, watch me dad.)

Shindo’s parents know about Musa (which I’m assuming because Shindo must have talked to them a lot about him), that’s why Shindo was going to invite Musa back to his hometown in Yamagata after the ekiden... because, and I quote, “My parents are looking forward to having you over.”

Joji has a mole on his right ankle (why do I still remember this lolol). And I mentioned sometime back that I think they have good parents, because the parents have never tried to compare them with each other and loved them equally, so yes, there’s never been any true jealousy between them.

The anime shows Jota’s side of the story, but Joji also loves his big brother a lot, he is just a little more insecure and sensitive about looking like his brother, and always felt hurt when his ex-girlfriends would try to separate him and his brother by comparing them (even though they meant no ill will, it’s something people naturally do when they look so alike). That’s why he fell for Hana, because she was the first one who did not see the need to separate the twins, because she saw them both as different individuals (same for the Aotake squad, who never saw the need to compare them).

Yuki’s family actually lives in Tokyo (which meant Yuki could have lived with them if he wanted to). Haiji and Fujioka’s hometown is in Izumo, Shimane prefecture. Don’t recall reading anything about the rest, and we already know for Musa (Tanzania) and Shindo (Yamagata).

Edit: I forgot about this bit, but they mentioned Kakeru’s high school is Sendai Josei High school in the anime and I believe that should be in the novel as well, so yeah, Kakeru’s from Sendai (same as Kageyama from Haikyuu, oya oya!)