It's good to see the anime expand on Nayuki's talent as a track runner by having her shine in the marathon. That scene was probably Key's way of making up for not having that aspect of Nayuki's character developed well in the original novel.
At the speed she's running, Nayuki's probably faster than Mai, though the same can't be said of her demon slaying abilities.
Gotta love how they made Nayuki obtain Raging Heart from Takedaya, the store from AIR. It seems that besides from opening a branch in the Kanon town, Takedaya has now diversed their business portfolio to selling magical weapons. Maybe they got a license from the Time-Space Administration Bureau? lol
Looks like Shiori gets to live for another few episodes, at least, giving her an opportunity to go with more style than last episode's sudden disappearance, which seemed anti-climatic.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Nayuki likes Yuuichi, and seems resigned to losing to Ayu already.
While I expect Ayu and Yuuichi to bond eventually, that kiss came surprisingly quick. It was earlier than I would have expect, with still 6-8 episodes remaining.
Expect our friend, the regular Kanon 2006 basher, to give this episode a score of 5 or below again, as usual.