Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
) is an annual
15 kilometres road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...
race held in
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;
[van Hemert, Wim & Turner, Chris (2008-11-03)]
Bekele lines-up for 'first serious' road race at 25th anniversary edition of the Seven Hills
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
. Retrieved on 2009-11-15. it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008.
History
The inaugural edition of the race in 1984 featured only an 11.9 kilometre course as the Dutch
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
federation (
Koninklijke Nederlandse Atletiek Unie) would not allow new races to be longer than 12 km. The current undulating, hilly course begins in Nijmegen, follows a path to
Groesbeek
Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, when ...
and then loops back towards Nijmegen to the finish line.
[ Zevenheuvelenloop lends itself to fast times: ]Felix Limo
Felix Limo (born 22 August 1980) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon.
Limo held the 15 Kilometres road running List of world records in athletics, world record from November 2001 to November 2010, where he los ...
broke the men's world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
in 2001 and, at the 2009 edition, Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, ...
broke the women's world record over 15 km. In 2010, Leonard Komon
Leonard Patrick Komon (born 10 January 1988) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner and was the List of world records in athletics, world record holder in the 10 kilometres.
His 10K world record in 2010 with a time of 26:44 is a 17 seco ...
improved Limo's World Record by running 41:13. In 2018, Joshua Cheptegei
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, W ...
won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 41:05, setting the current World Record for 15 km. In 2019, Letesenbet Gidey
Letesenbet Gidey (Tigrinya: ለተሰንበት ግደይ, born 20 March 1998) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who holds three world records plus one world best. A 10,000 metres 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, at the World Athletics ...
won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 44:20, setting the current World Record for 15 km.
A number of athletes have achieved victory at the Zevenheuvelenloop on multiple occasions; Tonnie Dirks, Tegla Loroupe
Tegla Chepkite Loroupe (born 9 December 1979) is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously ...
, Mestawet Tufa
Mestawet Tufa ( Amharic: መስታወት ቱፋ; born 14 September 1983 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She was the winner of the women's 10,000 metres at the 2007 All-Africa Games and the runner up in the senior women's race at th ...
, Sileshi Sihine
Sileshi Sihine ( Amharic: ስለሺ ስህኔ; born January 29, 1983 in Sheno) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Sileshi won silver medals in the 10,000 metres at both the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well ...
and Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...
have each won the race three times, and Joshua Cheptegei
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, W ...
has won the race four times. The 2002 winner, South African Irvette Van Blerk won the race at the age of fifteen, having entered the race while holidaying in the Netherlands. The race was used as the test event for the development of the ChampionChip personal RFID timing system.[Hetger, Colin (2002-11-17)]
South African wins Netherlands Race
ChampionChip. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
Winners
Key:
Statistics
''As of 7 October 2019''
Winners by country
Multiple winners
''bold italic'' = world record
References
;General
*Krol, Maarten & van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-17)
Association of Road Racing Statisticians
The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...
. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
;Specific
{{reflist
External links
Official website
15K runs
Recurring sporting events established in 1984
1984 establishments in the Netherlands
Athletics competitions in the Netherlands
Sports competitions in Gelderland
Sports competitions in Nijmegen
Sport in Berg en Dal (municipality)