Utrecht Marathon
Encyclopedia
The Utrecht Marathon is an annual marathon
competition which takes place in Utrecht
, the Netherlands
, usually in April.
First held in 1978 as the U N Marathon, the event featured a full marathon competition 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 mi) and also a half marathon
race. It attracted a largely domestic field of runners in its first decade and began to attract other European runners in the 1990s. The marathon race was removed from the programme of events between 1999 and 2004, and the city of Utrecht hosted just the half marathon during this period. Another organisation had created the Leidsche Rijn Marathon in 2000, whose course ran through the local area from Vleuten
to De Meern
. The race organiser groups combined their efforts in 2005, forming the Utrecht Marathon, and the city of Utrecht once again hosted annual marathon and half marathon races.
The current marathon course is within the city and has a clock-wise looped format. The race starts and ends on Croeselaan, which is near Jaarbeurs Utrecht (a large building complex for events and trade fairs). In addition to the main marathon competition, the day's events include half marathon, 10 km and 5 km races. The half marathon follows a shorter version of the marathon course while the 10 km and 5 km events follow a looped route close to the streets of the city centre.
The marathon race records are 2:09:41 for men (set by William Kipchumba Kwambai in 2009) and 2:33:40 for women (set by Anne van Schuppen
at the 1992 edition).
n runners in Dutch marathons, Utrecht race organiser Louran van Keulen revised the prize money scheme for the 2011 edition of the event. He offered 100 € as the prize for first place, but a Dutch winner would receive up to 10,000 € in bonus prizes. Utrecht City Council, which subsidised the event, sought a review of whether the move was discriminatory towards foreign athletes and the council's executive for sport remarked that it "does not make the city look great". Van Keulen defended his position by arguing that he wanted to invest in grassroots
sport and improve local facilities, with a long term plan to see Dutch runners challenge Africans at the top level. He had specially selected twenty of the best Dutch male runners to participate in a "Dutch Battle" in Utrecht.
A Nairobi
-based businessman, Gert-Jan van Wijk, disapproved of the prize scheme and offered to personally make up the difference for foreign athletes, saying: "I think the Netherlands is afraid of competition, afraid of the unknown, afraid of different cultures. Holland is turning inside herself, instead of becoming stronger by taking up the competition". A combination of the time needed to acquire a visa and lack of foreign invitations to the event meant that the regular Kenyan contingent, including 2008 winner Sammy Chumba, was absent that year. Young Dutchman Michel Butter
was the 2011 winner, breaking a four-year Kenyan winning streak. Kenyan John Mutai Kipkorir, having entered the race among the fun run
ners and led in the latter stages, was the runner-up and received a one-off 4950 € payout from van Wijk for his performance.
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
competition which takes place in Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, usually in April.
First held in 1978 as the U N Marathon, the event featured a full marathon competition 21.0975 kilometres (13.1 mi) and also a half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
race. It attracted a largely domestic field of runners in its first decade and began to attract other European runners in the 1990s. The marathon race was removed from the programme of events between 1999 and 2004, and the city of Utrecht hosted just the half marathon during this period. Another organisation had created the Leidsche Rijn Marathon in 2000, whose course ran through the local area from Vleuten
Vleuten
Vleuten is a former village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 6 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with De Meern, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern. Vleuten has a railway station on the line between Utrecht and Woerden.In...
to De Meern
De Meern
De Meern is a former town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 5 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with Vleuten, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern....
. The race organiser groups combined their efforts in 2005, forming the Utrecht Marathon, and the city of Utrecht once again hosted annual marathon and half marathon races.
The current marathon course is within the city and has a clock-wise looped format. The race starts and ends on Croeselaan, which is near Jaarbeurs Utrecht (a large building complex for events and trade fairs). In addition to the main marathon competition, the day's events include half marathon, 10 km and 5 km races. The half marathon follows a shorter version of the marathon course while the 10 km and 5 km events follow a looped route close to the streets of the city centre.
The marathon race records are 2:09:41 for men (set by William Kipchumba Kwambai in 2009) and 2:33:40 for women (set by Anne van Schuppen
Anne van Schuppen
Antje Elisabeth van Schuppen is a former long-distance runner from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There she finished in 41st place, clocking 2:40:46. She won the Rotterdam Marathon on April 18, 1993 in a time of 2:34:15...
at the 1992 edition).
Prize money incentives
In response to the increasing dominance of KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n runners in Dutch marathons, Utrecht race organiser Louran van Keulen revised the prize money scheme for the 2011 edition of the event. He offered 100 € as the prize for first place, but a Dutch winner would receive up to 10,000 € in bonus prizes. Utrecht City Council, which subsidised the event, sought a review of whether the move was discriminatory towards foreign athletes and the council's executive for sport remarked that it "does not make the city look great". Van Keulen defended his position by arguing that he wanted to invest in grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
sport and improve local facilities, with a long term plan to see Dutch runners challenge Africans at the top level. He had specially selected twenty of the best Dutch male runners to participate in a "Dutch Battle" in Utrecht.
A Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
-based businessman, Gert-Jan van Wijk, disapproved of the prize scheme and offered to personally make up the difference for foreign athletes, saying: "I think the Netherlands is afraid of competition, afraid of the unknown, afraid of different cultures. Holland is turning inside herself, instead of becoming stronger by taking up the competition". A combination of the time needed to acquire a visa and lack of foreign invitations to the event meant that the regular Kenyan contingent, including 2008 winner Sammy Chumba, was absent that year. Young Dutchman Michel Butter
Michel Butter
Michel Butter is a Dutch long-distance runner.He was the silver medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships and represented his country at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships, coming ninth in the senior men's race...
was the 2011 winner, breaking a four-year Kenyan winning streak. Kenyan John Mutai Kipkorir, having entered the race among the fun run
Fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors providing the revenue to cover organisational costs...
ners and led in the latter stages, was the runner-up and received a one-off 4950 € payout from van Wijk for his performance.
Marathon
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1978 | 2:25:07 | ? | ? | |
| 2nd | 1979 | 2:29:42.2 | ? | ? | |
| 3rd | 1980 | 2:20:35 | 3:30:46 | ||
| 4th | 1981 | 2:28:11 | 3:04:47 | ||
| 5th | 1982 | 2:17:59 | 2:54:41 | ||
| 6th | 1983 | 2:21:11 | ? | ? | |
| 7th | 1984 | 2:25:32 | 3:09:49 | ||
| 8th | 1985 | 2:30:14 | 3:10:28 | ||
| 9th | 1986 | 2:25:19 | 3:19:57 | ||
| 10th | 1987 | 2:29:45 | 2:56:58 | ||
| 11th | 1988 | 2:26:00 | 2:54:11 | ||
| 12th | 1989 | 2:25:56 | 3:03:32 | ||
| 13th | 1990 | 2:26:58 | 3:03:00 | ||
| 14th | 1991 | 2:21:46 | 2:44:55 | ||
| 15th | 1992 | 2:18:53 | 2:33:40 | ||
| 16th | 1993 | 2:23:11 | 3:04:18 | ||
| 17th | 1994 | 2:25:20 | 3:09:41 | ||
| 18th | 1995 | 2:20:39 | 3:03:28 | ||
| 19th | 1996 | 2:25:38 | 2:55:36 | ||
| 20th | 1997 | 2:32:23 | 3:32:50 | ||
| 21st | 1998 | 2:28:17 | 3:06:56 | ||
| — | 1999 | — | — | — | — |
| 22nd | 2000 | 2:18:43 | 2:42:59 | ||
| — | 2001 | — | — | — | — |
| 23rd | 2002 | 2:16:39 | 3:09:33 | ||
| 24th | 2003 | 2:13:41 | 2:43:09 | ||
| 25th | 2004 | 2:18:28 | 2:43:15 | ||
| 26th | 2005 | 2:19:37 | 2:40:51 | ||
| 27th | 2006 | 2:17:35 | 2:45:00 | ||
| 28th | 2007 | 2:11:16 | 2:47:11 | ||
| 29th | 2008 | 2:12:07 | 2:41:44 | ||
| 30th | 2009 | 2:09:41 | 2:34:28 | ||
| 31st | 2010 | 2:12:01 | 2:39:43 | ||
| 32nd | 2011 | 2:17:36 | 2:56:22 |
- Note: No marathon was held in Utrecht in 1999 and the 2001 event was cancelled due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth diseaseFoot-and-mouth diseaseFoot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...
.
Half marathon
| Year | Men's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1:06.52 | 1:20.11 | ||
| 2010 | 1:05.17 | 1:15.31 | ||
| 2009 | 1:05.44 | 1:17.14 | ||
| 2008 | 1:04.08 | 1:15.56 | ||
| 2007 | 1:02.59 | 1:10.44 | ||
| 2006 | 1:09.47 | 1:20.14 | ||
| 2005 | 1:04.15 | 1:14.53 |