Last Sunday, a total of 28,000 runners braved the hills between Nijmegen and Berg en Dal. Top athlete Jacob Kiplomo broke his own world record with ease. Radboud alumnus Mike Foppen also finished among the top three.

The Zevenheuvelenloop and new records clearly go hand in hand, as this year’s performance has shown once again. Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo completed the 15-kilometre hilly course in a time of 40 minutes and 42 seconds, breaking the previous record by a whopping 23 seconds(!). In doing so he definitely claimed the world record, which he had previously shared with compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, for himself. In the previous edition of the Zevenheuvelenloop, Kiplimo completed the course in 41.05, the same time as that recorded by Cheptegei in 2018.

An impressive second place went to Radboud alumnus Mike Foppen. The athlete, who reached the final of the 5000 metres at the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, completed the course in 43 minutes and 19 seconds. In doing so, he became the first Dutchman on the podium since 2002. However, Foppen fell three seconds short of breaking the Dutch record. Britain’s Marc Scott finished third (43.21).

‘It’s fantastic to become the fastest Dutchman and to finish so well,’ the athlete said, reflecting on the race the next day. ‘Especially as a Nijmegen native, of course I would like to show myself here. And now I did.’

The fact that he fell just short of the national record gives Foppen a mixed feeling. ‘But of course you also depend on the circumstances. I ran a lot in the lead (among the large group of top athletes behind the race leader, Kiplomo, eds.) to keep the pace high. The first five kilometres went well, but when we faced a strong headwind on the Zevenheuvelenweg, things got tough. It remains a balancing act: you don’t want to get too tired either, leaving you unable to do anything in the final kilometres. But I ran a good race and of course it is super cool to be the first Dutchman since 2002 to be on the podium.’

The women’s race was won by Ethiopia’s Mizan Alem (46.51). She was followed by Diane van Es (47.51) and compatriot Enyish Mengie (49.19).

But the race is not only popular among pros; many amateur riders also take part. The total 28,000 participants in the Zevenheuvelenloop Run traditionally also include many students. In addition Foppen, another well-known former student, also braved the hills: Prime Minister Dick Schoof recorded a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 30 seconds. He has been taking part in the running competition ever since his student days in the City on the Waal.