“That is fantastic for the appearance of the village,” says Sandy Dekker, former chairman of business association BIZ Egmond aan Zee. “It shows how hospitable we are, everyone participates. In addition, these are of course also golden times for the catering industry.”
The municipality of Bergen agrees. “We don’t have any figures, but all hotels and holiday parks are very well occupied this weekend and the catering industry is well visited. This income is very welcome for entrepreneurs during the winter period.”
Yet Dekker, also owner of the Bike Shop in the village, sees that not everyone Derper thinks so positively about it. “It has advantages and disadvantages. The most important advantage is that as a village you can show how much fun it is here. And of course you hope that the people who come to play sports here will want to come back again. But it is no secret either. that there are residents and entrepreneurs who find the event a burden because the village is closed.”
‘Make it more exclusive’
This group includes Andrea Rijtema, chairman of Parel aan Zee, an association that stands up for the village interests of Egmond. “It’s only one day a year, but about 18,500 participants in a village where less than 5,000 people live, that’s quite something. It’s growing a bit at the seams.” It could well be done with fewer participants, Rijtema thinks. “That also makes it a bit more exclusive. The way things are going now, I think the inconvenience for residents is quite significant.”
However, the association is certainly not against the marathon, Rijtema emphasizes. “It has put Egmond aan Zee on the sporting map. In 2023, in collaboration with Le Champion, the municipality of Bergen and Hotel Zuiderduin, we unveiled a statue of the first winner of the marathon: Joop Smit.”
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