The center of Klazienaveen today was full of runners because of the fortyth edition of the Drenthe Loopfestijn. About 1,300 participants participated in different distances. For the first time in a long time there was the Klazienaveen marathon again.
In 2018, that marathon disappeared from the program due to a moderate turnout. “They used to walk four laps towards Nieuw-Dordrecht and back. That is probably the cause that the number of participants went back like that,” says Jan Dobbe chairman. This edition therefore has a new route: right through the Bargerveen nature reserve.
And that is what also appealed to different runners. Similarly Anita Gerdes and Eline Andersson from Sweden. “I thought: it’s nice to walk here. Then I take my Swedish girlfriend and I can show her nicely where I come from and where I lived,” says Gerdes.
But there are also runners who participated in a very clear goal. Such as Victor Bastiaansen and Jeroen Pieter van der Vliet from Assen. They both had a balloon tied to themselves with 3.30 on it. Bastiaansen: “We are going to try to walk neatly for three hours thirty.” Van der Vliet adds: “And that will succeed, absolutely.”
Because it is a breeding season for the birds and the marathon goes through a nature reserve, the maximum amount of participants had to be coordinated with Staatsbosbeheer. Chairman Dobbe: “First 110 participants were allowed to participate, after a conversation it was allowed to be 150 from Staatsbosbeheer.”
Unlike in the last edition, when around thirty participants participated, the places were so filled this year. But will the round come again? “Given the enthusiasm about this marathon, I think there is a good chance that we will try that,” said Dobbe.