Richard Douma and Jacelyn Gruppen, both from Hoogeveen, won the national 10 kilometer running title in Schoorl. In the men’s competition, Nik Lemmink (Groningen) came third. The championship was part of the Greetings from Schoorl Run.
The differences among men were small. Douma finished in 28.45 minutes, Filmon Tesfu crossed the line 1 count later, Nik Lemmink 3 seconds, Noah Schutte in fourth 4 seconds. Tom Hendrikse (Assen) finished ninth, 33 seconds behind Douma. “Tactically smart in a fast race,” was Douma’s reflection.
Nik Lemmink was ‘extremely happy’ with his result. Lemmink, back from altitude training in Kenya more than a week ago: “It was a very tough competition. The second half went fast. I could barely catch on. In the last kilometer I saw that Noah Schutte had to let go. Then I knew I had a chance for a medal. With a final sprint I was able to overtake him 200 meters before the end. Euphoric.”
Gruppen, third last year, clocked a finishing time of 32.59 minutes. She was immediately followed by Anne Luijten at 7 seconds. Lianne van de Belt (Groningen) finished seventh at 1.11 minutes, while fellow citizen Yasmine Hillebrink ran to ninth place. She lost 1.44 minutes to Gruppen.
Douma now has eight national titles, this is the second for Gruppen – after her marathon title in 2014. In the national championship race, she had taken the lead in the sixth kilometer. She couldn’t give it up anymore. In January things had become more difficult in the Egmond half marathon. “I didn’t count on the title, I was hoping for third place. I did a few good speed training sessions in the last few weeks and they worked well. I am very happy,” said the newly crowned national champion.