This morning at six o’clock all kinds of lights dance through the dark at the Gasselterveld. These are the headlamps of six hundred participants who participate in the Ultra Run, organized by Winfried Bats from Gasselternijveen.
They have registered for various running distances, varying between 50, 75 and 100 kilometers. 200 participants have registered for the last and longest distance. They run the Dutch Ultra Trail Championship.
“It really is an unprecedentedly popular distance,” says event organizer Winfried Bats. “Two months ago we even put a stop to registrations. You notice that people are increasingly seeking out extreme challenges. It has to be longer, it has to be crazier. And people are encouraging each other in that regard.”
Ultra trail running is running long distances over unpaved terrain. “It is a bit unclear when you talk about an ultra trail: one says everything above the marathon distance of 42 kilometers, the other says everything above fifty kilometers,” Bats explains.
The route runs around Grolloo and Rolde and goes straight through nature reserves and through the sheepfold of Balloo. A total of fourteen nationalities are participating, including a large group from Belgium. “We were here a few years ago for an ultra run of 85 kilometers. We loved it here so much that we are now going to try the 100 kilometers,” says an athlete from Ghent.
They may take a maximum of seventeen hours, but the fastest runners will probably complete the distance in ten hours.
But what does it take to run 100 kilometers? Bats laughs: “Well, in any case you have to have the balls to register. That you want to try it. There are so many different people who participate in this. For example, there is a woman who recently ran 250 kilometers. But There are also athletes who train for a year to be here today.”
“You must be a little crazy,” adds a group from Ghent. “But the best thing of all is that we pull each other through. It is enjoyment and suffering at the same time.”