Wolde wins Egmond Half Marathon

The first major running event of the year, the Saucony Egmond Half Marathon, was won today by Ethiopian Dawit Wolde in 1:02:41. Wolde also won in Egmond in 2012, when he reduced the course record.

Dawit Wolde wins Saucony Egmond Half Marathon 2017

Dutch Abdi Nageeye was a close second (1:02:43). Both the men’s and the women’s races remained exciting to the end. Desi Jisa from Bahrain placed first among the women in 1:12:08. On track for a medal for much of the race, Ruth van der Meijden eventually had to settle for fifth (1:13:58).

Exciting Egmond Half Marathon men’s race

This year those competing for medals enjoyed mild weather. With the beach readily accessible despite the high tide, a small lead pack, consisting of main favourite Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Tesfaye Abera, Dawit Wolde, Ykalo Fsaha, Kalipus Lomwai, Abdi Nageeye and Ronald Schröer, immediately headed onto the beach and set a fast pace from the start. After the first few kilometres, Nageeye and Schröer allowed the Africans to take the lead and chose to run at their own pace. With Wolde also dropping back in Castricum aan Zee, Ghebreslassie and Lomwai embarked on the return stretch as a twosome. The undulating paths through the dunes set the scene for an exciting race between the two, with each constantly challenging the other, but neither managing to establish a definitive lead. At that point Nageeye re-joined the race. He caught up with Wolde and together they mounted a pursuit. With the four lead runners abreast at the 18 km point, the stage was set for a thrilling finale as they approached the finish line. The women, still in the lead at that point, having set off 9:17 minutes earlier in the traditional man-woman race, were overtaken by the men just 500 metres ahead of the finish line. The four men then sprinted to the finish line in one of the most exciting finales in the history of the race. Wolde was fastest (1:02:41), closely followed by Nageeye and Ghebreslassie (both achieving times of 1:02:43). Lomwai just missed the podium (1:02:44). Second among the Dutch athletes, Michel Butter finished seventh (1:05:41) and Ronald Schröer placed ninth (1:06:10).

Abdi Nageeye was delighted with his performance: “I stayed calm and didn’t panic when I had to drop back from the lead pack on the beach. I read the race well and overtook them one by one.” Nageeye improved on his fastest time in Egmond by more than a minute.

Surprising win in the Egmond Half Marathon women’s race

A Dutch athlete also played a leading role in the women’s race. Ruth van der Meijden ran much of the race with the lead pack, together with four African runners: Tejitu Siyum, Belaynesh Shifera, Ivy Kibet and Azemera Abreha. Yet, from the 16 km point Van der Meijden struggled to keep up. The other lead runners also failed to place first as Desi Jisa from Bahrain made a surprising comeback to emerge as the winner (1:12:08). Abreha was a close second (1:12:11) and Kibet completed the podium (1:12:14). Van der Meijden ultimately finished fifth (1:13:57). Andrea Deelstra was second among the Dutch female athletes (1:14:53) and Jamie van Lieshout was third (1:16:02).

Record number of Egmond Half Marathon participants

A record number of 17,800 participants enjoyed the beautiful half-marathon course along the beach and through the dunes of Egmond aan Zee. The fine weather brought out a large crowd to cheer on the runners from the sidelines. Le Champion looks back on a memorable edition of the race with a great deal of satisfaction. The next edition of the Saucony Egmond Half Marathon will be held on Sunday 14 January 2018.

Photo credit: Karel Delvoye (Orange Pictures)