A fantastic course record was run at the Amsterdam Marathon that was held on Sunday 17 October. The Ethiopian athlete Getu Feleke ran 2.05.44. Debutant Wilson Chebet came second in a time of 2.06.12. In the women’s category Alice Timbilil won in 2.25.03. Ronald Schroër was the best Dutchman in 2.16.56 and Miranda Boonstra was the first Dutch woman in 2.34.24. There were a record number of entries for the Amsterdam Marathon this year. A huge 31,463 entries were received for the Le Champion event.
The fantastic weather and the changes to the course made the circumstances perfect for running a fast marathon. The elite runners were therefore able to avoid running through the tunnel under the Wibautstraat and instead run above it. The bottleneck at the start of the route was also removed by letting the runners run the first loop in the opposite direction. It delivered the scenario that the organiser Le Champion spoke of beforehand. A finishing time under 2.06 had to be possible.
At 09.45 the Mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, fired the starting shot that set off the 10,241 registered runners for their marathonrace. The extensive field of elite athletes, that Global Sports Communications was responsible for, stayed together for a long time. Until Getu Feleke, after 35 kilometers, sped away from the leading group, never to be overtaken again. He was chased by debutant Wilson Chebet. Until Sunday, Feleke’s personal best stood at 2.08.04. Improving it meant moving to the eighth place in the world rankings. This year, the winner was once again in the public eye. Chebet has also left a fantastic impression by running 2.06.12, which is under the old course record run by Gilbert Yegon (2.06.18). Chala Dechase came third with 2.07.23. Amsterdam was Ronald Schroër’s third marathon this year. With 2.16.56 he was just under his personal best, but he appeared to be happy to be the first Dutchman to finish.
For the women, the race was also decided after the 30 kilometre point. The Kenyan Alice Timbilil also ran away from the leading group after 33 kilometres and finished in 2.25.03. That was the third best time ever run in Amsterdam. The 2009 winner, Eyerusalem Kuma finished in second place with 2.27.04. Robe Guta came third in 2.27.44. Miranda Boonstra still had energy for a joyful dance after the finish. The past steeplechase specialist was satisfied with her time of 2.34.24. This means Boonstra has found her calling to track athletics. Simone Richardson, director of Le Champion, was very pleased with the way the marathon was organised. The fast times mean Amsterdam has moved up one place in the top 10 fastest marathon cities in the world and now occupies fifth place.
