Zevenheuvelenloop

The Zevenheuvelenloop (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌzeːvə(n)ˈɦøːvələ(n)loːp]; English: Seven Hills Run) is an annual road race of 15 kilometres held in and around Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;^[1] it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008.^[2]

Zevenheuvelenloop
Location	Nijmegen, Netherlands
Event type	Road running
Distance	15 km
Primary sponsor	NN
Established	1984
Course records	Men: 40:42 (2024) WR Jacob Kiplimo Women: 44:20 (2019) WR Letesenbet Gidey
Official site	Zevenheuvelenloop
Participants	6,088 (2019) 6,138 (2018)

The current men's course record is 40:42 (min:s) by Jacob Kiplimo from 2024 and the current women's course record is 44:20 by Letesenbet Gidey from 2019, both of which are also world best performances.

History

An advertisement for the 2007 race

The inaugural edition of the race in 1984 featured only an 11.9 kilometre course as the Dutch athletics federation (Koninklijke Nederlandse Atletiek Unie) would not allow new races to be longer than 12 km.^[3] The current undulating, hilly course begins in Nijmegen, follows a path to Groesbeek and then loops back towards Nijmegen to the finish line.^[1] Zevenheuvelenloop lends itself to fast times: Felix Limo broke the men's world record in 2001 and, at the 2009 edition, Tirunesh Dibaba broke the women's world record over 15 km.^[4][5] In 2010, Leonard Komon improved Limo's World Record by running 41:13.^[6] In 2018, Joshua Cheptegei won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 41:05, setting the current World Record for 15 km.^[7] In 2019, Letesenbet Gidey won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 44:20, setting the current World Record for 15 km.^[8]

A number of athletes have achieved victory at the Zevenheuvelenloop on multiple occasions; Tonnie Dirks, Tegla Loroupe, Mestawet Tufa, Sileshi Sihine and Haile Gebrselassie have each won the race three times, and Joshua Cheptegei has won the race four times. The 2002 winner, South African Irvette Van Blerk won the race at the age of fifteen, having entered the race while holidaying in the Netherlands. The race was used as the test event for the development of the ChampionChip personal RFID timing system.^[9]

Winners

Haile Gebrselassie first won in 1994 and won for a third time in 2011.

Kenya's Tegla Loroupe won the race three times in the 1990s.

Winners of the Zevenheuvelenloop

Year	Men's winner	Time	Note	Women's winner	Time	Note	Ref
1984	Leon Wijers (NED)	36:55	12 km	Anne Rindt (NED)	45:48	12 km
1985	Klaas Lok (NED)	45:28	CR	Joke Menkveld (NED)	57:28	CR
1986	Sam Carey (GBR)	46:2		Denise Verhaert (BEL)	53:33	CR
1987	Marti ten Kate (NED)	45:11	CR	Gerrie Timmermans (NED)	57:16
1988	Robin Bergstrand (GBR)	46:20		Marianne van de Linde (NED)	52:53	CR
1989	Tonnie Dirks (NED)	43:31	CR	Carla Beurskens (NED)	50:36	CR
1990	Tonnie Dirks (NED)	44:53		Carla Beurskens (NED)	52:06
1991	Tonnie Dirks (NED)	44:09		Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)	48:46	CR
1992	Carl Thackery (GBR)	43:54		Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	50:53
1993	Khalid Skah (MAR)	43:35		Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	50:06
1994	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	43:00	CR	Liz McColgan (GBR)	49:56
1995	Josephat Machuka (KEN)	42:23	CR	Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)	49:44
1996	Josephat Machuka (KEN)	43:06		Marleen Renders (BEL)	50:09
1997	Worku Bikila (ETH)	42:20	CR	Catherina McKiernan (IRL)	48:30	CR
1998	Worku Bikila (ETH)	42:24		Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	50:06
1999	Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)	43:30		Lyubov Morgunova (RUS)	49:45
2000	Felix Limo (KEN)	42:53		Berhane Adere (ETH)	48:06	CR
2001	Felix Limo (KEN)	41:29	WB	Rose Cheruiyot (KEN)	48:40
2002	Kamiel Maase (NED)	43:41		Irvette van Blerk (RSA)	51:06
2003	Richard Yatich (KEN)	42:43		Mestawet Tufa (ETH)	49:06
2004	Sileshi Sihine (ETH)	41:38		Lydia Cheromei (KEN)	47:02	CR
2005	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	41:56		Berhane Adere (ETH)	47:46
2006	Micah Kogo (KEN)	42:42		Mestawet Tufa (ETH)	47:22
2007	Sileshi Sihine (ETH)	42:24		Bezunesh Bekele (ETH)	47:36
2008	Ayele Abshero (ETH)	42:17		Mestawet Tufa (ETH)	46:57	CR
2009	Sileshi Sihine (ETH)	42:14		Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)	46:29	CR
2010	Leonard Komon (KEN)	41:13	WB	Genet Getaneh (ETH)	47:53
2011	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	42:44		Waganesh Mekasha (ETH)	48:33		[10]
2012	Nicholas Kipkemboi (KEN)	42:01		Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)	47:08
2013	Leonard Komon (KEN)	42:15		Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)	48:43
2014	Abera Kuma (ETH)	42:18		Priscah Jeptoo (KEN)	46:56
2015	Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)	42:39		Yenenesh Tilahun (ETH)	50:05
2016	Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)	42:08		Susan Krumins (NED)	49:30
2017	Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)	41:16		Birke Debele (ETH)	48:52
2018	Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)	41:05	WB	Stella Chesang (UGA)	47:19		[11]
2019	Stephen Kissa (UGA)	41:49		Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)	44:20	WB	[12]
2020	cancelled due to COVID-19						[13]
2021	cancelled due to COVID-19						[14]
2022	Rogers Kibet (UGA)	42:08		Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)	47:18		[15]
2023	Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)	41:05	=WB	Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)	47:12		[16]
2024	Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)	40:42	=WB	Mizan Alem (ETH)	46:51		[17]

Statistics

As of 17 November 2024 Winners by country Country Men's race Women's race Total  Ethiopia 10 15 25  Kenya 9 9 18  Netherlands 7 7 14  Uganda 8 1 9  United Kingdom 3 1 4  Belgium 1 2 3  Ireland 0 1 1  Morocco 1 0 1  Norway 0 1 1  Russia 0 1 1  South Africa 0 1 1

Multiple winners Athlete Country M/W Wins Years Joshua Cheptegei  Uganda M 4 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Tonnie Dirks  Netherlands M 3 1989, 1990, 1991 Tegla Loroupe  Kenya W 3 1992, 1993, 1998 Mestawet Tufa  Ethiopia W 3 2003, 2006, 2008 Sileshi Sihine  Ethiopia M 3 2004, 2007, 2009 Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia M 3 1994, 2005, 2011 Tirunesh Dibaba  Ethiopia W 3 2009, 2012, 2013 Carla Beurskens  Netherlands W 2 1989, 1990 Josphat Machuka  Kenya M 2 1995, 1996 Worku Bikila  Ethiopia M 2 1997, 1998 Felix Limo  Kenya M 2 2000, 2001 Berhane Adere  Ethiopia W 2 2000, 2005 Leonard Komon  Kenya M 2 2010, 2013 Jacob Kiplimo  Uganda M 2 2023, 2024 bold italic = world record