Looking back: the Batavierenrace

Batavierenrace

Last weekend, Bekader took part in the Batavierenrace. Together, we ran from Nijmegen to Enschede, covering the route in 25 stages.

The adventure started on Friday evening, though not before the evening team had gathered at one of the runners’ homes for a proper pre-race dinner. Then, our first runner set off at 22:30. Right from the start, impressive times were recorded, with one runner even finishing their stage in 16th place out of 265 participants.

At 5:45 in the morning, the next group took over in Ulft. Despite having slept no more than three hours, the morning team showed no signs of fatigue and kept the pace high, securing a strong position for Bekader along the way.

Upon arriving in Barchem around 10:00, the afternoon team — noticeably better rested than the night and morning teams after a full night’s sleep — was ready to take over. Once on the road, the afternoon runners continued the strong performances and proudly upheld Bekader’s reputation.

After finally arriving in Enschede, the final two runners completed the final stages from the city centre to the University of Twente campus. These last kilometres flew by, and Bekader ultimately finished in an impressive 92nd place overall — a fantastic achievement that we are already determined to improve on next year.

And after all the running, the day was far from over. Following the finish, the entire team joined the drinks hosted by Stress. There, we not only proved that we can still outrun the younger generation in relay races, but also demonstrated our skills in a rather different kind of relay: the beer relay, which our team also managed to win.

With this successful edition behind us, we are already looking forward to next year’s Batavierenrace!