The Singelloop Utrecht is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

event over which takes place on the streets of city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is typically held in either September or October The competition, which roughly translates as the ''Utrecht Canal Run'', was initiated by Nico Munzert and had its first edition on 30 May 1925. The race, which followed the banks of Utrecht's canals over a 4700-metre-long course, had garnered over 100 participants by 1931, but the crowds of spectators were much larger with over 75,000 people gathering to witness the event. The length of the race was extended in 1937, but the event suffered interruption in this period, being absent between 1940 and 1946 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and undergoing cancellations in 1950 and 1955. The 25th edition of the race was held in 1956.Historische feiten
. Singelloop Utrecht. Retrieved on 2011-06-16. The Singelloop was forced from its original course in the 1960s due to the increase in

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

in the city. Runners instead held the race in Wilhelminapark. The competition attracted top level Dutch runners in the 1970s: Klaas Lok won in 1974,

Rob Druppers Robertus Johannes Druppers (born 29 April 1962) is a Dutch former middle-distance runner who won the silver medal in the 800 m event at the 1983 World Championships. He set a Dutch 800 m record at 1:43.56 in Cologne in 1985, and a 1000 m recor ...

took the 1975 title, then Gerard Tebroke defeated an injured

Jos Hermens Josephus Maria Melchior Hermens (born 8 January 1950) is a former Dutch long-distance runner. Subsequently, he also became well known for his later career as a sports manager as the founder and CEO of Global Sports Communication, which manage ...

to win the 1976 race. The race acquired its long-running course format of two 5-kilometre laps in 1978.

Gerard Nijboer Gerhardus Marinus Maria Nijboer (; born 18 August 1955) is a Dutch former long-distance runner. Nijboer competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1980 (Moscow, Soviet Union), when he won the silver medal in the marathon. He beca ...

won the 1979 competition. Following in the trend of greater public participation in European road races at the time, the field of the Singelloop grew in size: some 3000 people entered the race in 1979 and by 1986 this figure had reached around 3500 runners. Dutch

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

r Simon Vroemen was the 1993 winner and the Singelloop celebrated its 50th edition the following year – a fact which underlined its position as the oldest road race in the country. The race organisers HERMES encountered problems with volunteer recruitment in 2001 and as a result the race was made defunct. However, it was revived again six years later under the organisation of the ''Athletic Sports Exhibition Company'' and the 2007 competition saw top international runners feature for the first time. Dutch finance company

Fortis Fortis may refer to: Business * Fortis (Swiss watchmaker), a Swiss watch company * Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock * Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in ...

was the race

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

from 2007 to 2009, then the state bank ABN AMRO took over sponsorship in 2010. Kenya's

Leonard Komon Leonard Patrick Komon (born 10 January 1988) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner and was the world record holder in the 10 kilometres. His 10K world record in 2010 with a time of 26:44 is a 17 seconds improvement on the previous bes ...

built the race's reputation as a fast course by running the sixth fastest time ever to win in 2009, then took this further the next year with a win in a time of 26:44 minutes – improving the 10K road

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

by seventeen seconds. Kenya's Winnie Jepkemoi brought the women's course record down by almost half a minute at the 2011 edition, winning in 31:32 minutes. Joyce Chepkirui improved this by eleven seconds in 2013. The current course for the Singelloop has a singular clock-wise loop format within the city, which begins near Lepelenburg Park, passes along Utrecht's canals, then finishes near Wilhelminapark.Parcours
. Singelloop Utrecht. Retrieved on 2011-06-16.

Winners

Key:

References

;List of winners
Uitslagen ''(Results)''
. Singelloop Utecht. Retrieved on 2011-06-16.

External links

Official website
{{10K road races 10K runs Athletics competitions in the Netherlands Recurring sporting events established in 1925 Sports competitions in Utrecht (city)