The Zevenheuvelenloop (; 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;van Hemert, Wim & Turner, Chris (2008-11-03). Bekele lines-up for 'first serious' road race at 25th anniversary edition of the Seven Hills. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15. it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008.van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-16). Tufa just shy of 15Km World record in Nijmegen - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.

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

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.Krol, Maarten & van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-17). Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2009-11-15. The current undulating, hilly course begins in Nijmegen, follows a path to Groesbeek and then loops back towards Nijmegen to the finish line. 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.Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen. IAAF (2009-11-15). Retrieved on 2009-11-15.van Hemert, Wim (2009-11-13). Dibaba and Sihine lead the fields in Nijmegen. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15. In 2010, Leonard Komon improved Limo's World Record by running 41:13. In 2018, Joshua Cheptegei won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 41:05, setting the current World Record for 15 km. In 2019, Letesenbet Gidey won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 44:20, setting the current World Record for 15 km.

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.Hetger, Colin (2002-11-17). South African wins Netherlands Race. ChampionChip. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.

Winners

+ Winners of the ZevenheuvelenloopYearMen's winnerTimeNoteWomen's winnerTimeNote 1984 36:55 12 km 45:48 12 km 1985 45:28 57:28 1986 46:2 53:33 1987 45:11 57:16 1988 46:20 52:53 1989 43:31 50:36 1990 44:53 52:06 1991 44:09 48:46 1992 43:54 50:53 1993 43:35 50:06 1994 43:00 49:56 1995 42:23 49:44 1996 43:06 50:09 1997 42:20 48:30 1998 42:24 50:06 1999 43:30 49:45 2000 42:53 48:06 2001 41:29 48:40 2002 43:41 51:06 2003 42:43 49:06 2004 41:38 47:02 2005 41:56 47:46 2006 42:42 47:22 2007 42:24 47:36 2008 42:17 46:57 2009 42:14 46:29 2010 41:13 47:53 2011 42:44 48:33 van Hemert, Wim (2011-11-20). Gebrselassie heads Ethiopian double in Nijmegen. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-21. 2012 42:01 47:08 2013 42:15 48:43 2014 42:18 46:56 2015 42:39 50:05 2016 42:08 49:30 2017 41:16 48:52 2018 41:05 47:19 "Road round-up: Cheptegei clocks 15km world best in Nijmegen, Melese breaks Shanghai Marathon course record", World Athletics, 18 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2023. 2019 41:49 44:20 Jason Henderson, "Letesenbet Gidey smashes world 15km record", Athletics Weekly, 17 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2023. 2020 colspan=6 "Streep door Zevenheuvelenloop na strengere coronamaatregelen" (in Dutch), NOS, 14 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2023. 2021 colspan=6 "Streep door Zevenheuvelenloop vanwege coronamaatregelen " (in Dutch), NOS, 16 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2023. 2022 42:08 47:18 "Oegandees Kibet wint Zevenheuvelenloop, Chepkoech snelste vrouw" (in Dutch), RTL Nieuws, 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2023. 2023 41:05 = 47:12 "Kiplimo wint Zevenheuvelenloop en evenaart wereldrecord, Tesfu beste Nederlander" (in Dutch), NOS, 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023. 2024 40:42 = 46:51 "" (in Dutch), NOS, 17 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.

Statistics

As of 17 November 2024

Winners by country CountryMen's raceWomen's raceTotal 10 15 25 9 9 18 7 7 14 8 1 9 3 1 4 1 2 3 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Multiple winners AthleteCountryM/WWinsYearsJoshua CheptegeiM42015, 2016, 2017, 2018Tonnie DirksM31989, 1990, 1991Tegla LoroupeW31992, 1993, 1998Mestawet TufaW32003, 2006, 2008Sileshi SihineM32004, 2007, 2009Haile GebrselassieM31994, 2005, 2011Tirunesh DibabaW32009, 2012, 2013Carla BeurskensW21989, 1990Josphat MachukaM21995, 1996Worku BikilaM21997, 1998Felix LimoM22000, 2001Berhane AdereW22000, 2005Leonard KomonM22010, 2013Jacob KiplimoM22023, 2024 bold italic = world record

References General Krol, Maarten & van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-17). Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2009-11-15. Specific

External links

Official website