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The 22nd Leiden Marathon will be held on 20 May

The organisation behind the Leiden Marathon is already busy preparing for the 22nd edition of this wonderful running event in Leiden. The tagline ‘Lopen in Leiden’ (Running in Leiden) is very appropriate, because the distances participants can run are 2 kilometres (kids), 5, 10, 21.1 and 42.2 kilometres. And of course, there is the business run.

Almost 9000 people took part in 2011. So we are expecting to pass the 10,000 mark in 2012. We are also putting together a stronger elite field, to meet the wishes of every runner and spectator on that exciting Sunday in May.

So mark your diary now…. 20 May.... Running in Leiden…. at the Leiden Marathon….

Spectators

Pieterskerk Church

The reception for all runners and other guests will be in the Pieterskerk church, where Jan Steen, the family of Rembrandt van Rijn and many other famous Leideners are buried. The church was also once called ‘Coningh der Zee’ (The King of the Sea), because sailors used to use the 100m high tower as a beacon. In 1512, the tower suddenly collapsed. The patron saint of Leiden, Saint Peter, had done his job well, because nobody was killed or injured. Count Floris V was born in 1254, in Gravensteen Tower on Pieterskerkhof Square, where tournaments were held in the middle ages.

Pieterswijk District

The walk to the start goes through Pieterswijk District, a historic area of the city. There are many small shops in the alleys. On Lokhorststraat you can see the Latin school which Rembrandt attended. He learned to paint under Jacob van Swanenburgh, at Langebrug 89. In his laboratory on the corner of Steenschuur, the famous professor Kamerlingh Onnes achieved the coldest temperature on earth. A ship transporting gunpowder exploded on Steenschuur in 1807, destroying a large residential district. The Van der Werf Park is now located at this site. 

Pilgrim Fathers

This district used to be the home district of The Pilgrim Fathers from 1608 till 1620 when this group English left town to sail over the Atlantic ocean with the Mayflower to the New Land, nowadays the United States of America. Their leader John Robinson did not make America. He died in Leiden and was buried in the Pieterskerk Church

Breestraat 

The start will be on Breestraat, but the front side of the stately Leiden Town Hall, where Rembrandt van Rijn once held an auction, and which was later visited by countless celebrities. Breestraat is the main street of Leiden. In its middle is the blue stone, where thieves and other riffraff were punished, and inferior Leiden cloth was burned. Slightly further along is the Gemeenlands House, which dates from 1595, before Rembrandt was born. 

Zoeterwoude

... is a sporty, beautiful rural village. It is the birthplace of artist Harm Kamerling Onnes, world champion skater Jeroen Straathof and the pop group The Shoes. The runners go through the centre of the village, where there will be live music playing, and then continue across the beautiful landscape to Vlietlanden on the other side of the A4, towards Voorschoten.

Stevenshof 

After Voorschoten and a long section along the Vliet Canal, the runners enter Stevenshof. This is a lively residential district, where there will be a lot of people cheering the runners, and music playing. On the south-western edge, the Stevenshof Windmill stands at the edge of the original Stevenshofjes Polder. The runners cross the Rhine via the old Rhine Dyke, then go through Hoge Mors to Lage Mors, where there is a surprise waiting for them… Jacob Catslaan.

Jacob Catslaan

A large street party will be held throughout the day on Jacob Catslaan. Not that poet Jacob Cats had any connection to Leiden, but he would certainly have felt at home there. On the day of the marathon, the street will feature stunning decorations, a lot of music (brass bands) and entertainment, with Master of Ceremonies Claes Griffioen entertaining the public all day and cheering on the runners, who will be starting their final 2 kilometres.

The Morspoort Gate

At the Morspoort gate, one of the two remaining entry gates, the two bars are very busy, because the customers – beers in hand - can cheer the runners on towards their final kilometres. With musical support by a wonderful orchestra. A beautiful historic site, near the Put Windmill, the City Timber Yard, the historic harbour and the house in which Rembrandt van Rijn was born.

Vismarkt

The finish is behind the Town Hall, which was rebuilt after its predecessor spectacularly burned down on a very cold February day in 1929. The finish line is on Vismarkt, where the beautiful, covered Koornbrug Bridge is also located. There are many bars on boats moored along the Rhine, which are also perfect places to enjoy marathon day. For more than 900 years, Vismarkt and Nieuwe Rijn on the opposite bank have housed the goods market, on which Leiden’s existence is based. 

Origins of the Leiden Marathon

Leiden Marathon

1991-2011

The Leiden Marathon was started by the Leiden Road Runners Club, the first members of which gained their first experience of a marathon in New York. When they returned, they decided to organise their own marathon. The Leideners were so impressed by the atmosphere and organisation that they took New York as an example. The first team of 48 runners who went to New York came from 3M Nederland, and was therefore known as the 3M Marathon Team. The Leiden Road Runners Club was set up as an independent club after the New York trip. 

The Leiden Road Runners then presented a plan for a local marathon to the management board of 3M. The plan was approved, and 3M sponsored the event for the next 10 years. When – according to the headline in the Leidsch Dagblad - the inhabitants of the city of Leiden and surrounding municipalities ‘embraced’ the very first Leiden Marathon (16 June 1991), it was clear that a wonderful sporting event had been born, which would grow to become a mature marathon.

History

The marathon has been in existence for more than 2,500 years

The marathons in Leiden, Rotterdam, New York, Athens, Fukuoka, Berlin, etc., all have one thing in common: they all have the same history.

For this reason, it is extremely interesting for you as a runner - and in fact almost obligatory – to know exactly how the marathon came into existence. We all know the story of the famous messenger who had to run approximately 42 kilometres in order to relay the message of the victory over the Persians, but there is more to the history of the Marathon than this………..

The story outlined above is well known. In 490 BC, the Greeks had won a battle against the Persians, and the message had to be relayed to the king. At that time there were no mobile phones, so Pheidippides had to run from the town of Marathon to Athens to relay the news. This is where the name marathon comes from.

The official distance of the marathon, 42 kilometres and 195 metres, was established in 1923 and was run for the first time during the Olympic Games of 1908 in London. A course was set out in the British capital which was 42 kilometres long. The finish line was 195 metres from the royal residence. On the day of the marathon, the prince was ill, and they moved the starting line to just under the window of the Royal Nursery in the royal residence in Windsor Castle, so that the prince could watch the marathon from his bed. 

The finish line was moved to under the Royal Box in the Olympic Stadium, in response to shot putter and American flag carrier Ralph Rose's refusal to dip the American flag before the Royal Box during the opening ceremony.

This historic marathon was won by the American John Hayes, after the Italian Dorando di Desiderio Pietri was disqualified just a few metres before the finish line. He entered the Olympic stadium and had several hundred metres more to run when he collapsed with exhaustion. This happened several more times, until officials decided to carry him to the finish line, as a consequence of which he was disqualified by the race adjudicators.

Now that you know why you run 42 kilometres and 195 metres, you can register by clicking the Registration link on this site.