A university team will travel eastwards for the Batavierenrace on May 10th next year. 2010 was the last year the Erasmus University participated in the biggest relay-race in the world, between Nijmegen and Enschede.
About time to send another team, preferably with the fastest student runners. “Because we have to beat Amsterdam by all means”, says a chuckling Jon van Steenkiste, chairman of the student running club EUR Roadrunners. “That rivalry between 010 and 020 (the area codes of Rotterdam and Amsterdam) never disappears.” He already looked at the results of the past few years, and therefore he knows that the teams of Wageningen and Eindhoven are also strong.
Qualification run of 5 kilometers
To select the best runners, the EUR Roadrunners organize a qualification run of five kilometers on November 25, on the track of athletics association PAC, near the Kralingse Plas. The fastest 25 runners – seventeen men, eight women – can participate in the Batavierenrace.
Want to have a shot?
Curious if you stand a chance? Van Steenkiste is looking for women that can run fifteen kilometers per hour, while men have to be able to run seventeen per hour. Through other sport associations, students are being asked if they’re interested in taking part in the qualification rounds. “At Skadi (the rowing association) or Erasmus Volley, there are also fast-running students.” If you make it to the university team, you can train with the Roadrunners to prepare in an optimal way. LJ
