The new Campusrun will replace the Erasmusronde. The annual run was held at PAC Rotterdam and went around the Kralingse Plas for 34 years, since the beginning of the Roadrunners association, says race secretary Floris de Vries. “The association did not have enough members in September to organise the run at its usual time in November. There were only twenty members from last year that stayed this year.” Because of this, the run was delayed until May.
Identity
Floris saw this as an opportunity to reflect on the purpose behind the Erasmusronde: “The delay gave us some room to think about why we organise the run at PAC Rotterdam, what were the motivations behind that choice.” To him, the run didn’t ‘uniquely highlight the association’: “It was more something we needed to do every year. We wanted to do something that we 100 percent believed in.”
The 35th edition of the annual Roadrunners run will therefore take place around the Esch, starting and finishing on the main road of the Woudestein campus of EUR. “We study every day on campus, so we felt it was closer to our identity”, said Floris. Active committee member Nikki loved this idea: “I think that it’s really fun to give a new dimension to the run because we are a student association, so running on campus is fitting to me and other students.”
Loudest spectator
Even though the Erasmusronde became the Campusrun to tap into that student identity, it is still open to everyone: “I just want everyone to join and have a fun day, to turn the campus into one big running day”, said Nikki. Floris’ mother will be joining the run: “She studied at Erasmus and hasn’t been there for quite a while, so she’d like to be back.”
What can you expect from participating in the Campusrun? Nikki stated: “You can run with your friends, afterwards have a drink. You’ll get a medal which you can hang above your bed or sleep with.” And there’s a beer package for the loudest spectator: “It’s fun to support the people that run on the campus, it’s not only for the runners, but also for the supporters”, said Floris.
For more information, or if you want to participate in the run, check the website of the event.
