Susan Chembai is the big favourite among the women at the 48th NN CPC Loop Den Haag on Sunday 10 March. The 24-year-old Kenyan is looking to add lustre to her performance at the NN Half Marathon with a course record. The fastest time ever run by an athlete in The Hague has been held by Lornah Kiplagat since 2000. At the time, the Dutch athlete triumphed in the half marathon with a time of 1.06.56.
Chembai is a promising athlete who is making great progress every year. She improved her personal record in the half marathon from 1.13.22 (2021, Verona) through 1.11.34 (2022, Lisbon) to 1.09.26 (2023, Copenhagen). In the NN CPC Loop Den Haag, she aims to emphatically outdo herself again. Last year, she also stood out with a PR of 52.48 at the CZ Tilburg Ten Miles.
Another participant to watch is Katharina Steinruck. The 34-year-old athlete captured gold with the German women’s marathon team at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich. In the same year, she set her PR in the half marathon in Berlin: 1.09.38.
Steinruck is the daughter of Katrin Dörre, an athlete with an impressive list of honours. Dörre ran more than 40 marathons and finished first in Osaka (4x), London (3x), Tokyo (3x), Frankfurt (3x), Berlin, Hamburg and Enschede, among others. The (East) German won the bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics (1988) and at the Tokyo World Cup (1991).
Katharina Steinruck is getting closer and closer to her mother’s personal top times. In the half marathon: 1.09.38 against 1.09.15. On the marathon: 2.24.56 against 2.24.35. Katrin Dörre, now 62 and a national coach, ran her last marathon in 1999. Striking detail: mother and daughter both won the Enschede marathon in their careers.
Anne Luijten (29), a top Dutch runner will be at the start who, with 2.26.36, has already met the marathon limit for the Paris Olympics. On Sunday 11 August, that event is on the programme in the French capital at eight in the morning.
Luijten, born in Rijswijk, is reigning Dutch champion in the half and full marathon. Last year, she set a personal record of 1.12.12 at the NN CPC Loop Den Haag. The women’s race then was won in impressive fashion by Nienke Brinkman (1.07.44).
Wilbert Lek, organiser of the NN CPC Loop Den Haag: ,”Once again we can speak of an interesting field of participants in the women. We are counting on just as exciting a race as last year, when Nienke Brinkman won in a strong personal record. In the wake of the top runners, many recreational participants will again pursue their personal goals, as the ‘CPC’ is the inspiring running event for everyone.”
NN CPC Loop (Run) Den Haag
The NN CPC Loop Den Haag is the largest running event in The Hague and attracts more than 30,000 participants annually in an unprecedented atmospheric ambience. Apart from being a top sporting event, it is a fun and sporty ‘outing’ for the whole family. With distances up to and including the half marathon, the event is known as a spring classic.
The event is almost completely sold out, with only start tickets still available for the 10 KM Run.
All distances start and finish at the Malieveld. The courses run through the crowd-filled streets of The Hague. The main event, the NN Half Marathon, heads from the city towards the iconic Pier in Scheveningen before finishing back in the city.
Programme
The schedule for the 48th edition of the NN CPC Loop Den Haag on Sunday 10 March is as follows:
09.15 Youth Run 1 km
10.00 NN CPC4ALL (1 km in alternative fashion)
10.30 Youth Run 2.5 km
11.00 5 KM Run
12.0010 KM Run
14.00 NN Half Marathon.
In addition, the City Pier Night Walk (start between 6pm and 6.30pm), a pleasant evening walk over 8 or 12 kilometres, can be participated in on Friday 8 March.
Good cause
The charity of the 48th NN CPC Loop Den Haag is KWF Kankerbestrijding.
More information:
https://www.nncpcloopdenhaag.nl/
Zestee 