Nearly a thousand teams, each consisting of six runners, will take part in the 22nd edition of the Brussels Ekiden this Saturday. The start, baton handover and finish of the country’s biggest relay marathon, will take place at the King Baudouin Stadium. In between, the route runs straight through Laeken Park and, for the first time, also passes beneath the Atomium. A unique experience for all participants!
On Saturday at 1.00 pm, the starting shot will sound for the 22nd edition of the Brussels Ekiden. 972 teams – around 80 more than last year – will compete. That makes a total of 5,832 runners. The first runner in each team covers 5 km, the second 10, the third 5, the fourth 10, the fifth 5 and the final runner 7.195. That makes a total of 42.195 km – the legendary marathon distance.
Instead of a traditional relay baton, the runners carry a ‘tasuki’, a sash worn diagonally across the chest. Both the terms ‘ekiden’ and ‘tasuki’ originate from Japan, where this unique form of running has its roots. ‘Eki’ means ‘station’ and ‘den’ stands for ‘changeover’.
The top favourites in the women’s race are defending champions RESC Blue Ladies ELITES, with Jana Van Lent as the anchor runner. Van Lent won bronze in the 10,000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham last summer. Her teammates on Saturday are Noémie Lins, Violette Ndayikengurukiye, Marine Joblin, Louise Desclee and Maximilienne Lombard. In the men’s race, all eyes will be on RCABW (featuring, amongst others, Dorian Boulvin, Ismael Debjani and Thomas De Bock) and AC Pegasus Londerzeel 1 (including Willem Van Schuerbeeck).
For the athletics clubs, the prize on Saturday is the Belgian title in the relay marathon, but at the same time, the Brussels Ekiden is not only a competition but also, and above all, a highly unifying and accessible event. For the many hundreds of recreational teams – companies, families or groups of friends – it’s all about teamwork and the joy of exercising and taking on a challenge together.
The setting of the event captures the imagination: participants start and finish on the track of the King Baudouin Stadium, where every year the world’s best athletes shine at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, one of the world’s largest athletics meetings. And the loop through Laeken Park – featuring a passage under the Atomium for the first time this year – also offers the runners plenty to look forward to.
As every year, Tous à Bord will also be taking part. This organisation is dedicated to supporting people with physical disabilities. All Tous à Bord runners will be pushing a buggy on Saturday.
The Brussels Ekiden will be preceded by the Persil Kids Run on Saturday. At 12 noon, around 400 children aged between 4 and 12 will be able to let off steam on a 1 km course around the King Baudouin Stadium.
