English information
Introduction to Around Texel 60K / 120K
This information is still from 2019 and will be updated later
The ‘Zestig van Texel’ is an ultrarace around the island Texel during April of the odd years. The run was initiated by Jan Knippenberg, the Dutch ultra-pioneer who lived on Texel since 1984. The first edition of the Texel 60 km race (and relay 4 x 15 km) was held on 1 April 1991 and two years later Knippenberg started to organize the 120 km in addition. He died at age 47 in November 1995.
The 60K race starts at 10:35 near the ferry harbour. The route comprises two thirds solid and one third soft underground. There are two stretches of beach of 12 km in total. The first part of the route goes along the west coast and includes beach, wood, dunes and cycle tracks. The second part along the east coach has paved roads only, and will lead through the villages of Oost, Oosterend and Oudeschild. The final part goes through the area of ‘The High Mountain’, a boulder clay relic from the Saale ice-age. Here the runners face some little slopes before they approach, downhill, the finish in front of the Stayokay hostel, at the southern site of the island’s capital Den Burg. The finish registration will close at 18:05 cutoff (7,5 hour).
NB see the map on click here
The 120 km run starts (in the dark) with an anti-clockwise loop. The start is at the bike track near the hostel Stayokay in Den Burg in the early morning of Easter Monday 7 April 2019 at 04:35 am. Runners will be guided and taken care of by mountain bikers from Texel. The runners should prepare (and hand over to these bikers at the start) their own stock of drinks/food needed. At the end of the first loop, runners turn near the ferry harbour to start the loop in the normal clockwise direction. The front runners will keep their Texel bikers (or get a new one) whereas the slower 120 km runners from then on have to rely on the normal refreshment posts about every 5 km.
Time registration will be by the MyLaps Bib Tag (incorporated in the startnumber) but only during the second loop, after 60, 75, 90 and 105 km and at the finishline in front of the Stayokay in Den Burg. The finish registration will close at 18:05 (06:05pm), thus implies a 13,5 hour limit for the 120K race.
Entries for the 60K and the 120K: click here for entry form
Participation in the 120K is limited to elite runners who have proven to race < 9.30 in 100K races or have covered > 200 km in 24 hour races. Runners with comparable results in other races can apply for a wildcard at the 120K racedirector Henri Thunnissen (thun007 <> home.nl).
Some statistics from two previous editions.
14th edition, 17 April 2017. There were 32 participants in the 120K race and 484 participants in the 60K race. This was the start field in the 120K: see article
Of the 29 men that started, 18 finished within the limit of 13 hours , whereas each of the 3 women that started, did finish.
13th edition, 6 April 2015. There were 37 participants in the 120K race and 480 participants in the 60K race. This was the start field in the 120K: see atricle Of the 31 men that started, 21 finished within 13 hours, and of the 6 women that started, 3 finished within 13 hours.
Racerecords Around Texel
120 km Dirk Westerduin (NL) 9:23:30 (1997) Léonie van den Haak (NL) 10:47:00 (2015)
60 km Gerrit van Rotterdam (NL) 3:57:16 (1995) Birgit Lennartz (D) 4:35:57 (1997)
4×15 km Gl. Atl. Wipperfürth (D) 3:31:37 (1991) Arnhemse Meisjes (NL) 4:14:53 (2015)
