What is unique about ‘Batavierenrace’?
‘It´s officially the largest relay race in the world – it is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records. There are 350 teams with 25 people each, which means 8500 runners in total. This year this number also includes 9 international teams. And importantly, Batavierenrace is an event organized only by and for students. Nobody but students can participate.’
Can you describe how the race works?
‘The race goes from Nijmegen to Enschede and is divided into 25 stages – each differs in length and difficulty. This year the shortest track has 2,6 km and the longest 12,5 km. The teams decide who runs which part, but each team member has to run one part.
Every team gets a bus that fits 9 people. In Nijmegen, first two people get out of the bus – one of them is running and one of them is riding next to him/her on a bike. They continue together until the next exchange point, where the bus meets them and the runners exchange. Later, they reach the first ‘restart point’ in Ulft, where all runners meet and start running again at the same time.
We have big buses coming there, so the teams can put 9 new people on their team bus. Afterwards, the contestants continue to the next ‘restart point’ in Barchem and then to the last ‘restart point’ in the centre of Enschede. From there they go to the UT campus, where the race finishes.’
The race starts at midnight – why?
‘There are a couple of reasons to run at night. For starters, there is not a lot of traffic then. Also, the race lasts about 18 hours, so it finishes around dinner time, which is nice.’
Is the route the same every year?
‘Not entirely. Each year, we need to get permissions from the different municipalities that the race goes through. And if we don´t get the permission, we need to adjust the route. However, the length of the race stays approximately the same every year – between 170–180km.’
Tell me about the ‘Batavierenparty’.
‘There are usually about 14,000 people at the party. It takes place at UT campus, where we have several stages with DJ´s and bars at each location. The entrance is free and anybody can come.’
If you would like to witness the finish of Batavierenrace, join us around 5pm near Sintelbaan at UT campus.
This year, Batavierenrace also uses its popularity for a good cause in a form of Bata4life. Bata4life is a fund-raising which makes it possible for the participants to collect money that will be donated to cancer research. To donate, people can sponsor a runner or a team via a website www.bata4life.nl.
