21st November 2011 10:02
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| Adrienne Herzog will be competing in Tilburg. |
In addition to battling for the Dutch title, the event will offer the local stars their last chance to stake a claim for the Dutch team going to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Velenje, Slovenia, on 11 December. The Dutch squad will be named the following day.
Among the well-known Dutch runners who have entered the 53rd edition of the famous race are Adrienne Herzog, the 2009 SPAR European Cross Country Championships senior women’s bronze medallist, who won in Tilburg 12 months ago, and Jesper van der Wielen, who is still only 20 but took third place over 5000m at the 2011 SPAR European Athletics U23 Championships.
The pair will take on the current Duutch cross country champions Khalid Choukoud and Miranda Boonstra.
Among the other prominent local names in the men's race are: Abdi Nageeye, Thomas Poesiat, Gert Jan Wassink and Erik Negerman while the women's race will have Ilse Pol, Ruth van der Meijden and the current Dutch half marathon champion Helen Plaatzer on the start line.
However, to add an international flavour to the races, a Nations Cup will be fought for, with overseas teams from Belgium, Germany, Denmark, England, Finland, Moldova, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden and Switzerland taking part.
Germany have the 2010 Tilburg champion Steffen Ulickza, who as 12th at the 2010 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, in their team along with Alexander Hahn, Susanne Hahn and Simret Restle.
Poland have named Anna Jakubczak, Agnieszka Ciolek, the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships 3000m steeplechase champion Marcin Chabowski and marathoner Adam Draczynski while Ukraine send Dmytro Lashyn, 2007 the European Athletics Junior Championships 10,000m gold medallist.
Moldova’s Iaroslav Muschinschi, the 2009 winner in Tilburg and Europe’s fastest marathon runner last year, is also on the start list.
More information can be found at (in Dutch) www.warandeloop.nl.