Rijen, March 2, 2008 - Women 2100 m

Some 25 senior women line up for the short race over 2100 metres. Raika Lenaarts (458) stands on the far left of the group. She is one of the youngsters, who ran 2.10 and 4.25 over the olympic middle distances in her last year as a junior, in 2007.

Sabine van de Reijt (451) is one of the favorites for the title. She did not do very well in the summer of 2007, but won the major short cross country events in Soest and Breda this winter. Yvonne Hak (457) stands on her left. She was the fastest of the field over 800 metres last summer, with 2.04.82. Corine van Beek (461) won the gold of the junior women in Kerkrade 2001, and joined the track team of UTEP (Texas/El Paso) later. She ran 2.08 en 4.21 outdoors in 2007.

Anne van den Hurk (450) is the other favorite. Of the women that have lined up here, she was the fastest in the cross country nationals in Wageningen last year. The teammate on her left side is Ingrid Grutters (452). She did the 800 in 2.10.81 in 2007, and decided to switch from Atverni in Nieuwegein to Prins Hendrik in Vught lately.

Nina Mathijssen (463) is one more opponent to be taken into account. She ran 4.20.71 over 1500 metres, for example.

Lesley van Miert of Sprint Breda is unable to defend her title of Wageningen 2007. She joined the track team of NAU in Flagstaff last fall.

... although the athletes at the wings of the field have a minor disadvantage, as the passage to the motor cross country course narrows towards the center of the course.

Van de Reijt, Van Beek and Lenaarts have lost costful time, and are about to lose much more in the gateway. The picture proves that the start is not over yet after 100 metres.

Hak is leading the pack through the bell after one kilometre, with Mathijssen, Van de Reijt, Monique Burger (480), and Van den Hurk on her shoulders. Lenaarts and Grutters are about to join, after some catch-up.

Karin Schelle, yet another athlete of Prins Hendrik, trails the leaders by 6-8 seconds.

Karen Wijlaars (460) leads Nikki Godschalk (472) and Karen Vintges (468) at 10-12 seconds behind the leading group.

... bring Ilse Pullen (474), Caressa Toonstra (473), Liesbeth Voorthuijsen (470), Larissa Scholten (475), and Rian van der Burgt (476) with them.

There is no way we could have taken pictures of this race behind the fence in the forest, and be back in time to welcome the athletes behind the finish line, so we have taken this picture from the endzone. Van de Reijt is the first one to descend from the only hill in this red loop worth mentioning.

Van den Hurk is trailing Van de Reijt by 3-4 seconds, with only some 400 metres left.

Mathijssen has to make up 10-12 seconds, so she is unlikely to reach beyond the bronze medal.

The lead of Van de Reijt has evaporated quickly, and she is in real trouble now.

Van den Hurk is also running out of gas, but has the psychological and physical edge now...

...and that is what Van den Hurk will do in about 0.05 seconds. Van de Reijt has surrendered, or else, she would never have chosen the slipstream of Van den Hurk so close before the finish line.

Van de Reijt is the first to congratulate her victor, and does not look too upset about her defeat. Why should she? She has still taking silver, way ahead of probable bronze winner Mathijssen.

Mathijssen has taken the bronze indeed, 15 seconds behind Van den Hurk, and 14 behind Van de Reijt, but still 4 ahead of Yvonne Hak, whose well-known kick she may have feared through this point.

Hak has taken herself to the limit, but it was not enough. Grutters has lost five seconds to her, but looks still very fit.

...and ten seconds in front of Lenaarts, who has had to work hard to stay ahead of Schelle and Van Beek.

This picture is not what it looks like. Schelle has made #8. Unlike Van Beek, she halted immediatley after having finished.

This is #11 Diana Spaargaren. Number ten Monique Burger has got lost somewhere behind the finish mats.

And this is Voorthuijsen, finishing as #15, in front of Vergunst, Van der Burgt, Pullen, and Godschalk.

Toonstra, who turned 18 for a handful of weeks, has dropped to rank 21 in the tough final loop.

Romy Kraaijeveld completes the field of 25 women that made it to the finish. She is a team mate of Mathijssen and Toonstra. The judges did not bother to take a closer look at her outfit. Perhaps they are having a conclave now, in order to discuss what to do with Greg van Hest, who has announced to run the men's main race over 10.2 kilometres in an all-black outfit. These are not the true colors of his Tilburg Road Runners Club. Fast growing Tilburg, already the sixth largest town of the Netherlands, and almost absorbing Rijen in the west, has delivered a lot of judges. With (inter-)national press glory to come, would you then care about the outfit of a 19-year old college student from Amsterdam?

		Women 2100 m
1	450	Anne van den Hurk	1980	Prins Hendrik	7.37
2	451	Sabine van de Reijt	1981	Sprint	7.38
3	458	Nina Mathijssen	1980	Phanos	7.52
4	457	Yvonne Hak	1986	Hera	8.06
5	452	Ingrid Grutters	1974	Prins Hendrik	8.10
6	459	Esther Vermuë	1988	Rotterdam Atletiek	8.15
7	476	Raika Lenaarts	1988	Hera	8.25
8	471	Karin Schelle	1986	Prins Hendrik	8.29
9	461	Corine van Beek	1982	Athlos	8.30
10	472	Monique Burger	1980	Ciko'66	8.36
11	465	Diana Spaargaren	1990	AV Castricum	8.36
12	462	Hester Lingsma	1982	Rotterdam Atletiek	8.37
13	464	Eva Thomas	1985	Attila	8.38
14	460	Karen Wijlaars	1977	Prins Hendrik	8.40
15	480	Liesbeth Voorthuijsen	1983	Haag Atletiek	8.47
16	453	Anne Vergunst	1983	Scorpio	8.48
17	467	Rian van der Burgt	1975	AVV	8.50
18	474	Ilse Pullen	1987	ACO Van Elderen	8.51
19	463	Nikki Godschalk	1988	THOR	8.53
20	475	Larissa Scholten	1988	AV Haarlem	9.03
21	473	Caressa Toonstra	1990	Phanos	9.16
22	479	Birgit Vanson	1990	Prins Hendrik	9.33
23	456	Eline van den Broek	1980	Phoenix	9.41
24	477	Esther Habers	1988	De Spartaan	9.49
25	466	Romy Kraaijeveld	1988	Phanos	9.54