(Photo: Chris de Waard)
It is so hot this afternoon that many participants in the Leiden Marathon have dropped out. The 10 kilometers has been canceled by order of the Safety Region.
Emergency services are stationed everywhere around the course. GRIP 1 has been declared due to the weather conditions. This stands for Coordinated Regional Incident Response Procedure. In such a case, structural coordination between the various emergency services is necessary.
Tjeerd Scheffer says afterwards that stopping the Leiden Marathon was inevitable. “It’s about the safety of the participants, volunteers and spectators. It was very annoying for the people who wanted to run the 10 km. They had trained for it and so they were disappointed. But most also understood the decision. Not one person, who felt it necessary to threaten my wife.”
When asked whether there will be another Leiden Marathon next year, Scheffer answers firmly: “Of course.” But an evaluation will take place first, he said. “Many runners dropped out, perhaps because they were unable to train in warm weather,” says Scheffer. “We once started in June, but because it was usually too hot we moved to May and now it is often very hot again. We’re going to take a closer look.”
After the Leiden Marathon, reporter Gerry van Bakel spoke with Tjeerd Scheffer about the cancellation of the 10 km.
112 Key City Leiden Region Leiden Marathon 2024
