Kids’ Runs perfect warming-up on Saturday afternoon

Lionel Messi is waiting. Next to him Dirk Kuyt. At two thirty the runners are already ready for the first Kids' Run for seven and eight year olds. The tension rises.  Speaker Arnold Bremer sings, swings and tells a few jokes. The hands of the big the town hall clock move slowly towards three o'clock.

Boom, boom - like a heartbeat the music accompanies the last critical moments before the long awaited first children's run, also called Runaway, on the day before the 31^st ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam. On the platform Antoinette Laan councillor for sports stands ready, with the starter pistol raised. The shot is fired. Messi and Kuyt shoot away and the brightly coloured shirts follow them. From the Coolsingel in the direction of Leuvehaven and then back. Exactly one thousand metres. A few stragglers are supported by a personal coach, usually a teacher, because the organisers from Like2Run, together with Rotterdam sport support and the department of sports and recreation have involved schools and clubs.
Nearly 16 thousand children entered. More than double compared to last year, when the Kids' Runs were run just before the three other distances on Sunday. Thousands of spectators along the route now look forward to seeing their offspring run on the traffic free course on most famous 'singel' of The Netherlands.
In super times because the first seven year old rushes to the finish in about four minutes. With number 34 on the chest Isaya Klein Ikkink looks, like an adult marathon runner, one more time over his shoulder. Maurizio Van der Straaten runs close beside him. It's as if Vincent Kipruto picks up the sprint and wins as he crosses the white finish line. Just one look at the chronometer, which reads 4.07 and the hands shoot into the air, while those of Maurizio also go above the head. Both have the same time allotted to them, but later in the afternoon Isaya would be the first to be honoured by Soufiane Touzani.

A few minutes later, again over one hundred boys and girls are ready for their one kilometre run; tensely watching councillor Laan. Sprinting and gazing into infinity they run to the turning point and then to the big ABN AMRO / Adidas-arch.
For the rest of this sunny afternoon this important part of Rotterdam is occupied for and by children.

Goose pimples

Gert-Jan Lammens from Rotterdam Sport Support is very pleased. "What a goose pimple moment, really great." Mario Kadiks, director of Like2Run also glows with admiration. "The interest is high for this relatively new event. Also from the media and that will have a positive impact on the next edition. Next year we hope to welcome even more participants. At the ABN AMRO CPC Run The Hague we now have 8,500 children, we hope to reach that number here in a few years. We hope that many of these young people will participate in one of our other runs."

Then Kadiks focuses his eyes on the stage where ball-artist Touzani shows off his musical talents, before all the real winners are honoured on the real stage. Stabbing the air with a sunflower and a large cup these young heroes are cheered.