• Home
  • 10 facts about the 10 miles

10 facts about the 10 miles

  1. The 10-mile run, aka 10-miler or 10 Miles, is a traditional 16.09344 kilometre road running event. The name mile is derived from the Latin ‘mille passus’, or one thousand steps.
  2. Since September 4th, 2005, Haile Gebrselassie holds the 10 miles world record. He reached the finish line in Tilburg, The Netherlands, in 44’23”, which means he averaged almost 22 kilometre per hour! With the women, Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui ran the 49’29” world record four years ago. The ABSoluut Gent 10 Mijl are not about Olympic times, but all about the Olympic ideal: participating is much more important than winning.
  3. The Dam to Damloop, the biggest running event in the Benelux, is a 10 Miles. Almost 50,000 runners take to the start and 250,000 supporters line the course between Zaandam and Amsterdam. In its entirety, the weekend program attracts no less than 85,000 sports enthusiasts.
  4. The goal is simple: to finish the 10 Miles. Even if you never ran before, or when today you aren’t in optimal shape, you can still successfully take on this challenge. Many professional marathon runners use the 10 Miles as a preparatory competition, prior to the actual marathon, exactly because the distance is so doable. Take the ‘Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run’ in Washington, traditionally the precursor to the world renowned Boston Marathon. So there is no reason to feel disheartened!
  5. The ABSoluut Gent 10 Mijl will take place on Car-free Sunday, September 18th, 2022, and will take you up and down, in both directions, on the famous and notorious Fly-over.
  6. The Fly-over, also known as the ‘B401’, was inaugurated in 1972, exactly 50 years earlier than when you and all ABSoluut Gent 10 Mijl participants will set foot on it. In the seventies, having a highway going straight into the city centre was considered very normal. It even went further than that, as it became considered as a symbol of progress and modern times.
  7. The ABSoluut Gent 10 Mijl brings you to a city with an extraordinary past, a wonderful historic city centre and green suburbia. Ghent’s skyline is not dominated by skyscrapers, but by three medieval towers: the Saint Nicholas Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk), the Belfry and the Saint Bavo Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal). From the Fly-over, you have a magnificent view of these towers.
  8. The oldest surviving 10-mile race in the world is held in Canada: the Ten Mile Road Race in Thunder Bay. The first edition was organized in 1910. It was packed with supporters along the course.
  9. If you would run 16.1 kilometre as the crow flies, starting from the Saint Michael’s Bridge (Sint-Michielsbrug) in Ghent, you end up in Sleidinge or Aalter, depending on the direction you choose.
  10. Make sure you and your fans hang around after the finish at the Flanders Sports Arena.