Ayichew smashes nearly 40-year-old course record at 40th NN Dam tot Damloop

21-year-old Asayech Ayichew from Ethiopia has shattered the NN Dam tot Damloop course record. After nearly forty years, Ingrid Kristiansen’s record from 1987 has finally been broken. Ayichew smashed the previous best by 26 seconds, lowering the record to 50:05. The 40th NN Dam tot Damloop could not have wished for a better anniversary gift. In the men’s race, victory went to Ethiopia’s Jamal Kiprono in 46:10.

Ayichew clocked a sensationally fast time on Sunday morning, crossing the finish line at the Burcht in Zaandam in 50:05. It was the second fastest 10 mile time ever recorded. The world’s fastest time remained out of reach, with Ayichew finishing just twelve seconds short.

Stichting Sportevenementen Le Champion had pulled out all the stops to make an attack on the course record possible. Several pacemakers were tasked with keeping the pace high. After 25 minutes, they dropped away, leaving Ayichew and 23-year-old Kenyan Janeth Nyiva Mutungi to set the pace themselves. For a long time, the two ran side by side. Kilometre after kilometre, Ayichew and Mutungi were driven on by the crowds and the music along the course. To celebrate the 40th edition, fifty locations featured music spanning four decades, from ‘Back to the 80’s’ to the latest future beats.

Ayichew knows the NN Dam tot Damloop well. She won the race in 2024 and finished second last year. Once again, her split times looked promising. But in the final part of the course, the headwind picked up and the tension mounted. Would the nearly forty-year-old record finally fall, with 70-year-old Ingrid Kristiansen watching on, having set the record herself in 1987?

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Ethiopian received plenty of encouragement from the motorcycle alongside her. The record was within reach, but Mutungi refused to give in. The decisive moment came along the Zaan, 500 metres from the finish. Ayichew launched her final surge, broke away from Mutungi and continued to extend her lead on the way to the Burcht.

It proved more than enough. With 50:05, Ayichew made history and became the new NN Dam tot Damloop course record holder at the Netherlands’ biggest running celebration. Nearly forty years after Kristiansen put her name on the record, a new name now tops the list. Mutungi also ran an exceptional time, finishing in 50:08 to go under the previous course record as well. Sheila Chepkirui finished third.
Jennifer Gulikers was the fastest Dutch woman, finishing seventh in 54:57. Jill Holterman came ninth in 56:05, while Elizeba Franken-Cherono finished tenth in 57:10.

Kiprono narrowly holds off Kamosong
The men also raced at full speed from the start. One of the defining traditions of the NN Dam tot Damloop is the men versus women race. The men start six minutes and four seconds after the women, exactly the difference between the two course records.

The pacemakers in the men’s race were also instructed to target the course record. The high pace split the field after just five kilometres. Eventually, the race developed into a battle between Ethiopia and Kenya. Jamal Kiprono went head to head with Jonathan Kamosong, who won the NN Dam tot Damloop last year.

The race was only decided in the final metres along the Zaan. Kiprono proved strongest, holding off Kamosong by just one second, 46:10 to 46:11. Leonard Patrick Komon’s course record of 44:27, set in 2011, remained out of reach. Jenberu Sisay finished third in 47:03.

Stan Niesten was the fastest Dutch runner. He gave everything he had left over the final 200 metres and finished fifth in the international field in 47:36. That put him just ahead of Nathan Houwaard in 47:39 and Noa Schutte in 47:41.

Dutch Running Blind Championships part of the NN Dam tot Damloop for the first time
The 40th NN Dam tot Damloop also featured a first: the Dutch Running Blind Championships were part of the race for the first time. In the men’s event, the title went to Job Schoonderbeek, who finished alongside his guide in 1:05:59. He finished twelve seconds ahead of Belgium’s Antoon Kindekens. Martijn Rijsenbrij took second place in 1:08:29, with Arjan Boshuizen third in 1:08:39.

In the women’s event, Johanny Gelens claimed the title in 1:18:00. Annemarie Vogel finished second in 1:20:28 and Machteld Cossee third in 1:24:55.