Six months after a one-off autumn edition, Sunday’s AG Antwerp 10 Miles once again welcomed over 30,000 runners; 30,500 to be precise. In sunny spring weather 1750 children enjoyed the Kids Run (1.8 km), 3750 participants ran the AG Antwerp Short Run (6.8 km) and 25,000 runners took on the longest distance, the 10 miles. Michael Somers and Nina Lauwaert claimed consecutive wins on the 10 miles.
The AG Antwerp 10 Miles has been Belgium’s largest running event for 36 years. At 13:30 Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever gave the start signal on Linkeroever’s Gloriantlaan, kicking off the first of four start waves for the 10 miles. Those waves allowed a nice and even spread of the participants over the 16km course.
After three kilometres on Linkeroever the runners headed down the Kennedy Tunnel to reappear on the right bank of the river, sending them towards the Palace of Justice, Scheldekaaien, the Grote Markt and the Meir. On that famed shopping street runners received extra cheers from the throngs of spectators, which lined the entire course. in the so-called Cheering Lanes the volume was cranked up even higher. In the AG Cheering Lane on the Meir DJs and cheerleaders provided a unique atmosphere and a huge energy boost for the runners.
At km 13 the participants crossed the river Schelde again, this time via the Waasland Tunnel. On Linkeroever the final 2km awaited, towards a glorious finish on the Gloriantlaan, where supporters in the stands cheered their runners across the line.
Michael Somers took a second consecutive 10 miles win in 48:48. The Belgian cross country champion dropped his final opponents after 10km and built a gap of 30 seconds over runner-up Nicolaï Saké (49:13). Angelo Vandecasteele was third in 50:21.
In the women’s race last year’s winner also did the double. Nina Lauwaert triumphed again in 57:14. Kim Geypen was second in 57:54, with Victoria Warpy third in 59:00.
Tourist LeMC vs. Bart De Wever
The AG Antwerp 10 Miles is an event for everyone, not just frequent runners. Antwerp singer Tourist LeMC is a perfect example of that. The singer said he had zero condition until three months ago, but thanks to the professional coaching from Energy Lab he managed to take the start of Belgium’s largest running event. Tourist conquered the 10 miles in 1:35:39 and was more than happy with the result. His time was just two minutes slower than Antwerp mayor De Wever (1u33:51). Beating the mayor was Tourist’s bold ambition before the race.
Kids Run & AG Antwerp Short Run
The 10 miles was the apotheosis of a gorgeous, incident-free day of running in Antwerp. With temperatures of around 19 degrees and a beautiful spring sun the conditions were perfect for running, also for the participants in the Kids Run and the AG Antwerp Short Run.
The kids kickstarted the day with a 1.8km run around Linkeroever, followed by the 6.8 km AG Antwerp Short Run. 3750 participants ran across Galgenweel, enjoying amazing vistas of the Antwerp skyline. Julien Calandreau won the men’s race in a time of 22:15. Elise Van Raemdonck took the win in the women’s event in 25:50 seconden.
See you in 2023
On Sunday 23 April 2023 the 37th edition of the AG Antwerp 10 Miles will be run. Registrations will open in mid-December.
