Zevenheuvelenloop 2026

The Zevenheuvelenloop is a 15 kilometre road race over the hills outside Nijmegen, and it is one of the very few Dutch running events with a serious claim on world records. The 41st edition runs across the weekend of Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026, with the main race setting off at 13:00 on the Sunday.

Start and finish sit on the Groesbeekseweg in Nijmegen, at the point where it meets the Sumatrastraat. The event is organised by Stichting Zevenheuvelenloop, which builds a full weekend around the flagship race with an evening run, a children’s race and a corporate event. Entry for the 15 km is already sold out. Two of the supporting races were still taking registrations when this page was written.

What happens across the weekend

Four separate races share the same weekend and the same corner of the city. The Zevenheuvelenplein on the van Schaeck Mathonsingel acts as the central hub for the event.

• Garmin Zevenheuvelennacht, 7 km, Saturday 14 November at 19:00
• Mini Zevenheuvelenloop, for primary school children, Saturday 14 November
• Dustin Bedrijvenloop, the company race, across both days
• Garmin Zevenheuvelenloop, 15 km, Sunday 15 November at 13:00

The 15 km route

The course leaves Nijmegen and works its way along the Nijmeegse Baan, Derdebaan, Zevenheuvelenweg, Meerwijkselaan, Postweg, Molenbosweg, Oude Kleefsebaan and Kwakkenbergweg before returning to the start. The organisers describe the opening five kilometres and the closing four as false flat, with the genuinely hard climbing packed into the middle section. That profile is exactly why the race has the reputation it does: fast enough at both ends to tempt a personal best, awkward enough in the middle to punish anyone who goes out too hard.

The organisers bill it as the world’s fastest 15 km, and the claim has some weight behind it. The current world records over 15 kilometres for both men and women were run in Nijmegen.

The Saturday evening race

The Garmin Zevenheuvelennacht covers 7 kilometres and starts at 19:00 on Saturday 14 November, from the same spot on the Groesbeekseweg. The route heads out along the Sophiaweg, takes its steepest climb up the Louiseweg towards the Kwakkenbergweg, then drops back down via the Postweg and the Gelderselaan.

The organisers light the course and add sound along the way, which makes it a noticeably different proposition from the Sunday race. Entry costs 24.95 euros for adults. Anyone up to and including the age of 18 pays 10.00 euros. Registration was open at the time of writing.

Races for children and companies

The Mini Zevenheuvelenloop is for primary school children in groups 1 to 8 and takes place on Saturday 14 November, also starting and finishing on the Groesbeekseweg. Children in groups 1 to 4 run 400 metres; from group 5 upwards the distance is 800 metres. Entry is 4.00 euros. The groups set off in sequence, with group 1 first and group 8 last, and the exact times are still to be announced.

The Dustin Bedrijvenloop, the company race, runs across both days of the weekend.

Start waves and time limits

Both main races use colour-coded start waves rather than a single mass start. On the Sunday, the grey wave goes at 13:00, followed by blue, yellow, orange, green, brown, red and pink, with the purple wave leaving between 14:26 and 14:38. On the Saturday evening the grey wave goes at 19:00 and the last pink runners leave between 19:44 and 19:51.

There is a cut-off on both distances. Runners have 60 minutes to complete the 7 km and two hours to complete the 15 km.

Minimum ages differ by race. You need to be 16 to run the Garmin Zevenheuvelenloop and 13 for the Zevenheuvelennacht. The Mini is for children aged 4 to 12.

Registration and race numbers

Entry for the 15 km costs 30.95 euros, and the 41st edition sold out. The organisers do not keep a waiting list. Registration runs through the Atleta platform.

There is one legitimate route in for latecomers. Existing entrants can transfer their race number from 19 October until 18:00 on Friday 13 November, through their Atleta dashboard, but only if they bought the ticket themselves.

Race numbers are posted out to participants. Anyone who registered after 4 October, and anyone based abroad, collects their number at the Zevenheuvelenplein during the event weekend instead. One practical detail worth knowing: clothing left behind at the fencing in the start zone is cleared away at 16:30 on the Sunday.

Meaning and history

Forty-one editions have made the Zevenheuvelenloop a fixture of the Dutch autumn racing calendar and a significant weekend for Nijmegen. The event depends on roughly 800 volunteers to run, which gives some sense of the scale involved. The Esther Vergeer Foundation is the charity partner, and the race is backed by Garmin, Maurten and the province of Gelderland.

Common questions

Can I still enter the 15 km race?

No. Registration for the 41st Garmin Zevenheuvelenloop is sold out and the organisers do not maintain a waiting list. The only official option is to take over a race number from an existing entrant during the transfer window, which runs from 19 October to 18:00 on Friday 13 November.

How long do I have to finish?

The limit is 60 minutes for the 7 km and two hours for the 15 km.

How old do you have to be to take part?

Sixteen for the Garmin Zevenheuvelenloop, 13 for the Zevenheuvelennacht, and 4 to 12 for the Mini Zevenheuvelenloop.

Where do I collect my race number?

Numbers are sent by post. If you registered after 4 October, or you are a participant from abroad, you collect yours at the Zevenheuvelenplein during the event weekend.

Where do the races start and finish?

Both the 15 km and the 7 km start and finish on the Groesbeekseweg in Nijmegen, at the junction with the Sumatrastraat.