Even though the first natural ice marathon of the season was awarded to Haaksbergen, Noordlaren will still host its own event on Friday the 25th.
Translation by Traci White
The Groninger Internet Courant reports that Noordlaren’s ice skating association, de Hondsrug, will be organising the marathon. The first natural ice skating event was held in Haaksbergen in Overijssel on Monday. Noordlaren was in the running to host the event, but the ice was not yet thick enough on Monday to move forward.
After the news, there were no immediate plans to host a marathon, but solidly freezing temperatures over the past few days have improved the condition of the ice so much that the association has decided to put together an event after all.
The Noordlaren marathon will be a regional championship with Men’s ABC, Women and Master classes. However, many of the most competitive long distance skaters will not be taking part because they are currently in Austria to skate in several high profile races.
For the non-professional skaters among us, here is a list of natural ice skating rinks that are open to the public in Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland as of Thursday afternoon:
Groningen:
Noordlaren
Stadskanaal
Drenthe:
Nieuw-Buinenn
Roden
Barger-Compascuum
Friesland:
Burgum
