Fortieth Sylvestercross Soest
The Sylvestercross is an annual cross-country race on New Year’s Eve. The participants – recreational and competitive runners – traverse the Lange Duinen in Soest and walk on unpaved forest paths. Since 2017, the cross has been preceded by the Sylvester by night, an evening round on an attractively lit course. The first Sylvestercross was in 1981. The 2020 and 2021 editions have been canceled due to the corona measures, so this will be the 40th time that the popular sporting event has been held.
According to the organization, there have been more registrations so far than the last time participants appeared at the start in 2019. And the registration continues until the day itself. More than 2200 participants have now registered for the Sylvestercross. The Sylvester by night is also more popular than last time, with around 520 registrations.
On the competition course, Dutch half marathon champion Maureen Koster is an absolute eye-catcher. She will defend the title she won in 2019. Other prominent figures are Sahra Lahti, Jip Vastenburg, Andrea Deelstra, Marcella Herzog and Sofie van Accom. Among the men, Filmon Tesfu and Stan Schipperen will probably finish in the front, just like Jesse Fokkenrood, two-time winner Khalid Choukoud, Luuk Maas, David Nilsson and Tim van de Velde, among others.