The 45th edition of the Brussels 20 km will take place in the Belgian capital on Sunday. More than 45,000 runners, walkers and people in wheelchairs will descend on the city to participate in the iconic race.
Among the participants this year are 141 nationalities, and 45.3% of them are women (an increase of 4 percentage points in one year). The majority of the 45,000 sports enthusiasts are runners, but there are also 7,000 walkers and 1,800 athletes with a disability – a good third more than a year ago.
"We also see that the audience is getting younger every year," said Carine Verstraeten of organiser Brussels Promotion. "We would like to repeat that it is important that everyone runs at their own pace, so everyone finishes safely."
Winding through Brussels
The race will start in the Parc de Cinquantenaire with the para-athletes at 09:30, followed by the runners at 10:00 in six waves. Lastly, those walking the route will start at 11:30.
From the park, they will make a loop through the south-east of the capital via Schuman, the Palais de Justice, Avenue Louise, Bois de la Cambre, Chaussée de la Hulpe, Parc de Woluwe, Montgomery and Merode back to a new finish area at Cinquantenaire.
Changing rooms will be made available to participants, free of charge, in the Royal Army Museum, located in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. Lockers will be made available as well, at a charge.
Credit: Brussels 20 km
Medical advice for participants is listed on the event's website, and the Red Cross is present along the route with more than 600 volunteers.
Car traffic will be interrupted along the entire route on Sunday morning, and trams and buses on Brussels public transport operator STIB/MIVB's network will also be affected. Tickets for individual participants sold out in less than 20 minutes.
