Hiking In The Tropics

Difference Between Hiking And Running Competition

There is a big difference between hiking competitions and running competitions. With running it goes on time, best time. With Hiking is about getting to the finish, normally. But not at the KLM Marathon Walking & Hiking 5km.

The KLM Marathon

The KLM Marathon is an event organized each year on Curaçao. There are five distances, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km, Trail and 5km. It started as a running event, but the 10km and the 5km can also be hiked. When my aunt asked if I wanted to participate, I said yes. Knowing the Dutch combination run/hike Dam to Dam loop, I thought the KLM marathon would be the same, an event in an event. But no, it wasn’t. Runners and hikers participating in the same category start at the same time, at the same starting point and on the same parcour. It was a nice chaos at the start with runners and hikers all mixed in 2018.

Hiking Early In The Morning In The Tropics

For me this was a totally new experience. I was hiking the 5km, because of a mixed up instead of the 10km. At 7:30 AM I set off to hike with the others. Even the hikers were hiking fast to get a better time than others. The hike was a competition against time!

Even Earlier For The Diehards Of The Marathon

7:30 AM is early, but the marathon runners were even earlier 3:30 AM. Yes, in the tropics it is a must to start early to survive the sun. The first part of the parcour is climbing a hill, then I go downhill and at the end of the road I turn to nice walking area called Corridor (Runner). Here I walk back along the sea to the hotel where the finish is.

The Finish

It was pretty straight forward parcour and not difficult. The only thing I am battling is the sun, which is getting higher and higher at that time. If possible, I walked in the shades, because it was hot, but doable. I loved the experience. It was my first competition hike on Curaçao. It was well organized and not too crowded. I hope for Curaçao that KLM keeps on organizing this event in the future. I hiked the 5km in 00:52:18 about 5,7km/h. This is way faster than when I hike trails. And I got a nice medal.

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