Mikky Keetels sets personal best in Amsterdam Marathon

Dutch runner Mikky Keetels finished as the first Dutch woman in the Amsterdam Marathon, setting a personal best of 2:30:36. The 27-year-old said she found the race emotional and was guided to the finish by three friends acting as pacemakers. [1]

Keetels said she had looked forward to the marathon for a long time and felt both nervous and grateful to run alongside her friends. “We were like a crew,” she said after finishing. [1]

The Amsterdam race was her fifth marathon of the year. Keetels said she was not feeling the effects of that workload, though the cold and wind made the race harder. She finished just outside the two-and-a-half-hour mark, but said she was pleased to have held her pace after pushing herself hard. [1]

She also credited the crowd’s encouragement, describing Amsterdam as a home race, and said the result gave her confidence that she could improve further over the marathon distance. [1]