Kermisloop

The Kermisloop is an annual town-center race in Edam, held on the first day of the Edam kermis. It is a local road race with a festival setting: runners line up while the fair is getting started, and the event turns the opening day into both a competition and a party. The course uses Edam’s cobbled streets, which can be tricky when rain has passed through but fast once they dry. Local runners often treat it as one of the most enjoyable races of the year, partly because the crowd and fair atmosphere are already in place. Its nickname, the “loop-der-lopen,” fits its role as the running kick-off to the town’s “feest-der-feesten.”