What is this?
The 24 Urenloop (24-Hour Run) is probably the most well-known and popular student sports classic. It is a relay race between the various Leuven student unions, residences, and colleges, each trying to run as many laps as possible in 24 hours around the athletics track of the Sportkot! The upcoming edition starts on Tuesday, October 20th at 8:00 PM and ends on Wednesday, October 21st at 8:00 PM. Prepare yourself and join the Speedyteam to run some fast laps during the 24 Urenloop, or come cheer on our runners loudly! You can also enjoy the delicious food prepared by the 'archies' of Existenz or marvel at our fabulously beautiful stand. And don't forget to enjoy the great, sometimes slightly competitive, but always fun atmosphere that hangs around for 24 hours every year!
We are going for the Threepeat!
As befits a top team like VTK, we are aiming for nothing less than victory, just like every year. After finally reclaiming the win in 2024 after 7 years, we convincingly secured it again in 2025! This year, we are going for nothing less than an epic third consecutive victory: the highly coveted Threepeat! We naturally need everyone for this: runners and supporters!
What our theme will be this year and what the brand-new promo video will look like, we are keeping strictly secret for a little while longer. Still want to get in the mood and see how we left the competition behind last year? Then watch the spectacular 2025 aftermovie here and start training!
Running Practices
To stay competitive with Apolloon, it is essential that everyone can run the famous 530m lap as fast as possible. We want to help you maintain or improve your fitness and strengthen your muscles so you become faster! (And therefore have a better chance of winning awesome prizes). To get you to the perfect level for the 24 Urenloop, we have set up a running schedule that we will follow during the practices. Additionally, sports drinks will always be available at practice. After every training session, there is the possibility to time your lap, to potentially join our famous Speedyteam (see below). We also regularly practice baton handoffs, as every little bit helps.
Come train with us and before you know it, you'll be flying over the track! There is a training session every Monday through Thursday at 8:30 PM in the weeks leading up to the 24 Urenloop. We gather at the entrance of the athletics track next to the De Nayer building. There are always three types of running practices:
- Easy endurance run (5-6km)
- Slow interval training
- Fast interval training
The interval training depends on the running schedule for that week. This can range from 800m to 100m or other workouts. If you want to test your time, it's best to do so after an easy endurance run or a good warm-up.
Trials
Testing is always possible after every training. If you trained with us, you can simply join in. If you want to come later and not join the practice but only test your time, that is certainly possible too. In that case, we recommend arriving around 9:30 PM. Just talk to someone from Sport or the Workgroup, they will definitely help you out!
Speedyteam
The name says it all, the Speedyteam is the 'elite' team of VTK. The runners belonging to this team run the lap in under 1 minute 23 seconds at the very least. The selection is made during the running practices, so make sure to be there! This team is our hard core of runners at the 24 Urenloop, a real honor. As a thank you, you receive a unique Speedyteam T-shirt at the practices and you get to run during the 24 Urenloop, which is a fantastic experience. Even though the name might sound a bit elitist, definitely don't let it scare you away from joining the practices, everyone is welcome no matter what! Before you know it, you might be under that time yourself! Otherwise, you can always help us by coming to cheer loudly. This truly makes a world of difference for the runners.
Prizes
We naturally want to thank our runners for all those completed laps. This year too, there are guaranteed prizes for running 2, 4, 6, and 9 laps, as well as group prizes for the groups that ran the most laps together!