Queen Mathilde and Prince Emmanuel didn’t miss their traditional appointment and ran the Brussels 20km race through the streets of the Belgian capital.
On Sunday, 28 May, the Queen and her youngest son were among the thousands that made up the racing contingent, which snaked their way for 12,42 miles.
The Belgian Royal Palace released several pictures of the mother and son during the race, with Queen Mathilde being seen wearing a striped t-shirt and Prince Emmanuel a green one.
Her Majesty was wearing running number 33034 and finished her race in 3637th position, with a time of 2:58:43.
The Prince was running with the number 6552 and arrived at the finish line in 1773th position, with a time of 1:58:29.
Running numbers are assigned based on the previous year’s performance in the same competition or the performance on an equivalent distance in another race; the rest are given to people who don’t match those criteria.
As it is tradition, the race ran along a route that created a ring around the areas of Ixelles, Etterbeek, Auderghem, and Watermael-Boitsfort, towards the southern edge of the city bounds.
Several water and refreshment points were established with the help of the race’s partners, and the Belgian Red Cross was, as always, in charge of providing medical support all along the racing route and help to those who might need it.
Because the race is held within the city, if people feel like they can0t complete it, they can get off at any point and hop on public transport to return home.
This year marked the 43rd edition of this running race, which is traditionally organised on the last Sunday of May since its inception in 1980; 2021 marked the first time that Queen Mathilde participated in the race, which amassed more than 33,000 participants that year, following the 2020 break.
