The race, in three figures
The race, in words
Ruben D'Hooghe finished 817th of 1,363 men in the Open division at Mechelen 2026, in 1:25:49.
A station race more than a running one: 55% of the field beaten on the stations, against 32% on the runs. Nowhere gained more than the sandbag lunges: 0:31 on the median. Paced to finish: the second half went 1:14 better against the middle of the field than the first.
Athletes who raced both Mechelen 2026 and Gent 2025 were 4:31 faster here, so this time looks a little better than it was.
Eight blocks
Bar = field beaten · tick = median
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Block 01 8:29Running 1 4:03v median +0:22
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Block 02 7:52Running 2 5:10v median +0:33
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Block 03 9:45Running 3 5:15v median +0:22
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Block 04 10:44Running 4 5:10v median +0:17
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Block 05 9:53Running 5 5:14v median +0:11
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Block 06 7:38Running 6 5:28v median +0:32
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Block 07 9:54Running 7 5:27v median +0:33
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Block 08 12:33Running 8 5:46v median +0:17
Roxzone, per block
Approach · Exit 9:09
Against the middle of your field
Men · n = 1354
A pace, not a person: at every mat, the middle of the 1,354 men who finished.