Babing's feat in 1963 brought him lasting nationwide fame, which was not always welcome.
“His wife always said it was the most terrible thing in our lives, because he never said no to a journalist, or an invitation, or an editorial,” Welling says.
The two-time winner in 1985 and 1986, Evert van Benthem, moved to Canada – partly to escape the constant attention.
Although female skaters have participated almost since the beginning, 1985 was the first year they were officially allowed to compete.
Leni van der Hoorn was the first competitor to return home that year. If the Elfstedentocht tournament is held again, there will be a separate title for women for the first time.
Twenty-seven years and counting since the last edition, it's impossible to predict exactly what impact the next race will have – if it happens at all.
But Welling is confident that the winners will continue to hold a special place in Dutch sporting legend.
“You will be a hero to the country for many years, until you die,” he says.
“No one will ever forget you, and you will experience that every day.”
Even in the continued absence of ice, the lure of the route between the “Eleven Cities” of Friesland remains.
And in 2019, former Olympic open water champion Martin van der Weyden – who had leukemia as a young man – raised millions of euros for cancer research when he swam the route.
In 2023, he culminated this remarkable achievement with the Eleven Cities Triathlon, where he completed three laps of the course – one in water, one on bicycle and one on foot, accompanied by huge crowds of supporters and once again raising millions.
There is an Eleven Cities cycling tour held every year, while tourists can follow the route at a more leisurely pace.
During the winter, thousands of Dutch skiers head to higher, cooler climes to participate in the “Elfstedentocht Alternative Race,” where they race the entire distance around a lake in Austria.
There is even a musical, launched in October in a specially built theater in the Frisian capital, which takes Elfstedentocht as its main theme.
A revolving stage covered in ice allows actors to skate while remaining stationary in front of the audience.
But this is the real sport, the original road, that has the greatest grip on the Dutch imagination.
Every year, when there is a cold snap, they head out into the ice.
Sports skaters ski at high speed across the frozen landscape, families teach youngsters magic, and young and old congregate wherever there is enough ice to skate.
Freezing weather, hot drinks, sweet snacks – and every year the same exciting conversations. Could it happen? Will there finally be an Elfstedentocht this year?
