Mikky Keetels
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Born | 25 January 1999 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Long-distance running |
| Club | AV Phoenix, Utrecht |
Mikky Keetels (born 25 January 1999) is a Dutch flight attendant and athlete. She specializes in long-distance running and became the Dutch national marathon champion in 2026.
Career
Keetels, from Schijndel, studied journalism at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and joined a student association where social life was central. She began running recreationally. In 2019, she spontaneously registered for the New York City Marathon to raise money for the KiKa childhood cancer foundation. After that, running developed into a serious hobby.[1]
Flight attendant and runfluencer
Keetels paused her studies and began working full-time as a flight attendant for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. In 2025, she ran about 110 km per week, increasing to around 200 km in 2026. She adapted her training schedule to match her flight roster.[2] She shares her running experiences on Instagram.[3] This earned her recognition as a "runfluencer".[citation needed]
After the COVID-19 pandemic, many people took up running. The marathon became especially popular among Generation Z women. In 2024, one in five marathon runners on Strava was a Gen Z woman. Interest in running was boosted by athletes on social media such as Keetels.[4]
From recreational runner to competitor
Keetels focuses on both endurance and strength training. In 2024, she spent a month training in Bali, combining treadmill running with fitness classes. Afterwards, she ran 2:45:04 at the marathon of Málaga.[citation needed]
In 2025, she joined athletics club AV Phoenix in Utrecht, enabling her to compete in national championships.[5] In April 2025, she improved her personal best by eleven minutes at the Rotterdam Marathon, finishing in 2:34:09 as the second Dutch runner behind Anne Luijten.[2] A month later, she won the half marathon of Leiden with a personal best of 1:14:43. With a sports status from her university, she completed an internship at Runner's World magazine.[6]
National champion
In October 2025, Keetels competed for the first time at the Dutch Marathon Championships during the 2025 Amsterdam Marathon. She started fast and built a lead over Anne Luijten and Jill Holterman, but was later overtaken and finished third in 2:31:23. This placed her 13th on the list of fastest Dutch female marathon runners.[7]
Keetels signed with sports management agency Global Sports Communication, founded by Jos Hermens. In February 2026, she ran a half marathon in Dubai, improving her personal best, although the course was later found to be short. A month later, she equaled her personal best in Lisbon and improved it to 1:13:29 at the Stevensloop in Nijmegen. In April, she became Dutch marathon champion at the 2026 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best of 2:30:42.[citation needed]
More running than flying
As her running career progressed, Keetels reduced her working hours at KLM. She aims to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics and is gradually increasing her training intensity.[8][9]
National championships
- Road
| Event | Year |
|---|---|
| Marathon | 2026 |
Personal bests
Road
| Distance | Performance | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 miles | 56:30 | 21 September 2025 | Amsterdam |
| Half marathon | 1:13:29 | 15 March 2026 | Nijmegen |
| Marathon | 2:30:42 | 12 April 2026 | Rotterdam |
Achievements
10 miles
- 2025: 12th Dam tot Damloop – 56:30
Half marathon
- 2025: 1st Leiden Half Marathon – 1:14:43
- 2025: 44th Copenhagen Half Marathon – 1:15:17
- 2025: 17th Boston Half Marathon – 1:16:56
- 2026: 8th Dubai Half Marathon – 1:14:12 (course too short)
- 2026: 17th Lisbon Half Marathon – 1:14:43
- 2026: 1st Stevensloop (Nijmegen) – 1:13:29[10]
Marathon
- 2023: Melbourne Marathon – 3:11
- 2024: 10th Málaga Marathon – 2:45:04
- 2025: 15th Rotterdam Marathon – 2:34:09
- 2025: 13th 2025 Amsterdam Marathon – 2:31:23 (bronze, national championships)
- 2026: 8th 2026 Rotterdam Marathon – 2:30:42 (gold, national championships)
References
- ↑ "Reislustige atlete mede dankzij ChatGPT naar top op de marathon" [Travel-loving athlete reaches marathon top partly thanks to ChatGPT]. Omroep Brabant (in Nederlands). 2025-10-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Stewardess Keetels vliegt naar toptijd in Rotterdam Marathon: 'Wil naar Spelen'" [Flight attendant Keetels flies to top time in Rotterdam Marathon: 'Wants to go to the Games']. NOS (in Nederlands). 2025-04-14.
- ↑ "Toplopers verbazen zich over stewardess Keetels, NK-favoriete bij marathon Rotterdam" [Top runners surprised by flight attendant Keetels, national championships favorite in Rotterdam Marathon]. NOS (in Nederlands). 2026-04-11.
- ↑ "'Runfluencers' laten Gen Z warmlopen voor marathon en zijn zelf inmiddels subtoppers" ['Runfluencers' get Gen Z excited about the marathon and have themselves become sub-top athletes]. NOS (in Nederlands). 2025-04-11.
- ↑ "Hoe stewardess Mikky zonder enige begeleiding richting de nationale marathontop liep" [How flight attendant Mikky reached the national marathon top without guidance]. Runner's World (in Nederlands). 2025-02-18.
- ↑ "HU-studente loopt naar brons op NK marathon" [HU student runs to bronze at national marathon championships]. Trajectum (in Nederlands). 2025-10-21.
- ↑ "Recordtijd Kipchumba in marathon van Amsterdam, NK-titels Choukoud en Luijten" [Record time Kipchumba in Amsterdam Marathon, national titles for Choukoud and Luijten]. NOS (in Nederlands). 2025-10-19.
- ↑ "Mikky Keetels over haar ambitie: meer hardlopen, minder vliegen" [Mikky Keetels on her ambition: more running, less flying]. RTL Tonight (in Nederlands). 2026-04-13.
- ↑ "Marathonwinnaar en stewardess Mikky wil professionele hardloopcarrière" [Marathon winner and flight attendant Mikky wants a professional running career]. Omroep Brabant (in Nederlands). 2026-04-12.
- ↑ "Alfa Laval Stevensloop 2026". Sporthive (in Nederlands). 2026-03-15.
This article "Mikky Keetels" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Mikky Keetels. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- CS1 Nederlands-language sources (nl)
- AfC submissions by date/14 April 2026
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2026
- Flight attendants
- 1999 births
- Dutch women long-distance runners
- Dutch women marathon runners
- Sportspeople from North Brabant
- Air France–KLM
- HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht alumni
