As West Ham's bus rolled into Alkmaar on Wednesday evening, the streets were lined with barriers: around 10,000 people had signed up for the City Run, weaving their way through this corner of northern Holland.
They were still crossing the line as the clocks ticked towards midnight. It took West Ham until 11pm local time last night but David Moyes and his players have finally turned for home, too.
The finish line is sight. The stopwatch has been running for nearly half a century. With this gutsy win, West Ham are in their first European final since 1976.