Tomorrow afternoon Sara and I will be running the Halve Zolen Trail in Den Hout. It’s part of my last big training weekend for Sussex. But before we go there, I’ll be running 10 kilometers here in the forest. At the race I will be doing the 20 kilometers.

Sunday I will run another 20 kilometers. I want my body to experience running 50 kilometers in one weekend, as it has to run 53 kilometers in one day in Sussex. Maybe it’s a little bit late in training – the ultra in Sussex is 2 weeks from now – but last time my taper of 3 weeks felt a bit too long.

Roparun

The Halve Zolen trail is an initiative from Roparun team ‘t Halve Zolenlijntje. They use the trail as a fundraiser for the Roparun Foundation. That foundation allocates money to institutions, causes or projects that fulfill the Roparun motto; Adding life to days, when days often can’t be added to life. Think of equipping a walk-in center where cancer patients and relatives can meet. Think of holidays for people with cancer, together with their families so that they can create a beautiful memory, even in an unpleasant period, and so on.

I ran the Roparun twice. Back in 1995 we started in Rotterdam, underneath the Euromast, and finished in Paris, underneath the Eiffel Tower. Now-a-days the run is the other way around, and there is a second one added to it, starting in Bremen. It’s a relay race, so you don’t have to run 500 kilometers on your own. You’ll do it in a team of 8 runners.

Last long run

Tomorrow we’ll be running on our own. Yet we’re happy to support this cause. Sara will be running 10 kilometers, I’ll be doing the 20, which is also my last long run before Sussex. After this big training weekend all hard work is done, and I’ll be just keeping my legs supple up until Sussex.