Marathon Rotterdam done, and now what?

Posted on April 22, 2025•By John Kraijenbrink•Column

Marathon Rotterdam done, and now what?

The Marathon Rotterdam is history. 2025, that is. So the question is: and now what? What am I going to do with my life?

Okay, just kidding. I’m full of plans. Not just running ones, but as I always talk about running with you, let’s talk running. Let’s talk trail. Let’s talk ultra.

Spicing things up

See, the Marathon Rotterdam was a little project to spice up things. You know what they say: a change is as good as a rest. I love trail running, but sometimes it’s fun to do something else as well. Like running on the road for instance.

And, as you probably know by now, I had some unfinished business with the marathon, as I missed the four hour limit 30 years ago. So, I simply wanted to prove that you can get faster, while getting older by training wiser. I did. I improved my personal best by 20 minutes.

Back to the trails

But that’s history now. It’s time to go back to the trails. It was fun to run the marathon, but I prefer to be in nature. I prefer to be in the mountains. On my own, if possible. Or with just a couple of people around me. As long as I’m away from the crowds.

Luckily I don’t have to wait too long. Next month, the 18th of May to be precise, I’m running the Trail des Celtes at the Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB. That’s a 50,5 kilometre ultra, with 2.000 metres of elevation. The race starts in the wine-growing town Barr and finishes in Obernai. I picked this race because it’s in the Vosges, a beautiful national park not too far from my house.

Triathlon

In June I’ll be doing something else again: Stadstriathlon Weert, a quarter triathlon. I’m biking a lot these days to prepare my legs for all the climbing that’s coming up at the UTMB CCC later this year. I swim every now and then. So, why not do a quarter triathlon for fun?

Both races are part of my CCC preparation. So I won’t be tapering. Instead, I will keep on training. Maybe with a day or two rest.

Final touch

The final touch of my UTMB CCC preparation will be done in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. Sara and I will go there for a week. For Sara, a week of hiking and sauna. For me, a week of hiking and running.

So no marathon blues for me. I’ve had a week of rest. Now it’s time to focus on the UTMB CCC. I have some unfinished business with that race as well. I know, the end of August is far away. But from Courmayeur, the start of the race, to Chamonix, the finish of the race, is also 101 kilometres away. And in between we have to climb more than 6.000 metres. So let’s start training.

Keep on running.

John Kraijenbrink

I run for fun. I run to be in the mountains, in the forest. I run, because running fascinates me. That’s why I study all the science about running. What I discover, I share with you. To help you to be a better runner, but above all to help you having fun running.