my first ultratriathlon DNF - did not finish…
the Double in Colmar (7.6km swim/360km bike/84km run) would be my first ‘big’ race after my ankle-injury…
But the french heat beat me: i was struggling on the bike from the start, and before 150km my body was done. Worked hard with amazing support from my brother @daan_van_meeuwen to find a solution - ice, wet towels, extra breaks… But after 300km of overheating the body was DONE… sometimes the hard decision is the smart decision…
i will be back though…
and finish or not: as always: met amazing people, caught up with old friends, cheered for all the others… the ultra-tri-family is amazing…
marathon/ultra no. 104...
3rd place at the #srichinmoy50k in amstelveen today. A hot day out, but I suffered in the best possible way. Had to work for it, but enjoyed (almost) the entire race.
First race post ankle-injury, so it was a good one! nice trainingday and confidencebooster for the Double Ultratriathlon in Colmar @bretzelultratri next month!
#50km #ultrarunning #rwutrechtambassadeurs @runnersworldutrecht
restday…
so an easy 36km social-run with some elevation sounds like a nice plan…
not sure if the coach approves… (but it was a good day, so let’s worry about consequences later!)
#happyrunner poweredby @runnersworldutrecht
finally; the (53km) comeback-run…
268 days post injury and I’m now ‘officially’ back to ‘normal’…
First ultra since I ruptured my ankle ligaments! It was shorter than I planned; the plan was to go for a double-marathon, but after running all morning in rain and hail I was freezing, so I decided to be smart and stop a bit early… But body and mind were amazing today, so I’ve achieved the main goal; go for a long run and see what happens…
Recovery has been a rollercoaster; from celebrating my first short walk on crutches, to my first unsupported walk, the ‘one minute-run-one-minute-walk sessions, but also the frustrations that come with setbacks and delays in the process… And then the return to running, but the long way back to long distances…
But I’ve learned a lot along the way, and enjoyed every small victory.
Today was a big milestone; now it’s time to recover, and start thinking if there’s room for a new adventure this season…
Thank you to all that have helped me get back on my feet (literally!), both physically, but also (and mainly) mentally and emotionally… It has been a serious ultra-adventure…
#ankleinjuryrecovery #rwuambassadeurs #recoveringultrarunner
marathon/ultra number 101 ✅
Beautiful sunny (but cold!) marathon. Body felt good from start to finish, and the mind was strong for the full 42km.
241 days post-ankle-injury, and almost ready to get back to the ultra-distance again!
#happyrunning #marathon #rwuambassadeurs
first run in 4 weeks (first I was knocked-out by the monster-flu, then came the snow, and since an earlier snow-related fall & serious injury I don’t run in the snow anymore…)
happy to be back out there again!
the ankle was complaining a bit, so there’s a small setback in the recovery-program. let’s see if I can get my ‘comeback-ultrarun’ (originally planned for december) done in february/march!
#ultrarun #roadtorecovery #season2026 #ultratriathlon
marathon/ultra no. 100 ✅
(67 ultras / 33 marathons according to my training-log-numbers…)
New adventures coming up, today was a good trainingday to build back to the ultra-distances!
163 days post-injury, almost back to ’normal’ (although my ‘normal’ might not be ‘normal’…). Never thought I would get to 100 (never even thought I would get to ‘1’) when I bought my first pair of shoes all those years ago (thanks @gakkie4295 @runnersworldutrecht for many years of awesome adventures!)
#happyrunner #100marathonclub #rwuambassadeurs
#buitenspelen
easy 25km today. Building towards a little end-of-year-running-adventure… (and thinking about the 2026 ultratriathlon-season… #makingplans )
#happyrunning #rwutrechtambassadeurs #ultratriathlontraining #letsgo #anklerehab #ontheroadback
…when everything goes according to plan… until it doesn’t… (The Oner: 132km of running over the UK south-west coast path, with lots of hills, and an average dropout-rate…
The body and mind are still recovering, and a long race-report will follow (update: the long race-report is here!), but for now: here’s some data of what goes…
sometimes your memory can play tricks on you… It’s a sunny day on the bike, and I’m riding on the Brutal course. Somewhere during the terrible climb to…
back to where it all began… Sometimes I forget that it’s only been 4 years since my first irondistance-race… What once started as a ‘once in a lifetime’…
…a 1/6th triple… I’m in the water at the start of a small-scale middle-distance triathlon. The speaker announces that the start signal will be a gunshot, and seconds…
It’s a weekend filled with good company, camping, talking about past and future adventures, and three days with three races… The campsite is packed with teammates, some who…
Normally, a story about an extremely hard race ends with thanking the Support Crew involved. Unfortunately, most people skip those last lines of a race report, so this…