De Loop Van LeidscheRijn

Foto: Wendy

De loop van Leidscherijn is a race of 15 km with a theme “The Romans” The start/finish are located at the Roman village a few minutes walking distance from my house. A Roman village with an Xpo is built with catering, stage with live music, terrace, changing facilities and stands filled by various local associations. I was planning to run the 15km but few months back I saw messages from @Loopmaatjes that if he manages to have 20 relay teams     (2 (1x5 kms and 1x10 kms) or 3 (3 x 5 km) runners) he will become a sponsor of the event.

Of course I got all excited to support Mr @Loopmaatjes to reach his goal. I decided at that point to form my own relay Team and the first person I asked was my running mate @RunningRonald. All enthusiastic he started thinking of a team name and fun ideas which always makes me laugh! In meanwhile I was trying to figure out who should be the 3rd runner in order to run the 3x5km.
I was specifically looking for a fast runner I wanted to win the relay event.(Duh?) At the end I managed to convince @sportsjunkie my fast neighbor who was doubting if he should run the whole 15 km or join the ThunderTrio team which is the name that Ronald came up with for our fast Team.

ThunderTrio

I also starting encouraging people to make their own team and @runningMarcel liked the idea and decided to join with his family “The Talpa team” After the Boston Marathon I was already looking for that fun day which took place on Thursday 9th of May on a Dutch public holiday.

Through a whatsApp group Falco, Ronald and myself were expressing how badly we want to win and Ronald came up with a great idea and he purchased a "fun thing"! We were enthusiastic to reveal our faces and show everyone who is ThunderTrio!

The day before the race Ronald said he is not sure if he can make it due to a family emergency then in the evening he confirms to be present but won’t attend the BBQ that I planned for my team and other runners. On the race day, few hours before the start, Ronald had to withdraw from the race which is more than understandable in his situation. The "Fun Thing" has to wait for next year to be revealed! Falco and I had to find a replacement in a short time and not any replacement, a replacement with a specific requirement “He has to be FAST!!”

Foto: Kitty

Luckily I live in a neighborhood with men who can run fast :P Rene our other fast neighbor was up for the challenge. Team Talpa came by and we headed to the “Roman Village” to pick up our start number from the Relay tent. The atmosphere was very nice you would see only runners wearing the Loopmaatjes tshirt with their Twittername on their back. Believe it or not I got to meet a lot of people that I knew via twitter but never met in real life. I also got to meet new people who share the same passion! Everyone was very enthusiastic about this fun event.

I met up with my team we took a team picture, we practiced a little how to exchange the Relay vest and we were ready to Rock'N'Roll. Before the start I took the bus to the 5 km point and Rene to the 10 km point where we will be exchanging the vest which holds the start number.

The start took off at 13:30 where Falco stole the show by running the first km in 3’18 I think he was trying to keep up with Sammy Kigen Korir the individual winner of this event ;) While we were watching the toppers passing by at the 5 km point suddenly the first Relay guy shows up and who turned out to be? ThunderTrio, my teammate !!

I got all ready, grabbed the vest, put it on and started cruising against the hard wind that was blowing in my face. Along the way I saw Kitty, who snapped a quick picture of me, as well as Jolanda and Marco along the side. Marco was hilarious with his loud music I couldn’t stop laughing and just before the last exchange point I see my little boy screaming “ Mammmi”. I was able to keep the lead for the relay race and with a big smile I give my vest to Rene who took off like a rocket. I headed to the finish to watch the over winning of my team knowing that no other relay team showed up soon after Rene took off.

ThunderTrio finished 1st out of 27 teams. I am so proud of my team!! We did it!! At the finish we got our medals, we also got a lunch bag and we got to stand on the podium and receive our prizes.
Everything was perfectly organized, the atmosphere and the people were amazing!! I had an awesome day!!

Falco, Me, Rene with Mr Loopmaatjes

1st Loopmaatjes Team

To end the day in a special way, we enjoyed a BBQ under the sun light at our home, where Falco, Marcel and @langzaamaan joined with their family.

Impression of " De Loop van LeidscheRijn 2013!" See me at 5'10 from the YouTube below!

See you Next year!!