Marikenloop

I originally joined my running club here to begin running again and to meet people. I also picked up some Dutch words. I joined the beginners group and our ultimate goal was to be able to finish a 5K by the end of the 6 weeks in a reasonable amount of time. The Marikenloop happened to fall at the end of the 6 weeks. It is a really unique 5K in which only women (and about 10,000 of them) are allowed to participate. Donations raised are sent to programs that empower and educate girls in Africa.

I have run many 5Ks before, admittedly some slower than others, but I’ve always finished. The women in my running club are pretty fit looking women and for many of them the idea of running the 5K was scary. There also seemed to be some kind of idea that you would fail if you walked at all. In fact, last year a woman died participating and this year a woman was rushed to the hospital where she ended up receiving angioplasty.  I know more competitive people (i.e. Gearoid) who believe the time is what matters. I firmly believe that finishing alive and breathing is the most important thing. I did have to stop myself for a 30 second break because the feeling of needing to throw up was interfering with my need to breathe. In the end though, I ran 99.9% of the race and finished at a personal best at 33 minutes and 26 seconds. It was a proud moment and I was happy to meet with my running group buddies and Gearoid at the finish line.

The Marikenloop was very similar to many of the 5Ks I’ve run at home with a few differences:

1)      Warm ups- Warm ups were pretty intensive.  In the States, it’s everyone for themselves. I often saw people running as a warm up before the race and had the attitude that I wasn’t going to run anymore than necessary. However, my running group warmed up with stretches and a brief run around the park and the Marikenloop had a professional on stage leading us through stretches and Zumba-like moves. It contributed to the festive atmosphere though and it eradicated my usual feeling of “Why the hell am I doing this” when I first start with stiff legs and cold lungs.

2)      Cattle herding- So there were no cows present but we were herded like them. When you register for the race you have to estimate how long it may take you. The day of the race you receive a personalized bib with your name and a color dot that determines what fenced in area you will wait in before the race. When I signed up, it must have been at the beginning of my training because I marked 45 minutes and ended up the green group. Green didn’t mean “go” though and I was in the last pen with the rest of the slower runners.  Luckily, a couple of girls from my running club also made this mistake and joined me in the green pen. I thought maybe I would sneak up to the orange group which estimated a 35 minute finish time but people were actually at the opening of the pens checking your dots. You could be slower but you couldn’t be faster. It makes sense. I’ve been in races in which posters bob around uselessly in the places where you should be (6 minute mile runners, 12 minute mile runners, walkers, etc) but inevitably some walkers want a closer view of the “action” at the beginning and clog up the runners or a person overestimates his/her ability and suddenly bends over panting a quarter of a mile in making a runner behind him/her nearly trip and fall. So overall, cattle herding although a little demeaning was useful.

3)      Metric System- Even races in the states call themselves 5Ks or 10Ks, but the markers along the way are in miles. A 5K is 3.1 miles, and although there are more kilometers they go by quicker. Ok, I know distance is distance but it was nice to see the 1K marker much sooner than I would the 1 mile marker. When I was struggling to the 3K marker I reminded myself that it was pretty close and wouldn’t you know it but it was! In fact, it was much closer than the 3 mile marker which was like 2K away. I haven’t fully embraced the metric system since being here but I do find kilometers a lot more motivating than miles.

4)      Flowers- The Dutch love their flowers and bouquets. At the finish line around the starting area there were free yogurt samples, lockers, porta-potties, smoothie stands, beer gardens, an ice cream truck, a bounce house for kids and the most amusing area- a flower stand. An informational email sent before the race even bragged about the flower stand. What’s even more amusing is how many people who finished the race were carrying around bouquets of flowers. Viewers at the finish line held bouquets to bequeath on to their loved ones after they crossed the finish line and received their free bottle of water and medal commemorating their success. Although it is a very sweet and sentimental gesture, if you ever come to watch me finish a race please bequeath on me a giant bag of peanut M&Ms instead of flowers. M&Ms would be much more appreciated by me.

5)      Late starting time- The race didn’t begin until 1PM. Most of the races I’ve done in the States begin early in the morning so that normal traffic patterns can resume as soon as possible. Also, as a runner you have the rest of your day to enjoy/recover/whatever. My morning was spent trying to eat the right amount for energy but not too much so I wouldn’t feel it bouncing in my stomach, trying to drink the right quantity of water so I was hydrated but didn’t have to use the bathroom too much, trying to warm up but not too much so I didn’t use all of the energy from the limited food and hydration from the right quantity of water- you know the usual stuff but for an extended period of time.  By the time I got home, I felt like the day was practically over. However, there is a reason for this madness. People from all over the Netherlands participate in the Marikenloop. The race is at 1PM so people can be greener (referring to the environment and not the level of slowness you may run) and take the train to the race instead of driving. The country is small enough that everyone can participate.  Coming from such a giant country, I never even considered this.

Differences aside it was great race for an even greater cause. It was also nice to see an audience of mostly men at the finish line.