The running blog > Why I Run
February 28th, 2024
What started as a bucket list thing has grown into a habit.
When I signed up for my first marathon, I thought that that was the end goal. Finishing my first half-marathon a month before the marathon got me hooked.
Hooked to the feeling of the suck.
I started off way too fast, running around 3:30 for the first 10 km resulted in a fast finishing time but also in a very fucking hard race.
Finishing that race gave me a feeling of euphoria, it came from digging deep. Mentally but also physically. I wanted more.
A month later I had my first marathon, this one was a road race. Finishing in 03:33 I had no idea that it was a fast debut time. I again had to dig very deep, even not being able to run for certain parts.
I remember coming home and feeling like trash. Not being able to walk and craving calories, I laid proudly in my bed.
A few weeks after in found the hardest hiking route in The Netherlands, The Dutch Mountain Trail. It was a 100 km long, and I decided to just wing it.
I went there very early in the morning and started running. I had no experience with hill running or any elevation, so it kicked my ass.
Resulting in only doing a 50k that day, I decided to get the bus to Maastricht. This run got me hooked to trail running.
Since that day i decided to participate in races and found the Trail Events runs near my house. Even though i had run 50k before that first trail race kicked my ass real good. I finished 50k in a little less than 5 hours.
That race resulted in more ultra races and even internationally. I signed up for my first 100k in the lake distict.
I thought i had a good planning but i didnt, not enough elevation in ky training, no nutrition strategy and heat in england? I didnt plan for it!
Even though i finished second that race i was on my knees for the half of the race. not getting in enough calories, lack of water and bad training made the suck real! I wanted more, i wanted this feeling on a regular basis.
That same summer i signed up for the UTML in Luxembourg. This one was a little further than my other 100k. And half of it was in the middle of the night.
I signed up and ran it with a little more planning. The result being still deficient in every part! I was a little more fit, but the nutrition still was a problem. I finished 10th that race, running on a total of 5 liters of coke over the period of 14 hours.
A month after that, I decided to try to run the whole Dutch Mountain Trail. And I set the current record. This was the first time I felt that I could do something I didn’t know I was capable of.
I could run, I could dig, and go very far.
Now, why do I run?
First it was a cool achievement, but now I really found why I run.
I run to challenge myself
I run to be in nature
I run to see what I can do
I run for fun
I run for the suck
And I want to keep diggin’
Running long distances has taught me I can do more than I think I can. It has showed me there is something we are supposed to feel as humans. A feeling of challenge and deep suck. It has learned me to be disciplined.
Why do you run?