100 miler rat race

On Saturday, the 4th of July, I will stand at the start line of the Castle-to-Castle 100miler (160km), a trail run from Bamburgh Castle to Edinburgh. Running it together with my girlfriend side-by-side. I have trained 6 months for it, an equivalent of 1500km in training to get ready. And despite all of this, I know - this will be one of the biggest (voluntary) physical and mental challenges of my life. 

On the physical side, the sheer length of the run, the (still) unimaginable quest of running 4 marathons in a row - nonstop. Running a whole day, a full night, and way into the next day. An equivalent of more than 200.000 steps is as exciting as it is scary.

On the mental side, the 100miler embodies the transition I feel I am in at this stage of my life: months of continuous forward movement focused on something important to me. A metaphor of stepping into a wild adventure that I never feel quite ready for. But I do it anyway, challenging my fears, limiting beliefs and mental models.

Whilst a training endeavour like this is quite a personal journey, I love to connect it to a topic that is very close to home. On average, in the Netherlands, every second person develops cancer at some point in their life. We all know someone who is currently trying to heal from cancer or has lost the fight. New science and medication can make such a difference to the outcome. That is why I am fundraising for KWF to help fund Cancer research.

I would really appreciate your wishes on the 4th and any amount you can give to my fundraiser.

Thank you so much!

Arjan