Adventures of a marathon girl

Hi y'all, One of the utmost important lessons you can learn as a fundraiser is this: IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! Which is probably why it is so agrivating to watch half of my nation act like total idiots when it comes to Corona aka Covid19. What really pisses me off is this: complete families out including grandma's and grand dads not listening to the social distancing advice and even goings as far as to outright say into a camera for the entire nation to hear: 'Well....we're in a house together like all the time and we still didn't catch it so we're not having it' ... Okay I am going to be really rude here because maybe than you will understand this YOU ARE AN IDIOT!! It is not about YOU having covid19 because honestly nobody cares about that It's about you being a risk of spreading it. Go out with 4 at the same time and you INCREASE the risk of spreading this virus by 4! Following the most positive outcome for my country I will give you a very simple ...

Hi y'all, The world has gone bonkers and in total state of panic for a very serious virus, one we should be cautious off and definately not joke about and I can't write this week's piece without at least aknowledging the sheer fact that COVID19 will claim lives and that all of us need to act like responsible adults of the human kind. That being said I do mean responsible adults. You know...the kind that calms the kids down and let worry for the future not be their burden, the kind that stays calm when everyone around them starts screaming, the kind that looks for a way out in a way befitting a grown example of the mere species we call human. What we ought to do is calm down. If this is the emergency we fear so desperately than the only thing that can actually help save your life and those of your loved ones is STA which stands for Stop Think Act. Panic never saved anyone and panic is what contributes if not creates the self fullfilling prophecy of an apocalypse. W...

Hi y'all It's been quite the week. The last couple of days I was in Scotland following a masterclass on great fundraising by Alan Clayton and his equally amazing team. An intense week identifying the issues charities want to resolve and the powerful messages they portray to achieve their goals. Inspiring seems like a blank word, a non word. It was so much more. We laughed, we shared, we talked, we helped each other identify what might be the barrier and when the last words were uttered non of us felt like we crossed the finish line. Non of us. We all felt like we just entered the coral, legs itching and hands tingling, brains fired up thinking let's GO! When you spent time with your peers away from home, away from your loved ones and in a situation when you're constantly challenged on one hand and taken care off at the other that's where conversation happens and where humans start to share and it's at that time when you let some of your carefully build up gu...

Hi y'all, The flatlands have been the wetlands over the past three weeks. Literally each and every Sunday we have had a storm. First came Ciara, than Dennis and though the officials still haven't called it yet we faced Ellen today. Heavy rain & wind smashing you around and yet I run. I get up and I run. Why? Because I belong in the storm, I belong on the roads and each and every viber of my soul is filled with so much awe every time I stand tall and embrace the power that nature provides. Don't get me wrong. I am not careless or disprespectful to the full force of nature. I've been on hikes in the mountains with my parents and I have seen the weather flip. I am well aware off the dangers. But a storm not out of it's wits but strong enough, not gone bonkers but fierceful and not over the top but just that thundering blasting roar....I am part of thát storm. My runs and now-a-days walks/hikes done in weather like we've been having lately somehow clear...

Hi y'all, First things first. This amazing aquarel was made by my beautiful and very talented sister Annemieke van Eunen. She is the other half of the project this blog post is about. I just really wanted to give Annemieke a huge huge shout out. I am so super proud of her! This aquarel of the Brooklyn Bridge was painted by her and for those funding our project: you'll be seeing this baby throughout the year. So by now y'all know I am actually running the NYC marathon come 2020 and I'm doing that as a fundraiser to help fund ALS research. Why? well that's a no brainer - because my mom died of ALS and it is something you absolutely don't want to witness. What you might not know is that me and my sister are united under CiderZussen (cider sisters) and we started brewing cider a year ago. Why? because we like doing new things, because we love cider and because we enjoy the crap out of brewing our own very delicious hard cider. Our first year we dedicated ...

Hi y'all, Hello 2020 and hello epic adventures! I may or may not have done a thing again....okay I did...twice even and I don't know about you but registration days are as thrilling as they are aweful don't you think? I registered for THE two most wanted events in the world in 2020 and ensured that I will be part of them. No I am not going to Tokyo ...so okay maybe not THE most wanted but certainly up there. What did I register for you ask? aaaaah well...here we go: 1. The Nijmeegse 4daagse. For y'all non Dutchies..it is THE biggest marching event in the world. You march 4 days and 40km per day (or 50 if you're dude, military or bonkers and those are not mutually exclusive btw) My sister and I will be doing that one together since it has been something we have talked about for a couple of years. Now there's two ways to get in if you're a first timer you either enter the ballot OR you buy your way in and secure a spot at ViaVierdaagse. An amazing prog...

Hi y'all, This will not be a long post. Last week was my first week at my new place of work and decided to give myself one week of feeling the longer hours without pressuring myself in adding runs, gym and yoga to it too. I decided my first week I was allowed some space. Space to feel the all that is meeting new people, space to try and wrap my head around all the new information and worklows, space to ask questions and space to listen, really listen. The week was over so so fast and though I had a great deal to remember and try to get perspective on I still felt like I had some head space left, energy and positivity. One important lesson I learned over the past couple of years is that I am capable of getting 'it' done and my projects tend to get big. Aim for the moon and land between the stars right? That being said it also means that I am quite capable of burning myself to ashes and this time around i've decided to not do that. The easy thing to do is to completel...