lopen

Sacha and Simon are back and in one piece. S&S are two colleagues who have been sneaking out at lunchtime for months to train for the New York Marathon and, apart from the challenge of finishing, are raising money for charity. The race is so popular that, if their charity had not found them places, their chances of getting a starting number would have been remote.

I read recently that running is increasingly popular in Flanders: 10% van de Vlamingen tussen 12 en 75 loopt – 10% of Flemings between 12 and 75 run; dat is meer dan ooit tevoren – that’s more than ever before. In fact, it’s three times the number that ran 10 years ago.

Apparently, there are different types of runners. Almost half are individual runners and are typically mannen in de dertig en hoogopgeleid – men in their 30s and well educated. A quarter of runners are social but competitive, and most of them are aangesloten bij een atletiekclub – a member of an athletic club. They like een babbel tijdens het lopen – a chat while running, but, at the same time, ze willen zichzelf nog altijd bewijzen in het gezelschap van andere lopers – they still want to prove themselves in the company of other runners.

Then comes de gezelschapsloper – the for-company runner of whom half are women and heeft geen nood aan zware structuren – have no need for heavy structures; het sociale aspect primeert – the social aspect come first. A fourth category is de gezondheidsloper – the health runner – and has the largest proportion of mensen die geen betaald werk hebben – people who have no paid work. Perhaps they have more time to think about their health. And lastly, de prestatieloper – the performance runner – who is usually male and wants to push his grenzen – limits.

You may think they’re all a bit loopy. Or you may have been meaning for some time to do something about your fitness. Then you should go to the website, where you’ll find a training programme, even for the rustiest of you. In week one, you do mixed running and walking: 2 minuten lopen, 3 minuten wandelen for about half an hour, three times a week. By following the programme over 10 weeks, you should be able to build up een aanvaardbare conditie – an acceptable condition. On the website, you can find a group near you to join. There’s even a podcast with music and advice, so you can improve your Dutch into the bargain.

As for S&S, they are gradually adjusting to the confines of the office and to the fact that no one cheers them on as they stride down the corridor.

www.starttorun.be