News May 2008
Sponsoring C. Meijer B.V.: Roparun 2008
Roparun, an adventure for life…
On Saturday morning 10th May all team members gather at 10 o'clock at the De Zuidhoek in Zierikzee. After preparing everything, taking a team photograph, and lunch with family members and sponsors, we leave around 12.45 and are waved an exuberant farewell: Paris here we come!!!
The arrival in Paris is around 19.30 and the start is at 0.23. We expect to cover the total distance of 533 kilometres, non-stop in the form of a relay, in approximately 38 hours with an average speed of 14 kilometres per hour. The first nocturnal part is going well and the speed and the team spirit is great. However, there is slight trepidation regarding the warm temperatures which are predicted for the weekend during the day and that proved to be not entirely unjustified. It is very warm during the day on Sunday and Monday for walking and cycling, certainly in the hilly French and Belgian landscape; but for the scarce resting moments in between it is, however, great, with this weather, to relax a little near the truck. At team 2 there are some physical discomforts on the road (knee problems) but thanks to some mutual changes in the division of tasks (cyclist/driver becomes walker/cyclist) this, fortunately, is solved. Improvising is, after all, also part of the Roparun.
We are very well capable of keeping up the tempo and, underway, it seems that this year we can perhaps finish in the top 10 for the first time. Finishing high in the overall placing is not the most important thing. Our most important objective if of course to collect as much money as possible for projects for cancer sufferers, and with that the Roparun is also literally an adventure for life (of other people). Nevertheless we will not entirely lose sight of the sport-loving element. An extra incentive therefore, when reaching the Dutch border, to give it that bit extra. In the Netherlands we pass various villages and cities (for example Bergen op Zoom and Ossendrecht) where there is an exuberant crowd because of the passing of the Roparun - fantastic to experience. Also very special, a little later, to reach Zeeland, especially the stint on the Philips dam, because there were a lot of family and friends waiting for us to cheer us on. At this point team 1 is ready and team 2 starts their last stage in the direction of Rotterdam. The members of team 2 get goose pimples when passing the Daniel den Hoed Kliniek, where a lot of people with cancer, which is what it is all about in the end, are standing outside to spur us on very enthusiastically and cheer us on our way…
On the Coolsingel we re-form to cover the last 500 metres to the finish together. After having been underway for 37 hours and 38 minutes everyone is of course tired but very satisfied that we were able to experience yet again a fantastic Roparun this year. With an average speed of 14.17 kilometres per hour we gain 9th position in the overall placings, so also from a sport-loving perspective we have done well. Meanwhile also the total turnover of our team of this year is known. With our effort for the good cause we were able to transfer € 32,157 to the Roparun foundation and are particularly proud of that as a team.
The total turnover of all Roparun 2008 teams amounts to € 4,318,782, and that is of course totally super!!
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