Heroes for Malaria No More run in more than € 3,000
Sunday morning, 10 July 2011, Amsterdamse Bos: scene of the Hero race and the 'Heroes for Malaria No More' team.
The hero village in the Amsterdamse Bos opened at 8:30 a.m. so that everyone who had raised more than € 300 for their good cause could collect their number and get an early whiff of the fun. Around half past nine, warming-up sessions alternated with the special flash-mob dance. The mood was getting better by the minute. The weather was fantastic and maybe even a bit too warm for the runners.
Cheered on by the b
ystanders, everyone set off at their own pace at 10:30 a.m. Diederik got off to a quick start; Aleid took it slower and was at the tail of the race for quite a long time. She also had an unexpected problem: her sneakers had been out of action (9 or 10 years) for so long that the material had become porous and weak and the soles started detaching from the shows after about 200 metres. Her shoes turned into 'clap sneakers', like the clap skate, but in this case to the detriment of the athlete. But practical as she is, and with no intention of declaring defeat, she tied her shoestrings around the soles of her shoes to limit the damage. The problem was solved and she was able to pursue her goal.
The runners had to cover a distance of 6 km, meaning that they had to run two rounds of 3 km. Diederik was in top form and covered the whole distance in just 35 minutes! That's an impressive average of 10 km/h! Congrats Diederik! Aleid took a bit longer to cover her distance of 3 km. She didn't time herself down to the minute, but she was at the finish line within an hour. Aleid walked the first kilometre and a bit together with her friend Maartje and her wheelchair, into which she then settled comfortably while Maartje pushed her through the second kilometre. The third and last kilometre was the hardest, as are all home straights. But there is nothing better than crossing the finish line and being received like a true hero.
It took a while for everyone to return to the village because a lot of people and (young) children were walking the 6 km. In the meantime, some people had spread out their pick-nick blankets, and bottles of water, bananas and trail mixes were available as refreshments. The prizes were handed out when everyone, including the organizers lining the roads, had returned to the hero village. There was a prize for the company that had raised the most money for a good cause, a prize for the company with the most participants, a prize for the charity with the most participants, as well as a prize for the three participants who had raised the most money. One of the winners had raised € 4,000!
Together, Diederik and Aleid raised the proud sum of € 2,157 for Malaria No More, which Stichting Wilde Ganzen is augmenting by 55%, bringing the total amount to € 3,343! The money will go towards the project run by Macha Research Trust in Zimbabwe where insecticide-treated mosquito nets and medicine will be distributed and the people will be educated about malaria. In short, everyone was a winner and had a great day. A great big thanks to all the heroes!
More photos are on Picasa.
