Happy faces, splashed mud and beautiful nature. Today was the 24th edition of the MTB Marathon Ruinen. Five hundred participants were on the road early to spend hours on the saddle. “We have nice weather and the maximum number of participants, it is perfect,” says Jan Koster of Wieler Tour Club Ruinen.
You could choose from four distances, ranging from 45 to 110 kilometers. The furthest distance is also the most popular. And the ultimate preparation? Koster: “Training, a lot of training. And eating and drinking well. It’s for the long-term boys and girls.”
The preparation also took energy for the organization, because they had to get up early this morning. “Yesterday we plotted the route. We have 1,100 beautiful orange levels and we had to check them this morning. Sometimes a level is rotated, so it has to be straightened again,” says Koster.
“The track itself is not bad. A bit wet here and there, but… single tracks are dry, so that’s fine,” laughs Natascha, who is going for the 110 kilometers herself. For a group of men who are rinsing their bikes after the 45 kilometer tour, it was a successful day: “It was a very nice tour, we didn’t ride wrong once.”
In order not to burden nature too much, the organization has received a permit for 500 participants. “We had a great time this morning. But it is a shame that fewer and fewer trips like this are being organised.”
Photographer Kim Stellingwerf managed to capture the mountain bikers both on the muddy forest path and in the village café. It produced these beautiful pictures. The text continues below the photo.
