From marathon runner Mikky Keetels to (former) skaters Erben and Joep Wennemars and Kjeld Nuis, several well-known Dutch people will participate in the Wings for Life World Run on Sunday. One of the most striking participants is Ruud Oomens from Breda, who runs his kilometers in a pink dinosaur suit. “If you’re not trained, I can’t recommend it.”
Ruud also participated in the Wings for Life World Run last year, as an alien. “Something about a losing bet,” says the Breda resident. “I ran a half marathon with my brother Mees and he turned out to be faster. The children liked that alien suit so much that I spent a lot of time high fives have distributed. That’s why I decided to do something fun again this year and that was this pink dinosaur suit.”
When the sun is shining it is great running weather, but as a dinosaur running is still a challenge. “It is on the warm side, yes, not everyone has to do this. But hey, I just stop at every water point and see how I feel. I can always take it a bit easier. There are some gels hidden in my suit, so it will be fine. I hope to run at least a lap of 25 kilometers, then we will see further.”
“I didn’t tell you not to pee for five hours.”
It starts at 1:30 PM Catcher Carthe moving finish line that will overtake Ruud Oomens and the rest of the participants. Behind the wheel is driver Robert Doornbos, this year for the first time with former athlete Churandy Martina next to him. “I hope someone manages to run 70 kilometers,” says Doornbos. “I haven’t told Churandy yet that he can’t pee for five hours, he will find that out on his own.”
Here you can read all the stories about the Wings for Life World Run.
