What Jaap remembers from his first time at ‘Egmond’ in 1973? “I had a few bad moments,” he says. Originally from Hoogwouder, he has often participated in runs, as he calls them, but he had never done one of 21 kilometers. “Then I had to walk a few times. That was tough.”
After that Jaap was loose. He was present at every edition of the Egmond Half Marathon. He is the only runner who has participated every year. Still, he thinks the nickname ‘Mister Egmond’ is a bit exaggerated. “That makes me laugh. Then I think: ‘Cees Lansbergen (the spiritual father of the Egmond Half Marathon, ed.) is really the man who has put so much work into it. I just run,” says a modest Jaap.
Egmond is the heaviest
“I have run hundreds of half marathons, but this is by far the toughest. Especially due to the tough weather conditions in winter.” One edition will always stay with him: the one from 1985. Around noon it was -10 degrees and heavy snow storms swept over the course. “I crossed the finish line with icicles in my beard and a frozen hat,” Jaap effortlessly recalls the memories.
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