Many hills and strong wind, Dirk van Oorschot (61) from Loosbroek did not receive the fiftieth marathon in America this weekend. But this achievement makes him the very first non-American to run a marathon in all fifty American states.
Achieving this milestone was actually already planned at the beginning of October, but the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis was canceled at the last minute due to the heat. Dirk returned home with the entire family, without a title fifty states runner.
This weekend it happened anyway. In the town of Mankato, Minnesota. With a time of 3 hours and 39 minutes he finished second in his age category. Dirk is a satisfied man, he says a day later from his hotel room.
“I relaxed the reins in the last ten kilometers. I thought: now I’m going to enjoy it.”
“This marathon was a special one. You’ve been in a daze all week: ‘now it’s going to happen’. You are in a festive mood, the icing is on the cake. But then you are at the start and it still has to happen.”
He notices that in the run-up to the match he has been more busy with other things than with the match. “I still had to work seriously, but I relaxed the reins in the last ten kilometers. I thought: now I’m going to enjoy it.”
In those last kilometers he was accompanied by runners from America who know him and the party atmosphere grows. “Then something goes through your mind. You have seen every corner of America for fifteen years and then you succeed: that is very special.”
“I’m going to run and I won’t look at my watch for the first ten kilometers.”
Because Dirk now belongs to the club of runners who have run a marathon in all American states. There are about 1,200 Americans who preceded him, but no one outside America has succeeded. The retired businessman has run 83 marathons in his entire life.
“My strategy has been for all marathons: I start running and for the first ten kilometers I don’t look at my watch. Only after ten kilometers do I look again, then I know approximately what the pace of that day is and estimate approximately where I end up. But I never leave with the intention: I have to do this or that.”
He does sports, usually walking or cycling, every other day. “You have to be careful with your body. I have never missed a match due to an injury.”
Before its official status ‘fifty states runner’ achieves this, he still has to do some administration. He sent the results and evidence of all 49 marathons he ran in America to a law firm in New Mexico.
“They have checked and approved that. Now I still have to send the proof of the last marathon. The result of the marathon must also be approved by the Athletics Union. If all goes well, I will receive my official certificate within two weeks.”
But it doesn’t stop there. Because a glass trophy is being made for him that cannot be sent but will be handed over to him personally. “Next year in April I will be here again to run a marathon, then hopefully I will take the trophy home.”
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