Nine years ago, former Paralympic snowboarder Merijn Koek set a goal for himself: running the Eindhoven half marathon. Last Sunday he finally achieved that goal. Many people were impressed by him. “I like challenges and pushing my boundaries,” Merijn responds.
Merijn was born without forearms and without a right leg. That’s why he wears a prosthetic leg. The Eindhove native had already signed up for the half marathon a few times before, but was not ready to run the 21 kilometer distance. He suffered too much back pain and extreme blisters during training.
“If you sit in the bath for a long time, your skin becomes soft. This also happens to my stump when it sweats in the prosthesis. If you keep running, the skin opens faster and you get blisters,” Merijn explains.
Controlling blisters
Controlling blisters was the biggest challenge for Merijn. In recent years he has been looking for the best way to do this together with Frank Jol, who made his prosthesis. During the half marathon, he had to stop every 3.5 kilometers to dry his stump and apply talcum powder to it. “It is sometimes a matter of reinventing the wheel yourself. I enjoy experimenting with that,” says Merijn.
Unfortunately, the runner did not remain completely blister-free last Sunday. At some point those blisters started to ache and his legs became heavy. “At the 18 kilometer mark, the man with the hammer will come along. There you have the feeling that you are almost there, but secretly it will still take a while. Then it is a matter of keeping your mind at zero and looking at infinity.”
Lots of support
Merijn was mentally supported by his father and pregnant wife, who stood on the sidelines in several places. In addition, he received many positive reactions from strangers during the marathon. “I have often heard my name. It is of course written on your stomach, but I had the feeling that the audience shouted a little louder for me than for others. Other runners gave me a thumbs up or applause when they overtook me. That was very cool to experience.”
Many people also responded with admiration to an Instagram post by Omroep Brabant, in which Merijn was interviewed after six kilometers. “That’s nice to read. I run for myself, but it’s nice when people get inspired by me and perhaps push new boundaries themselves.”
Waiting for privacy settings…
Fries and a beer
After the marathon, Merijn immediately sought out two friends, who were also participating, to get a cone of fries and a beer together. Even though his body was wrecked Sunday night, he’s feeling pretty good Monday morning. “I’m working from home and I have my prosthesis off so the blisters can air and rest,” he says.
Merijn completed the half marathon in two hours and twenty minutes, without including breaks for his prosthesis. “I had bet on two hours and seventeen minutes, so I was completely fine with it,” he says with satisfaction.
He doesn’t know yet whether Merijn will participate again next year. “I’m still too fresh into fatigue, but who knows…”
