Twenty laps of ten kilometers on the Austrian Weissensee. Robert Jongsma and Rik Bakker from Assen will brave this arduous journey next Friday. They want to raise money for the Villa Joep and Hartekind Foundations, which conduct research into childhood cancer and children with heart disease.
The idea originated at the Ronde Tafel 36 Assen, an association where men between the ages of 18 and 40 come together. And it is not entirely surprising that the gentlemen take to the ice for these two charities. Robert’s son, 11-year-old Thom, was born with a heart defect. And Johan de Groot, member of Ronde Tafel 36, has a two-year-old daughter Roosa with neuroblastoma (childhood cancer).
Thom has a congenital heart defect and as a result he misses his left ventricle, the part of the heart that supplies the body with blood. “The initial estimate was that he would not live longer than four years, so we are of course very happy,” says Robert. “But not many children have preceded him in the trajectory we are in, so we do not yet know what the future will bring us. But without research into his condition he would no longer be here.”
Johan recognizes the uncertainty Robert is in, because his daughter Roosa is still being treated for neuroblastoma. “Fortunately, it does not occur in many children. Roosa had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in her body when she was over one and a half years old.” This tumor has now been removed with chemotherapy and Roosa is in the post-treatment process.
And so Robert and Rik will take to the Austrian ice on Friday to raise money for research into these diseases. A first for Rik, but Robert rode the Weissensee once before in 2019. “That was a wonderful experience. It really is a magical event,” says Robert. “We start in the dark at 7 a.m. in the morning. You have to find your way across the ice with lights. Last time I spent about eleven hours on the tour, so I didn’t have much to do on the dance floor that evening.” , Robert jokes.
And how does someone prepare who has never made such a challenging skating trip? “A lot of running and skating once a week in Kardinge,” says Rik.
The duo has so far raised 15,000 euros with the help of their friends from Ronde Tafel 36. They do not have an immediate answer to the question of what the target amount is. “But it has to be 20,000.”