Somewhere in the beginning of 2014, I was standing in a pub with two friends and we were talking about what all three of us thought would be really cool: a Running Junkies training weekend! The first time we were so surprised by everyone's enthusiasm that we had to find a bigger accommodation. We are now more than two and a half years further and last weekend it was already time for the third training weekend: K.A.M.P.!
After Ameland and Wijlre this year we settled in the area of the Appelscha. We were in the middle of the Drents-Friese Wold, which is the largest contiguous forest area in the Netherlands after the Hoge Veluwe, in short, a fantastic environment.
Friday
It's 10 AM and we're almost all ready to leave. Like every year, there are more bags than people and everyone has brought whole survival kits to survive the little under 2 hours in the car. N.E.R.D and de Jeugd guide us in addition to the Dropfruit Duos, blueberries, grapes and pancakes towards the first collection point. Every year we have a different kind of kick-off to the weekend. This time it's Capture The Flag, the teams are Fryslân & Drenthe because we are on the border between the two provinces! Both teams had to find their own flag based on a QR code and then take it to the watchtower. The most important element was that you didn't win until your entire team was there. As always, this was the ideal competitive start to the weekend, which once again showed that I can't stand losing…
Then we all go to the supermarket to stock up on beer and eat pear ice cream before we go to our accommodation for the weekend. Time for the free afternoon, I don't think we will ever learn because as always we spend our free afternoon doing other sports like basketball. It goes without saying that there is a bit of relaxation and the first beers are already being enjoyed. Before we go to dinner, only the Trail run awaits. Trail can actually be capitalized. How heavy that was, I had not meant it to be that heavy. The route also became a little longer than planned… but the surroundings were beautiful so let's remember that. What I will never forget is that I saw the last group come back while they loudly sang: “We Are The Champions”. In the end we only sat outside with a small group while we were listening to Herman Finkers and were able to immediately greet the people who came later. Once inside, it remained restless for a long time before we finally all went to bed.
Saturday
We start the day with sun and coffee, which is always a good combination. Yoga is the first part of the program today. Stretch and relax before breakfast and the endurance run is on the program. We were taught by Running Junkie Loes (and Lululemon) and she emphasized a few times that it doesn't matter how flexible / agile you are. You can do everything at your own level. When I look around I am happy to see that I am not the only one who is not so flexible. After breakfast we explain how the endurance running routes work. We have four distances: 10,16,23 and 27 kilometers. The routes work on the basis of the bicycle node routes, so we have filled sheets with the numbers that everyone then writes on their arms. We start at the first node which happens to be next to our accommodation and before we leave we divide the groups by pace and distance. We show you how to see and recognize the numbers. What follows is a route that exceeds even my own expectations about the beautiful landscape. On the open plains the sun has a lot of free play and it gets really hot, luckily we can refill the water at a campsite. After the 27 I come back satisfied and I think it's time for a nice ice cold beer!
The afternoon is once again free for everyone, what awaits then is a fantastically beautiful game. Butter, Cheese and Apples. Butter, cheese and eggs but with apples and pears. You sprint 30 meters and depending on which team you are, lay down an apple or pear and whoever gets three in a row first wins. If there is still no winner after all three team players have been, you may move 1 apple/pear from your own team. A game that requires thinking in addition to speed. I start sprinting in my first heat and still feel the 27 of the morning completely, I'm barely making any progress – everything hurts. It looks so bad that they ask if I can continue. Fortunately, things are getting better. It turns out once again that I can't handle losing very well... Traditionally, we then continue to the terrace for a drink, some bitterballen and nachos! Before we go out we lay a solid foundation by eating pizza and those pizzas go fast anyway. So hard that when we come back after going out there are still about three pizzas out of 40 left… Before we came back we first went to Assen with a convertible bus (!!!) and we really arrived just in time . On the way we could already enjoy some lightning bolts but luckily we kept it dry. The evening itself can be summarized as: you should have been there…
Sunday
The last morning again. This one is actually always all about the anti-hangover run. No different tempo groups, all running together. Almost everyone always participates, nice to see. I always belong to the group of people who wake up well in time for this run, some have more difficulty with that and it is always amusing to see how they enter the common room ('living room') while you are already on your second or third cup of coffee. It's raining pretty hard and we see a few flashes of lightning but judging by the thunder it's far enough away. It will be a round of just over 4 kilometers through the forest. There is quite a bit of water over the paths, which causes some (almost) falls. Again beautiful surroundings, although most will have missed that. At one point I was already soaked through so the best thing to do is to run and stomp through all the puddles. Rarely had so much fun the morning after a night out. Before we all go home, there is still brunch, cleaning up and closing together. Everyone is thanked for their great effort during the weekend and when we are thanked for the organization with an ever louder applause I can only smile and be very proud of another great training weekend!
Photos taken by Seth Profet, Wiebe Strick, Aschwin Wijnands
