Do what you want to do

EXIT BLOG

2009-01-17T15:48:00.002+01:00

We will stop maintaining this weblog.
Most people read our dutch blog.
So if you are interested and do not understand dutch, please mail us and we will keep you informed personally.

See you!

Tourism in Rwanda

2008-05-20T11:32:00.007+02:00

After the marathon we enjoyed the country of the thousand hills as tourists.
First we visited Akagera National Park, in the east.
Before 1994 this park was 2500 km2 but now it is only 1000 km2. The rest of the land is in use to house the many people who returned to their country after the genocide.
This area has a very new social stucture, people don't know eachothers past. This make the region difficult to develop. Wikwiheba Mwana is situated in this region.
We visit the park in a rented 4x4 with Lon and Hazel, the driver and the guide. The wildlife is not as abundant as in parks like Kruger NP or the Masai Mara NP. But it is still great to drive and walk(!) around the savanna and look for WILD animals.
The hotel in the park is very luxurious but affordable.

During one of the stops, a baboon jumped in our car, went straight for the food and stole the bananas and the peanuts.

Kibuye

The last two days of our holiday we spent in Kibuye a lakeside town sitting in a stunning surrounding of green hills and beautiful views over the lake.

We took a boat trip to the nearby islands, one of them housing a colony of fruitbats. There were thousands of them, making a lot of noise. There was a sweet smell of fruit everywhere.

Photos Marathon

2008-05-13T09:20:00.004+02:00

Via this link hou can view photos from the marathon.

FOTO'S

Take your time to see them all (200).

Wouter

Marathon of Kigali

2008-05-13T08:11:00.002+02:00

Sunday May 11 was the big day.

Early in the morning we headed for the Amhoro stadium in Kigali, where the start and finish was. Unfortunately the start was delayed for 1,5 hours so instead of starting at 8 we started at 9.30 am. This meant running on the hottest times of the day.
First the Run For Fun started of with around 3000 participants, mainly children.
After that the participants of the half marathon started, and as the last group of around 150 - 200 runners the Marathonners could start. It was already quite hot by then. the parcours was a paved circuit of 10,55 km in the hilly streets of Kigali. There was hardly a even part in the route, climbing and going down the hill went on and on. This was heavy, certainly when temperatures went up to around 40 oC in the sun with no shade on the parcours. But the most difficulties I had with the height of 1500 m which caused a lack of oxygen when you needed it the most.
But I succeeded to finish after 4 hours 15 minutes, something more than half of the marathonners did not.
A lot of runners gave up, couldn't cope with the heavy circumstances.

The peace marathon of Kigali has been succesfull for me and a great adventure.
Thanks to the support from my wife Mian and her brother Lon and his wife Hazel I was supplied with sufficient water and bananas to succeed in finishing this marathon.

Photos can be seen by using this link:

Wouter

Queens day

2008-04-30T14:20:00.004+02:00

Today we celebrate the birthday of our Queen.
This "orange" day children are permitted to sell whatever they want on the streets. Mostly old toys and stuffed animals. But also things the have made themselves. This is a posibility for them to earn some money.

Our children wanted to get money for the children in Rwanda.
So they sold their toys and drawings.

The weather was unexpectedly good.

They did a very good job.
This Queens day morning brought them € 31 and 2 extra sponsors.
Thanx kids!

D-Day is coming quick

2008-04-29T22:12:00.006+02:00

Another 12 days before the marathon of Kigali.
Last weeks I have done a lot of training. Some Long distance runs and last weekend I ran the half marathon of Enschede.
It was warm, so the time of 1 h 41 min was ok for me.

Tonight I was accompanied bij 3 of my kids;
Morris, Ariët and the photographer Hugo.

They love it to cycle with their dad.
The best is to go past him while he is running fast.

We'll leave next monday for Brussels and fly on Tuesday.
We will keep you posted.

The day is almost there

2008-04-18T22:08:00.003+02:00

Time for an update on the training for the Kigali Peace Marathon.
Since last time I did quite a lot of running.
Last Saturday I had a good training on the slopes of the Lochemse Berg. And last Sunday I accompanied Bram and Hugo at a Survival run, which was great fun.
The middle part of last week was terrible, Tuesday during the training I had to run quickly into the bushes because of diarrhoea, but I still was able to finish my interval training.
Wednesday and Thursday were so busy that there was no time for training, but luckily today I have been for a 1,5 hour run.
Tomorrrow again my training around the Lochemse Berg and Sunday my last LSD.
Next week I will start at the Half Marathon of Enschede and the it is time to bring the distances down to be abel to peak at the marathon at May 11th.

I go for it.

wouter

A lot of running

2008-04-10T20:56:00.004+02:00

Last week I did a lot of training
Last weekend I had my LSD which stands for Long Slow Distance. This means running at a heartbeat rate of around 130, which is really slow for me. This way you train the fat burning system, when you train at least longer than 1,5 hours. For the marathon there are several LSD Training sessions varying from 2 - 3,5 hours.
last Saturday i did a 3,5 hour run and coming Saturday it will be around 3 hours.

Yesterday I went for a 12 km run and my oldest son Bram accompanied me on his bike.
He had his camera with him and made som nice pictures.

Rural area around Borculo.

At some stretches I had to help Bram to battle the mud.

Survivalrun with Bram and Hugo

2008-04-01T22:11:00.005+02:00

Sunday at Hugo's birthday I went with him and his older brother Bram to Wesepe for a survivalrun of 5 km with 34 obstacles to take.
It was very wet , very muddy and great fun.

Bram went on his own and I went with Hugo, who still has to learn it. He turned 8 last sunday and is now old enough to join the survival club.

Bram ran the whole 5 km and took all the obstacles with great ease.
Hugo was great as well and was able to run the whole track which at some places had ankle deep mud.
It didn't take long before we all three were covered with mud from head to toe.

Clothes afterwards

Congratulations!

The boys were really proud at the medal they got at the finish. They have done very well.

Compliments from dad!!

Happy Birthday to Hugo!

2008-03-30T14:32:00.004+02:00

Happy Birthday to you:

Today Hugo turned 8.
The best present is: membership of the Survivalgroup in Beltrum, along with a pair of survival shoes.
There is a survivalrun in Wesepe today, and it is Hugo's wish to participate in this run. So, there they go:

Bram is going to run individually and Wouter is going to assist Hugo.
We will let you know how it turned out....

I hurt my ankle

2008-03-27T22:32:00.003+01:00

This night, after dinner, I went off for a run of 15 km.
It was fine weather and I felt good.
However after 10 minutes I stepped on a stone which rolled away and my foot was twisted. My ankle hurt and I returned home, stumbling. At home I held my ankle in cold water and taped it. At this moment it goes pretty well. I will take care of it before I go to bed and tomorrow I will see what damage has been done.
I think I can run pretty soon again, which is not an addictive reaction as some will say, but it is just showing character.

Wouter

The surprise of dry weather

2008-03-23T22:55:00.003+01:00

This week the weather was bad, we had a lot of rain, hail and even snow, till saturday morning. The run I was going to do saturday afternoon was even canceled because of the bad terrain conditions.
But in the afternoon to our surprise it was dry and so I went out for a long run with my friend Paul. We went for a 2,5 hour run and the weather was fantastic. Not to much wind and not too cold, where the whole week there was a strong wind and low temperatures.
Today it was even better, we had a sunny day with a little wind.
Perfect day to go on the bike with the whole family and of course to go for a short run. I went about 10 km in a quick pace.
The weather was really fine and the running even better.

My belgium Frand Roel Truyers who also runs the Kigali peace marathon, start tomorrow in the marathon of Utrecht.
I wish him good luck!!

Wouter

Fire clears the air.

2008-03-23T22:33:00.011+01:00

No more "bad spirits", we can make a fresh start.
The annual Easter Fires, that are tradition around here, have cleared the air of bad spirits and ghosts from the past. We have burned all the troubles from last winter and can make a good start this spring.
Bram and Ariët adding sticks to the fire.

There was not much wind so the fire will probably burn for another 12 hours, and it will still smoke until wednesday.

Because of the rain and snow yesterday, the terrain was very muddy.
(Bram, Ariët, Morris and an unknown boy, who obviously fell)

Back to normal?

2008-03-22T19:27:00.002+01:00

The party is over, everything is cleaned up so we can go "back to normal".

It doesn't feel very 'normal', now that it's snowing. We didn't have a white christmas, but we will have a white Eastern.

Djembee Film

2008-03-17T20:13:00.002+01:00

Here's an impression of our djembee group.
We had a good time playing for friends and family.

CLICK HERE

Thanx to Frank for filming....

2000

2008-03-16T22:29:00.003+01:00

Today we had a party and instead of presents we got lots of donations!
Very good.
Now we have crossed the 2000 euro line!
It was raining all day, but we had a very nice day.
All our friends were around, with a lot of kids and we raised a lot of money for the handicapped children in Rwanda.
We are very happy. The future looks nice.

Today, 15 march 2008

2008-03-15T16:24:00.004+01:00

It is exactly 12,5 years ago that we got married!
And it changed our lives!
Before we were married we owned a house and two cars, and we both had nice jobs. But we wanted something else.
We wanted to travel around the world.
So our party also became a farewell party, and we started off.
We kept travelling for 2,5 years. Than we settled down and started our family. Now we are very happy in Borculo.
The neighbours all came yesterday evening to decorate the house and to be the first ones to congratulate us. It was a very cosy evening by the fireplace and with some South African wine......

Where will we be in another 12,5 years? Who knows.

Come and see.

2008-03-11T10:33:00.008+01:00

Here are some links to enjoy some of the pictures from Rwanda.

There are five slideshows:
Animals
Tourism
Kigali
Rural area
Whikwiheba Mwana

The pictures are taken by Henk and Lon Zomer.

10 Miles run Winterswijk

2008-03-01T21:00:00.007+01:00

Today I finished a 10 miles run in Winterswijk, a nearby town.

The weather was fine, apart from a strong wind, which made me struggle at certain parts of the run. The circuit was 5 miles, so we had to round it two times. For me it was a test to see how far I had advanced in my training. It went very well.
With 1 hour and 10 minutes I was satisfied. Next week I will go for a 30 km run in Vorden, which is another nearby town.

Wouter

The magic 1000 euro is reached!

2008-02-26T11:38:00.003+01:00

Thanks to all sponsors
we have now reached the 1000 euro line!

That is .... when Wouter finishes within the 4 hour limit.

If he takes longer than 4 hours to finish, there will be 780 euro to donate to Wikwiheba Mwana. So "don't lose hope children"!

People can still send in the sponsor certificate, so we hope we will reach the next line too: 2000 euro.

Short trip

2008-02-25T20:04:00.004+01:00

Today the weather was really good.
At the end of the afternoon I went for a short run and Hugo went on his bike.Our 7 year old son was my private photographer. At certain places He had to bike as hard as he could, to be in time to make a picture of me.
He did it very well. Now I can add some pictures of me running in the area of Beekvliet, a big house outside Borculo.
The area around Beekvliet.

Hugo at Huize Beekvliet. Well done Hugo, thanks.

Wouter

Interval training

2008-02-22T21:00:00.002+01:00

Today I had some difficult meetings and heve been quite busy.
So I just did a extensive interval training of 5 times 1200, good training which doesn't take too much time. Intervaltraining I do at the bike lane along the road to Barchem, a nearby village. Here there are hectometer signs which are perfect for interval training.

Tomorrow we will go to Lochem again to train on the slopes of the Lochemse Berg. I look forward to it, because it's always nice to train in the fresh morning air with the group. Certainly because I normally train alone.
The weather is supposed to be good, well actually it is always good because rain, wind nor cold will stop us from going.

Sunday morning I have planned a long run before we go to a party from friends in Friesland.

Wouter

We have attention!

2008-02-21T10:19:00.006+01:00

Today there was a big article in the newspaper.
We hope it will bring us a lot of new sponsors.

Visit of the local press

2008-02-19T22:26:00.004+01:00

Tonight we had a local journalist and a photographer visiting us.
This was just great.
They are going to write an article about the Kigali Peace Marathon and the sponsor action linked to it.
When it is published we will put the article on the blog.

Last weekend I trained in the hills, good to get stronger and to get used to slopes. On suday an LSD was on the Program. LSD stands for Long Slow Distance, running a long distance (more than 1,5 hours) on a low heart beat level (about 130 -140). This way the fat burning system is trained to become more efficient, resulting in a higher speed at the same heart beat level.
The weather was just fine so it was a wonderful trip of about 2,5 hours.

Training is on schedule.
I will keep you posted.

Wouter

Another shake.

2008-02-14T11:52:00.002+01:00

You can find hardly any news on Rwanda, but here is some:
There has been another earthquake / aftershock.

Read the doc at: another earthquake

Recovered

2008-02-09T10:56:00.000+01:00

Finally, after a week of illness, I feel able to go out again.
The whole week I felt sick, didn't feel like running.
But today I'm feeling better and the weather is nice.
The sun is shining, perfect weather to go.

Yesterday we watched the film "Shooting dogs", about the genocide in Rwanda.
It is a good film that shows the madness of the genocide and the impossible choices people have to make.
Impressive film.
* Come and see it with us. *

Seeing this film makes me wonder how it is now in Rwanda. How long will the pain stay in the hearts of the people.
I guess you never loose that pain, so you need to deal with it.
Seems almost impossible to me.

The only thing I can do is train as good as possible and find as many sponsors as possible.

I go for it.

Wouter

Sponsor update

2008-02-06T11:37:00.000+01:00

Untill now we have 7 sponsors. That is great!
When Wouter will finish the Peace Marathon within the 4 hours, the children at Wikwiheba Mwana will recieve € 500.
If Wouter takes longer than 4 hours to finish the 42.195 km race he will still collect € 400 for the children.

For € 400 in Rwanda they can buy 10 beds (incl. matrasses, sheets and blankets) or they can pay the personel their salary for 1 month.
The personel= 1 Caretaker, 1 Physiotherapeut, 1 Teacher, 2 Cooks, 3 "Mamans", 1 Technician, 1 Nightguard.

Earthquake in Rwanda

2008-02-04T13:04:00.000+01:00

Rwanda: Earthquake Kills 34
The New Times (Kigali) 4 February 2008

At least 34 people were confirmed dead and hundreds injured yesterday after a powerful earthquake (force 5-6) shook the Rift Valley in Rwanda, Burundi and the DR Congo.
The quake which struck in the morning hours (around 9:30 am) left over 434 injured people admitted in different hospitals in the country. Eighteen people who were critically injured were airlifted to different Kigali hospitals, while others are admitted at Gihundwe and Bushenge hospitals in the two affected districts.

Read more about the EARTHQUAKE

Stopped by the flu

2008-02-03T13:18:00.000+01:00

Last days weren't that good. I was ill and stayed in bed. So no training.
Today it's going better, so I hope I can start training soon again.
Looking outside its nice weather and the heart says: "go running", but I know its not a good idea to go running with a light headache.
I need to be patient and soon I will be able to pick up the scheme.

I checked the registration of the peace marathon and found out I still can be a winner.
At the moment I'm the only one who has registered for the full marathon.
The chance to win a marathon???

Will keep you informed.

Wouter

In the Dutch Mountains

2008-01-29T22:56:00.000+01:00

This weekend I've been in the Dutch Mountains.
Like every Saturday, I went with my training group to the 'mountain of Lochem', a hill nearby which is about 70 m high. On it's forested slopes we run for about an hour. It is a beautiful area and I love to go there.
On top of the hill is a tall tower, Belvedère. It was built in 1893.

Sunday I had a quiet morning, but in the afternoon I went out for a long run. This time it was the 'mountain of Neede', a hill with the astonishing height of
35 meters. It's about 8 km from here, a lovely place to run to.
Last century, clay and sand winning was a major industry here, leaving big pits. Those pits are great for my training.
Several historical relics from that time are still there. So it's also an interesting area to run through. All in all I've been away for about two and half hours enjoying the running and the landscape.

The sponsoring is going well.
I like to thank everybody who has contributed so far for doing so.

I'll keep on running. Greetings,
Wouter

Injections and Visa

2008-01-27T13:28:00.000+01:00

"When you go to Africa it is a lot of trouble".
That is what many people think. But for us, it is easy!
Last year we went to Ethiopia, so we don't need new shots, we are still (even for years to come) protected against Yellow Fever, DTP and Hepatitis. That is easy!
Then there is the issue of visa. We filled in the forms, got our best mugshots, and gave them to my parents last friday.
And now ... ta..ta... we have our visa!
How much easier do you want it?
Last time we visited Rwanda (27 feb. - 4 march 1996) we went to the border of Uganda and Rwanda, walked in with our forms, talked to the gard and got a entree-stamp (the blue one).
So that was pretty easy too.

Now we hope that running the marathon will be as easy.....
But we must stay realistic: Don't stop training Wouter!

The first training week

2008-01-25T21:13:00.000+01:00

This week I started with my schedule.
Trained at a lower level because I still had stiff legs from a Survival run a couple of weeks ago.
During the week I always run after dinner and now it's wintertime and dark. But the weather was great. Running under a clear moon along small country roads and with its meadows and farms. Even in the dark with a clear moon it's beautiful around here.
Yesterday, after dinner I first went to djembee class, very relaxing and great to hear the music coming out of 10 djembees. Back home I put on my running gear and went out.
It went very well. So the beginning is good.

Tomorrow a training is planned in the area what we call the "mount" Lochem. It is a hill with the 'enormous' height of 70 meters (200ft).

In between I have contact with a belgium runner, Roel Truyers, who also will run the Kigali peace marathon. He ran the previous three marathons in Kigali too.
He has a blog which has nice photos. Check out his blog. His experiences are great but also a bit scary. Lots of hills, the heat, the Rwandese testine animals. All threats to make it a heavy task to even finish the marathon let alone within 4 hours.

But I go for it. I am on the road to Kigali and I hope you will keep me company untill may, by checking out this blog regularly and even better by signing the sponsor certificate.

All the best,

Wouter

No way back

2008-01-22T20:41:00.000+01:00

There is no way back now. After having said that I would like to run the Kigali peace marathon, my wife registered me and made a weblog.
So no way back.

Not that I mind. It's stimulating, certainly because the sponsoring for a revalidation centre for handicapped children is linked to my achievements. I'm looking forward to it. From now on training will be more intensive.

I will follow a schedule of my own and I also train alone most of the time. This week 2 times an interval training, 2 runs of around 10 km and a longer run of around 2 hours (in the weekend) are scheduled. I will regularly update this blog with my progress.

I hope to get many reactions.
It will be good fun to communicate with all those who are interested in a dutch runner going to Rwanda. It would be great when you will help the people of Rwanda by sponsoring me.

Wouter

How you can help.

2008-01-22T15:21:00.000+01:00

On 11 may 2008 the 4th International Peace Marathon of Kigali will be held. Wouter wil run the 42,195 km on a hilly circuit at 1680 meter above sealevel. ** Don't forget we are from The Netherlands ! **
The time-limit is set on 6 hours, but Wouter will try to finish within 4 hours. He needs a lot of support to achieve this, so help him.

You can sponsor Wouter in different ways.
1. You can promise to donate money if he can finish the run.
2. You can donate a specified amount of money for every km that he runs (or walks) in this race.
3. You can give a bonus if Wouter can reach the finish within 4 hours.
4. When you like to sponsor in an other way, you're welcome to do so.

There is a special form to fill in, so we can keep up with all of the sponsors. You can click here for the Sponsor Certificate.

The project

2008-01-22T14:36:00.000+01:00

Rwanda, as a developing country, has many, many good projects that can use our moral and financial support. So there is a lot of choice when you are looking for a "Good Cause". We have chosen for a project that has to do with children. We have 4 children of our own, and children are the future. So it is close to the heart.

The project is a rehabilitation centre for handicapped children, called Wikwiheba Mwana. The name means "Don't lose hope child".

About half of the children there suffers from epilepsy.
In the western countries this is viewed as a medical problem, but in Rwanda many people still think it has something to do with the power of the devil. People don't like to be close to people who have epilepsy, because they are afraid to "catch the disease" themselves.

The centre, Wikwiheba Mwana, is in an area north of Kigali and has a regional function. There are children who are missing one or more limbs, children who are (nearly) blind, mute or deaf, children who are paralysed or have deformaties.A lot of these children can not walk, stand or sit by themselves.

These children need help. They need money to pay for accomodation, physiotherapy, teachers and "mothers" (women who help the children).
And they need "common things" like tables and chairs, beds and mattresses, soap en detergent, towels, plates, cutlery, and so on.

Physiotherapy is nessecary for these children to help them use their body as well as they can. But at the moment there is just a floor-mat on the ground and a little bit of camphor salve.

You can see why we want to help.

There is a need for an englisch Blog

2008-01-22T14:00:00.000+01:00

Wouter and I (Mian) had made a dutch weblog because we had a great idea.

Wouter wants to run the Kigali Peace Marathon in May 2008. And by doing this he wanted to raise money for a good cause in Rwanda.
So, to inform our sponsors we set up a weblog. But .....
We have international attention, so we needed to build a Englisch version.

So HERE IT IS !

We hope you will enjoy our messages and we hope you will also donate some money.