20 km through Brussels: 40th edition
Last weekend Track42 ran the 20km of Brussels together with, and for the benefit of, the MS League Flanders.
A report by Paul Van Limbergen of the MS League Flanders:
With about twenty enthusiastic sports enthusiasts, we knocked on Track42’s door in the heart of Brussels on Sunday, May 19. Some rushed there by train, others joined by car. Vladimir Vroonen, business manager of Track42 and IT partner that MS-Liga Flanders can call on day and (sometimes) night, had invited us to participate in the fortieth edition of the 20 kilometers across Brussels.
The Beginning
Indeed, during a meeting, the idea had matured of organizing a sponsored run to benefit MS League Flanders. Since it was fairly short notice to make the necessary preparations, we sent out a notice to recruit possible participants to participate in this quite intense run. The condition, of course, was that the health of those interested must permit the effort and, of course, the legs must be able to hold out for twenty kilometers.
Soon the responses flooded in and five people with MS were willing to join about fifteen more sympathizers in this challenge (too bad one person with MS had to cancel at the last minute for health reasons).
Track42 took care of the registrations and ten weeks in advance a training schedule was sent out (for those who felt like and/or needed it), which is a minimum period of time to progress from smooth ten-kilometer jog to the twenty-kilometer mark. To everyone’s surprise, most turned out to be true “diehards” who were true mile-eaters with a lot of passion and enthusiasm.
Sunday: the big day
Nevertheless: on Sunday morning, some nevertheless prepared to embark on the “calvary ride” with a healthy dose of nervousness. We put on our nice jerseys (courtesy of Track42), and sped by subway to Cinquantenaire Park where the departure point was located. We took another quick photo and sought out some fellow joggers who had come directly to the start location.
Around 10:30 our wave was allowed to leave under a bright but not too warm sun, so ideal conditions. The course had an easy start but after barely three kilometers you had to deal with three tunnels on Avenue Louise, which bit into the calves for a while. Walking shoulder to shoulder with 40,000 other joggers was no easy task either, requiring a lot of effort.
Then the trail meandered through the fresh green Ter Kameren forest. From there we made a wide turn to Woluwe Park and there a steep climb awaited us from mile 16. The running pace dropped considerably there, and those who had previously overestimated their physical abilities paid dearly for it. The final kilometers were in a straight line to Cinquantenaire Park, but appearances can be deceiving and it seemed to take ages to cross the finish line under the Arch of Triumph. Everyone had gone pretty deep physically, but was extremely proud of the medal we received. Bottles of water were perhaps even more sought after to regain strength.
After a refreshing shower, we were treated to the most delicious hot dogs in all of Brussels and, with a fresh pint in hand, afterthoughts were exchanged and foot blisters counted. But the atmosphere was all over the place and everyone enjoyed the intense group feeling that we had pushed our limits. There was a unanimous feeling that this initiative was worth repeating for sure (and if possible with even more participants), so that the bill of the MS League Flanders can once again be funded!
Sincere thanks to all who helped bring the initiative to fruition, and of course another big congratulations to the fellow runners!
Paul Vanlimbergen
Photo report
Below is a photo report of the joyous day. Again next year!
