No record time for Pieterpad, but €10,000 for the Dutch Heart Foundation
Completing the 500-kilometre Pieterpad running trail within 78 hours. It proved impossible this year for UvA students Martijn Healy (23) and Pieter Westendorp (23). However, the students did manage to raise 10,000 euros for the Dutch Heart Foundation. “That’s beyond our expectations.”
Most people walk the Pieterpad, a long-distance walking trail that runs from Pieterburen on the mudflats in Groningen to the Pietersberg near Maastricht, in around 26 days. UvA students Martijn Healy and Pieter Westendorp wanted to set a new record on the trail by completing it in under 78 hours. With a support car providing them with food, drink and a place to sleep, they set off from Pieterburen on Thursday 7 August.
A year ago, this would have been unthinkable for economics student Martijn. At the age of 21, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure during a sports test, which meant he had to stay at home for a year with heart problems. Exercise was out of the question. Martijn: “It was only then that I discovered how important it is to exercise, not only for your physical but also for your mental well-being.” For the past year, he has been able to do everything again with medication, and he wants to use the record attempt on the Pieterpad to raise awareness for the Hartstichting (Heart Foundation). His friend Pieter was immediately on board.
Eat what you feel like
The students didn’t take any chances. In the run-up to the record attempt, they exercised for about 10 to 15 hours a week to build up strength and endurance and read about how best to prepare for such extreme physical exertion.
Pieterpad record holder Addie van der Vleuten also gave the students tips. Pieter: “In the end, it comes down to eating enough, Addie told us. He said very simply: just eat what you can and what you feel like eating. At one point, he really fancied a lasagne, so that’s what was made for him.”
In the end, the students drew up two schedules: one of 67 hours and one of 78 hours, in which they included four hours of sleep per night. However, the students said beforehand that these schedules were not the ultimate goal. Martijn: “The most important thing is that we do it together, unless one of us suffers an injury that could cause permanent damage. Pieter: “We started this together and we’re going to arrive in Maastricht together.”
Continuing alone
But things turned out differently. Less than twenty kilometres from Pieterburen, Pieter felt unwell and threw up as soon as he tried to eat or drink anything. After another fifty kilometres, he threw in the towel. “I had been on the road for four or five hours without being able to keep anything down, which was irresponsible. I still don’t know what it was because it was over the next day.”
And so Martijn had to continue alone on the first day. “I tried to stick to the schedule, but running through the woods alone at night wasn’t very pleasant because you couldn’t see anything. We may have underestimated that a bit. So we slept longer than planned. During the day, I tried to make up for lost time, but it soon became clear that wasn’t going to work.”
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Pieter felt better after the first day and ran another 250 to 300 kilometres with Martijn. Pieter: “That went well, but because I couldn’t finish the whole run anyway, it was easier to sit in the support car from time to time.” Besides Pieter, there were other runners who ran parts of the route with Martijn and someone who cycled with him. Martijn: “Every time I started to struggle, someone helped me through it.”
The hardest part was the steep hills just after Groesbeek. Martijn: “My legs were so tired, I thought if this is going to take another 200 kilometres, I’m not going to make it. So I ate something and slept for an hour. After that, I felt better and said to myself: I’m almost there now. That worked.”
In the end, Martijn completed the Pieterpad in a total time of five days and five hours (125 hours). That meant he fell well short of the record attempt. Martijn: “We set out with a big goal, and we didn’t achieve it. But ultimately, we did this to raise money for the Hartstichting, and that went better than expected. We didn’t think we would reach 10,000 euros, but we did.”
The record on the Pieterpad is held by Addie van der Vleuten. He finished the trail in 78 hours and 10 minutes in 2021. Attempts to break the record on the Pieterpad are regularly made. American Tilburg resident Johnny Lloyd wanted to set a new record at the end of June but fell after 80 kilometres on a rain-soaked footpath. The previous record was held by Teun Geurts, who walked the trail in 84 hours in the self-supporting category, meaning without any assistance. He had to carry everything he needed in his rucksack or buy it along the way in a supermarket.
Did they overestimate themselves? Physically speaking, no, say the students. Martijn: “We did a lot of research beforehand about what it could do to you and were prepared for the worst. So in that respect, it wasn’t too bad. We had a lot of blisters and sore muscles, but no injuries. Only the nights in the dark were more difficult than expected.”
When asked if they would do it again, there is a moment of silence. Pieter: “I think so, in a month’s time.” Martijn is not sure yet. “I’m going to focus on track competitions for now, and when I’m a bit older, I’ll do longer distances again.”
So the current record on the Pieterpad will remain unbroken for the time being. Do the students feel differently about it now? After a pause, Pieter says: “I really think it’s achievable.” Martijn: “Yes, I think so too. Our total walking time was 62 hours, so if we sleep more efficiently, I really think it’s possible. But not in the next few years. So all credit to Addie (the record holder, ed.) for doing it so quickly.”
