‘’I joined the team in 2020 as one of the 8 runners, and did not know what to expect really…
As a non Dutch, I knew very little about the Roparun and its purpose itself: ‘’ adding life to days, not days to life’’, the Roparun association raises money every year for projects to alleviate the suffering of patients with cancer, either through infrastructures or experiences….
In 2021 alone, the association raise more than 2 million EUR, and 90 million since its first edition!
This resonated very strongly to me as a few of my closest relatives suffered from cancer, some beating up the sickness (like my mother… twice), some others unfortunately not.
Being fond of sports myself, the challenge itself also truly motivated me: a relay running race between ROtterdam and PAris (hence the name), for 520kms (65km per runner) over 3 days and 2 nights for a great cause… I was in!
With Covid, the 2020 edition did not happen and I could join the 2021 edition with a modified route (only in the Netherlands, no crossing of French or Belgian villages this time, that will be for 2022!). An amazing experience worth the wait! The run itself is quite unique: nothing more special than running in the darkness and freshness of the middle of the night trying to catch up on the distant light of the participant(s) that you can sometimes see in the horizon, the constant chat with your fellow team cyclists who are with you the full journey, the warmth and the encouragements of the many spectators you meet on the way, the unique locations you can enjoy (a powernap in a firestation? Tick!), the sports challenge that makes you push your physical and mental boundaries despite the accumulated fatigue and the lack of sleep…
But more importantly it is a true team achievement: we were 23 in the team in 2021, from cyclists, base camp, bus drivers, physios or runners and spending 72h with these guys was a blast! We often say in the company that we want to do well by doing good?
Well, join us in 2022 and you’’ll do well by doing good… and having fun!
