{"id":6139,"date":"2019-06-27T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=6139"},"modified":"2019-06-26T13:09:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T13:09:41","slug":"maarten-van-der-weijden-swam-3-days-straight-for-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/maarten-van-der-weijden-swam-3-days-straight-for-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Maarten van der Weijden Swam 3 Days Straight For Cancer Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Friday, June 21, 2019, 5:30 pm. Maarten van der Weijden jumps into water in Leeuwarden. With a steady <em>borstcrawl\u00a0<\/em>(front crawl), he makes it in the evening to Sneek, the first stop of the eleven cities he is going to get to. Wait, eleven cities? What was this guy up to? Let&#8217;s find out.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Swimming the <em>Elfstedentocht<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zo verliep de elfstedenzwemtocht van Maarten van der Weijden | NU.nl\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ml6JTUa6zgY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Dutch cherish their beloved\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-dutch-alternative-for-the-elfstedentocht\/\"><em>Elfstedentocht<\/em><\/a>. It is an historic <em>schaatstocht <\/em>(ice skating tour) that started in 1909. Running almost 200 kilometers (124 miles) over <em>sloten\u00a0<\/em>(creeks),\u00a0<em>rivieren\u00a0<\/em>(rivers),\u00a0<em>meren\u00a0<\/em>(lakes) and <em>kanalen\u00a0<\/em>(channels) through <em>elf\u00a0<\/em>(eleven)\u00a0<em>steden\u00a0<\/em>(cities) in the province of <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-dutch-and-ice-skating\/\">Friesland<\/a>, it has turned into a real pride for the\u00a0<em>Friezen<\/em>\u00a0(Frisians). However, the\u00a0<em>Elfstedentocht\u00a0<\/em>is difficult to organise. The ice needs to be thick enough along the entire route. And because there are hundreds of participants, it needs to be quite thick &#8211; at least 15 centimeters (6 inches)!<\/p>\n<p>At each of the <em>elf steden<\/em>, the <em>schaatsers <\/em>(ice skaters) receive a <em>stempel\u00a0<\/em>(stamp) as evidence that they skated past this <em>stad\u00a0<\/em>(city).<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, temperatures have risen in recent decades, and that required thickness has not been reached since 1997. But every winter, when freezing temperatures are forecast, the Dutch cross their fingers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6141\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nl.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elfstedentocht#\/media\/Bestand:Elfstedentocht-Plaatsnamen.png\" aria-label=\"Zwemelfstedentocht Tocht Route Friesland Kaart Map\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6141\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6141\"  alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/zwemelfstedentocht-tocht-route-friesland-kaart-map.png\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-6141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The route along the <em>elf steden<\/em> followed by Maarten van der Weijden (Image by Torsade De Pointes at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Back to Maarten van der Weijden. He is&#8230; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">sw<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">imming<\/span> this? Finishing these 200 kilometers in other ways than <em>schaatsen\u00a0<\/em>is nothing new &#8211; check the spinoffs below for more on that. But the way he got through this <em>Elfstedenzwemtocht <\/em>(Eleven Cities Swimming Tour) is rather <em>indrukwekkend <\/em>(impressive). He finished on Monday, shortly after 7:30 pm. Swimming 70 hours with only a few short breaks and nights of 3 hours of sleep is an achievement that has not been done like this before. The former Olympic swimmer is doing pioneer&#8217;s work here.<\/p>\n<h2><em><strong>Voor 11 Goede Doelen<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Van der Weijden swam this insane tour to collect money for\u00a0<em>kankeronderzoek\u00a0<\/em>(cancer research). He had leukemia himself when he was a young adult, after already having been a successful swimmer. He then made it his mission to prove that even after that, he could still be a <em>topsporter\u00a0<\/em>(top sportsman). In 2008, Maarten proved this by winning the gold medal at the <em>Olympische Spelen<\/em> in Peking for the 10k open water.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Maarten van der Weijden gaat geen derde Elfstedentocht zwemmen.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n1GB7Qao57Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, this did not stop his ambition to fight\u00a0<em>kanker\u00a0<\/em>(cancer). And so in 2018, he tried the first\u00a0<em>Elfstedenzwemtocht<\/em>. However, the attempt failed after about 165 kilometers, because he did not get enough rest. He now rested more, and a bit longer every night. He felt much better this year. It was a more\u00a0<em>plezierige ervaring\u00a0<\/em>(enjoyable experience) than last year, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Is he going to do it again? &#8220;<em>Ik denk dat dit het wel was&#8221; <\/em>(I think that this was it), he says in the interview above. However, it looks like <a href=\"http:\/\/elfstedenzwemtocht.nl\/\">somebody else is going to attempt it next year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But last year and this year, the<em>\u00a0<\/em>Maarten van de Weijden Foundation collected money for 11 projects to fight <em>kanker<\/em>. This goes into the millions &#8211; last year it was 5 million euros. That amount may be surpassed this year!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you want to contribute? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.11stedenzwemtocht.nl\/donation\/kom-in-actie\/?ira-reference.id=d5190f1c-f79e-4656-8442-e906f11baec2\">You can still donate now at this link!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Other spinoffs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_6142\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nl.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fietselfstedentocht#\/media\/Bestand:Fietselfstedentocht1912.jpg\" aria-label=\"Fietselfstedentocht 1912\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6142\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6142\"  alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"357\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912.jpg 500w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912-350x250.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-6142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The first <em>Fietselfstedentocht<\/em> in 1912 (Image by Geheugen van Nederland at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The idea to do the\u00a0<em>Elfstedentocht\u00a0<\/em>with a different means of transportation than a pair of\u00a0<em>schaatsen\u00a0<\/em>(skates) is nothing new. Since 1946, the\u00a0<em>Elfstedenwandeltocht\u00a0<\/em>(Eleven Cities Hiking Tour) has been organised annually. Even before that, since 1912,\u00a0<em>fietsers\u00a0<\/em>(cyclists) have picked up their bikes to ride the 200km in the\u00a0<em>Fietselfstedentocht\u00a0<\/em>(Cycling Eleven Cities Tour). In the 1980s, the <em>El<\/em><em>fstedenroeimarathon\u00a0<\/em>(Eleven Cities Rowing Marathon) and the <em>Stepelfstedentocht\u00a0<\/em>(Scooter Eleven Cities Tour) were added. Since 2009, stand-up paddlers, or short SUP, hold the S<em>upelfstedentocht\u00a0<\/em>(SUP Eleven Cities Tour).<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Gefeliciteerd\u00a0<\/em><em>met deze geweldige prestatie!\u00a0<\/em>(Congratulations to this amazing achievement!)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think of the\u00a0<em>Elfstedentocht<\/em>? Have you, or would you like to participate in it, or in one of its spinoffs? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912-350x250.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912-350x250.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Fietselfstedentocht-1912.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Friday, June 21, 2019, 5:30 pm. Maarten van der Weijden jumps into water in Leeuwarden. With a steady borstcrawl\u00a0(front crawl), he makes it in the evening to Sneek, the first stop of the eleven cities he is going to get to. Wait, eleven cities? What was this guy up to? Let&#8217;s find out. Swimming the&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/maarten-van-der-weijden-swam-3-days-straight-for-cancer-research\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":6142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,3590,27711,27714],"tags":[117762,179,147,2556],"class_list":["post-6139","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-language","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","category-news-2","tag-elfstedentocht","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-swimming"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6139"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6143,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6139\/revisions\/6143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}