Eight courses of five kilometers long on the runway. Then another two kilometers to and from the hangar with start and end. Together, this constitutes the marathon that will take place on Sunday morning at Twente Airport near his line. About eighty athletes in the beginning and all of them are of a high standard. At least one of them “appears for the first time” at the king’s distance, Roy Hornwig. “Walking into an airport, how cool is that? On the runway, with asphalt that is very narrow and wide.”

It’s a great story, because the Hoornweg runner usually deals with completely different things. As fast as he can in a 5000 meters or half marathon and speed to others in the early stages of trying to set a world record, that’s what he usually does. But there was a longing for 42 kilometers and 195 meters. Supersonic training from a distance in December opened unexpected doors, and it turns out he has unexpected talents for that.

Hoornweg: “I’ve always dreamed of running a marathon. On a Sunday I’m going to really be a marathon runner. I can feel it in my face. When I start talking about it, I’ll totally shine. It’s kind of a dream.” And the fact; The 31-year-old Hoornweg shines from ear to ear. So it’s not just a marathon: the Olympic ticket is at stake.

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Usually participating in the Olympic Games in Sapporo in July according to Papendrecht’s Olympic idea: participating is more important than winning. But that doesn’t make any expectation any less. Hoornweg: “The games are the highest from the top. Being there. The Olympic Village. That’s just magic.” Bonus: Olympic, this is a real person. This background also usually opens many doors for working in a post-sport career.

De Papendrecht has had a successful career in running, having focused mainly in recent years on setting the pace for the best players in the world. With success and often in the second, he guides the best through the early stages of their race. This means staying out of the wind, making sure you don’t run too slowly, but definitely not too fast, and accept and pass your water bottles. He was praised for this work. But it wasn’t all the gold that shone for the athlete.

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Completely broken

Five years ago, the Hoornweg made a failed attempt to reach 5,000 meters at the Games in Rio. An error has occurred due to bad luck. “That was a low point. Then I raised € 12,000 with Roy2Rio, which is crowdfunding. I trained for a hundred days in Australia and the US. I was married and gone for a long time. I left home and focused only on sports. I did everything I could. A few days ago from End of the project, I was unexpectedly pulled into the decisive race at Stanford University in the US. I had nowhere to go. It was over. It was sad. “

This sadness was profound and only appeared after one year. Give a presentation on Roy2Rio to its sponsors and donors. Slideshow with pictures and stories. While he was talking there, he broke down. Everything came out. My eyes cry. The audience responded with understanding. “Obviously it had to explode. And it happened that night. It took two years before I could really let go of it.”

In an attempt to “avenge” his failed mission, he practically trained himself to death and then sat wounded on the sidelines for months. He got psychic help, gathered a strong team around him and got up. He started running again and kept winning again. And it turned out to be a famous “rabbit”. Then came the blazing drill in December that brought him a match ticket in his chant.

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During this special marathon, he has to become the fifth Dutch to run a marathon at a blistering pace of less than two hours and ten minutes. Only that time gives a serious chance to get a starting ticket in Japan. What gives hope is that the Hoornweg has often dominated a handful of Dutch competitors in previous competitions at other distances. During the spontaneous marathon he felt it could have been a little faster in 2 hours and 18 minutes.

“It’s my first Sunday appearance. You don’t really know anything better. I feel healthy jitter, but that doesn’t worry me. It’s different than it was five years ago, when it should have been, people put money into the plan. But this is. It’s. A thing of the past. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s not the preparation, it went perfectly. It’s a great adventure. A gift. “