Everyday Runners

EDR #63 /Athlete Profile/ The Unstoppable Force That Is Nesrine Leene - Double National Record Holder and 40 Time Marathoner

It took me a while to get to interview Nesrine Leene, but finally, through a friend of a friend of a friend I got in touch with her. And yes, like my references mentioned, she is quite unstoppable. Nesrine, who was a top level down-hill skier in her youth, switched to long-distance running upon settling down in the absolutely flat Low Lands. So, Nesrine now has two national records to her name - the marathon and the half-marathon, for Lebanon. Her charm and sense of fun in all that she does of course though can't be measured. 
As usual: thanks to my supporters: Levi, Joao, Gianluca and Bob. 
Thank you to the legendary Jeroen Rondeel for the beautiful music that accompanies this podcast. 
tot de volgende -- 
doi doi - 
<3<3<3
 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee

EDR #62 /Leiden Legend/ Maikel Stolwijk - Everything is True

Yo! Welcome to Episode #62. This episode features a conversation with Maikel Stolwijk, a two time marathon winner and someone who has run under 2:30 four times. He is friends with half of the city of Leiden. 
Maikel came over to dinner one evening and then afterwards, we had a chat about how he started to take his running seriously in his mid-30s, after previously being pretty keen on his footy (and drinking). 
Maikel is dearly beloved so this podcast series would be lacking were it not to feature him. I've known Maikel for the length of my running journey - and yes, I've beaten him once: it was by 1 second in the Stevensloop (Nijmegen) in 2023 (I think). 
I'd love to see Maikel be a bit more daring in the races he does - i.e. come on mate, do a few more 5km and 10km races :) But right now, he continues to smash the marathon. 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee

EDR #61 /Running Studies/ Stella Radford: on Running in Colombia & Women Urban Runners in Melbourne

Yo! Stella Radford is a steeple chase and 5000m athlete who is now getting interested in longer format races (10km and 15km). Stella is currently based in Manizales, Colombia, so we talk about what it is like to train at altitude and in hilly terrain. But I first got in touch with her because of her article, The Spatial Geographies of Women Urban Runners (2024) which looks at the spaces women use for running in Melbourne. So, this conversation is in three parts: Stella as athlete; Stella as a runner in Manizales, and Stella as urban planning researcher. 
Enjoy and until next time: doi doi :) 
 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee
 
 

EDR #60 /Thursday Bonus/ Willemieke Verweij of Tribes Studio

Willemieke Verweij is the founder of Tribes Studio which has six locations in the Leiden vicinity. Willemieke is a dancer, teacher, triathlete and Hyrox aficianado. 
Willemieke shares her thoughts about her experience as a dancer, teacher and practitioner of all sorts of kinds of movements - some which are regarded as sport, others as dance. 
Tribes has recently opened a running course and we discuss the reasons for it and what the course offers. 
 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee

EDR #59 /This Running Life/ Marit Hiemstra and Agata Cienciala

Yo, hello! This is a story of a friendship formed through co-running. Agata is a visually impaired runner who lives in Nottingham. Marit is an anthropologist who is doing her PhD at Nottingham Trent University. 
In this episode Agata and Marit share their stories of running together and how 'blind running' is a co-created practice. We discuss friendship and trust and how guide runners learn the process of running with someone with a visual impairment. 
As the host of this podcast, every episode is important for me. But, this episode reiterated again to me the reasons why I started this podcast. I found the stories shared by Agata and Marit very moving. And, I'm honored by their trust in me in making (part) of their story available. 
***
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee
Blind Running (NL)

EDR #58 /Enschede Marathon Review/ Brent Pieterse - 2:24 and 7th Overall

Brent Pieterse is a self-trained athlete based in the bustling metropolis of Nieuwkoop (population 29,000). To his own admission, he hadn't yet done his marathon justice. But this time, in Enschede ('the Other Marathon of 13th April') he smashed it. He ran all of his kilometres between 3:20 and 3:29, except for one which crept over to the 3:30 mark. His race was perfectly paced, recording a 10second positive split. And, typical of Brent, he did it virtually all alone. His finishing time was 2:24:46. 
If you have done a race in the province of South Holland or perhaps in Utrecht, you are likely to have come across Brent in his famous blue Keus t-shirt. He has a thing for small, local races and although he puts little currency in winning races, he certainly does a lot of winning. He says he's happy running alone and along quiet roads and polder paths. 
In short, he's a gun and he's continually improving. Moreover, he is not a glory hunter and he's incredibly modest about his performances - recognising himself that he has made rather unexpectedly quick progress. This podcast has a strict policy against Humble Bragging and BP is no humble bragger. 
So, I want to thank Brent for being on the show and sharing his post-race thoughts. 
He'll be back racing very soon. 
***
Links: 
 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee

EDR #57 /On the Rise/ Igor Ouwerkerk: 8:08 for the 3000m & 3:52 for the 1500m

Yo! Igor Ouwerkerk is one of the Young Guns of Leiden Atletiek. Like the title of this show indicates, he has smashed out some pretty fancy times in his very short career. Igor has only committed to running over the past two years after previously being pretty serious about his cycling, too. 
Igor trains with Han Kulker of Leiden Atletiek and as long as a few persistent injuries don't get in his way, what he can achieve is as yet unknown. He'll be heading off to the States soon on an athletics scholarship. So, look out. 
Igor is a competitive beast and always brings his game face to race day - hence the awesome photo accompanying the episode. He's also super diligent in his loopscholing (running technique) drills and he performs them with the exactitude and agility of a ballet dancer. 
So yeah, I hope you enjoy this conversation and my opening chitter chatter about my Rotterdam Marathon preparation. 
Doi doi doi doi 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me Coffee

EDR #56 /This Running Life/ Pieter-Christaan van Oranje en Daan Hoek

This episode features an interview with Pieter-Christiaan van Oranje and Daan Hoek, both of Leiden Atletiek. The two are long-time running buddies, who got to know each other when PC joined Leiden Atletiek to train under Bram Wassenaar. This is a very lightly edited episode as I wanted to let the episode be a clear representation of how the conversation unfolded. The three of us share our thoughts on how running has changed over the years, PC tells us of his running story and his experiences with various running coaches. He also mentions what might actually go wrong while changing shoes during a marathon. Daan Hoek, a high level steeple chaser back in the good old days, has been a consistent training partner with PC in his marathon builds. Daan also tells us what the Rotterdam Marathon was like way back in the 1980s. So yeah, I had a very enjoyable time talking with PC and Daan and, I think this conversation turned out well. I hope you enjoy it. 
Thank you to Bob, Gianluca and Joao for supporting this podcast via Buy Me a Coffee. Their support helps to cover some of the costs required to keep this podcast afloat. 
Thank you to Jeroen Rondeel for the music - specifically composed - for this podcast. Jeroen is the founder of the band, Cymbaline. 
Until next time, doi doi! 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me a Coffee
 

EDR #55 /On the Rise/ Akshaay Swaminathan

Askhaay Swaminathan is a young athlete on the rise and is based at Leiden Atletiek. He's only be running for two years and is still working out his favourite distances: but he's already got a time of 2:01 for the 800m and has performed well in many youth competitions. 
In this conversation we talk about how he started running and how he manages his time between his schoolwork and training. We also talk cooking, as it turns out, it is also one of Askhaay's hobbies. 
If you would like to support the show, please click on this link. All supporters will be acknowledged in future episodes. This kind of support helps me to keep the show free from advertisements and to cover running costs. 
Thanks again to Jeroen Rondeel for the beautiful intro music which he specifically composed for this podcast. 
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast via Buy Me a Coffee
 

EDR #54 /Running Media/: Annemerel de Jongh: running writer and podcaster

Annemerel de Jongh's life story is inextricably linked to her life as a runner. She is the author of three books on running, runs a popular running blog and of course is active on Instagram as an influencer. Annemerel is also the host of a (Dutch language) podcast, Have a Good Run, in which she shares her stories of her preparation for the upcoming Rotterdam Marathon with EDR regular, Anne Luijten. 
I also provide a brief update regarding my Rotterdam-marathon build, which has had a nasty interruption thanks to a poorly timed virus. 
The beautiful music at the beginning of this is episode is by Jeroen Rondeel (of Cymbaline). The music was specifically composed for this podcast: so, a massive thanks to Jeroen. 
If you are interested in supporting this podcast, as a sign of appreciation, you can do so via the Buy Me a Coffee platform. 
***
Links: 
Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press
Strava: Andy Fuller
Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden
Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com
Support the Podcast: Buy Me a Coffee