#19 - Niels Esmeijer - "A marathon is about more than just the time"

This week’s episode features an interview with Niels Esmeijer, a high level, amateur athlete. Niels is a coach, triathlete and now, well-known, at least in the Netherlands, for being the pacer of Anne Luijten, whom he paced to Olympic qualification. 

Niels is a 2:25 marathoner and has a  sub-9 hour Iron Man under his belt. He recently became Dutch champion, in his age category, for the Half-Triathlon. But, as he emphasises and like this podcast is trying to emphasise, times are only part of the story. Niels shares stories of his relationship with running and how he goes about his own running and how he came to pacing Anne. 

My interview with Niels was a wide-ranging one as I wanted to cover his experiences of training, coaching and pacing. We even sneak in some chit-chat about Aussie Rules football, as a result of his time studying in Melbourne. 

As the interview was a little longer than usual, I have decided to break it into two parts; the second of which will be released in a few days time.

*Photo by Erik van Leeuwen

Relevant Links: 

Niels Esmeijer: MTFU Personal Coaching

As pacer for Anne Luijten (in Dutch)

 

**

Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press

Strava: Andy Fuller

Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden

Twitter/X: @readingsideways

Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com