EDR #45: From living the basketball dream to becoming a proper runner: Britt Zappeij on her concussions and sporting transitions

Hello! Welcome back to Everyday Runners. Britt Zappeij was playing high level basketball - in the Dutch national team and playing college basketball in the States - before a bad run of injuries (concussions and others) brought her basketballing trajectory to an unexpected end. Britt studied hard and got her dentistry degree all the while transitioning to marathon running. She barely did a 5km or 10km race before going straight to that mythical distance. 

This conversation explores the impact of her concussions (and the bad decision of a coach) and how she now perceives herself as being somewhere in between a non-runner and runner. (I think she is well and truly a proper runner.) Britt says, "I'm not the most talented, but I make good decisions." She talks about how running fits in with her busy professional life and what her dreams are for her 2025 year in running. 

Episode Overview

• Concussions: “I could go to the grocery store and that was my entire day.” 
• Talent: I’m not the most talented, but I work hard. I’ve made good decisions along the way.” 
• Britt: “how is the noise at the Rotterdam for you? When your race is not going well, you get agitated by everything.”
• Andy: “you said you are a perfectionist, how does that relate to you doing sport?” Britt: “it’s hard for me to say that I did well.” 
• “Having to quit a marathon that you have trained for, that’s not nice.” 
• “After my first marathon, I felt terrible, but I was so happy. I started crying to my mum and I said to her, I had so much pain but I want to go again.” 
• Why do you run everyday? “Because I like it. I need to put my energy somewhere.”
• On Winning the Katwijk Half-Marathon: “it was special to me because at the finishing line, there was this guy who came to interview me. And he was my first national team coach. So, he said to me, ‘Britt! What are you doing here?”’ 
• "I'm not sure if I'm a real runner.  Some people also think that I don't look like a runner." 
• “I like this photo because it reminds me about the bad time … when I wasn’t feeling well and I had to quit a race.” 
• On Valencia: “at 7km, there was a turn, and because there was so many people doing the race, we came to a stand still. It was that crowded.”
• "My running dream for this year is to run without injury or interruption and just let the times come by themselves." 
• Britt Zappeij on Instagram

***

Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press

Strava: Andy Fuller

Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden

Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com

Subscription: Patreon