Freek: "When I was a child, I did cycling, but from the age of eighteen, sports took a back seat. I started studying, working, my wife Krystle and I built Hotel Ridderkerk, and we had children. I lived irregularly and unhealthily. Then more than six years ago, when the scale showed 120 kilos, I knew: this has to change. The triathlon – a combination of swimming, cycling, and running – has always fascinated me. It is a sport you don't start quickly because how do you approach it? I thought about cycling again, but it became challenging in combination with my work. I often worked until 10:00 p.m. or later, and to get fit by cycling, you have to invest a lot of time. So I just bought running shoes, even though I always hated running. In the evenings, I would go running for half an hour or run between work. At first, I was completely exhausted, but it started getting better. From two times a week, I went to three, four, and even nine times a week. I ate much healthier, which also made losing weight go smoothly. In total, I eventually lost forty kilos."

CHALLENGE

'I felt fitter than ever and signed up for a half marathon. When that went well, I set my sights on the full marathon. Unfortunately, it was canceled due to corona. After the corona period, I ran a marathon anyway. Unfortunately, I got injured, which led me to a physiotherapist. There, I saw photos of triathletes on the wall and told her that sport seemed amazing to me, but I didn't know where to start. Her husband turned out to be a triathlon coach, and she put me in touch with him. After all these years, my coach is still my rock and support in training. If I do something, I go all in, and this sport instantly gave me so much pleasure! I try to choose a few great races every year because I love working towards something.'

ENERGY

"Where I never used to take the time to exercise before, it is now part of my life. I almost always train in the morning. That gives me energy and I start the day with a good feeling. It's a wonderful way to wake up. If you had told me this years ago, I wouldn't have believed it, as I was never a morning person. As soon as the children are at school, I go to the swimming pool, to the gym, or I train outside. In the Ridderkerk area, there are incredibly beautiful cycling paths and running routes. My children are also very sporty. With my son Fabian, I try to work out together besides his hockey and tennis. Then we go swimming or to the gym. By the way, not only our family is active in sports. Sport is also very much alive within our enthusiastic team at Hotel Ridderkerk. You can really see that literally a movement has started."

THRESHOLD LOWER

'The difference between when I was overweight and moved little and now is enormous. I have more energy, more focus in my work and feel better. I wish that for more people. Together with others, I am involved in the online knowledge and information platform triathloninside.com, with a magazine and podcast. This way, we hope to help everyone who also wants to start with triathlon. To lower the barrier that I once saw. I believe that this beautiful sport deserves more attention. I want to give something back because triathlon has brought me so much.'