Already the last stage of my four day running holiday for the Boucle du diabète. And maybe the most beautiful route of the four days and in good running weather. A dessert of 35 km.
Previous internship: eating from Herkenbosch to Roermond
I felt like an otter. Not a sweating one, but the graceful beast flowing through the water. Contrary to what many might have expected, on this last day the body felt so full of life that I regretted that the route was not longer. I had the same problem a year before with the Krijtland path. Not that I was going to run very fast on this last day: there was little need to go slowly, but it was simply too beautiful to go fast.
River of blossoms
After a somewhat boring park right after the train station, I quickly left Venlo via a narrow path along the river Meuse. This day everything looked completely different than yesterday: gone was the bright sun, this time there was a kind of fog over the river and the flood plains. For the photos this was a bit of a pity, the grey background didn't really make the flowering trees of the Océ-Weerd stand out. But in spite of that they were so beautiful that I had no choice but to stand still, breath the air and take pictures. The taking pictures was a bit of a challenge, because I really wanted to take a picture of some blue flowers for the Boucle du diabète-photos, only those flowers weren't all that tall to include both me and them.
The nature reserve is part of the Meuse corridor, a relatively new area that actually came into existence due to clay excavations for drainage purposes after the area was flooded several times in the 1990s. Maybe the name will ring a bell with some people: Océ-Weerd is indeed named after the copier giant Océ (now part of Canon), whose offices are in this area.
Unfortunately, I could not enjoy it very long, because a little later I was sent into the woods via a chapel. It was also green and beautiful, but because of the high grass it was quite wet. For a change, sweating a lot would be out of the question this day.
Hidden marks
The markings on the Krijtland path were in tip-top order last year. Nicely marked and updated in time. On the Maas-Niederrheinpad it was also generally in good order, but it was clear that the trail was less well maintained these days. On the second day the paths were sometimes impossible to find and the markings were missing. On the third day some paths were missing too, and by coincidence I spotted a tree that had been cut down and still had the trail markings on it. On the last stage a part of the trail turned out to be completely overgrown, even the signpost had disappeared in the bushes.
In itself, none of that is a big deal. I usually navigate on gpx, which is often just a bit better updated, and using the maps on my watch I can easily plan around closed sections. But since it's also a question that comes up regularly in hiking groups, I wanted to mention it anyway. In any case, always make sure you can navigate yourself if you need to, whether you use a paper map, watch or phone to do so, be prepared.
Dress up
For a long time I ran on roads at the edge of forest and meadows. Around Arcen the terrain slowly becomes more spectacular: heathland, sand dunes and small hills.
For a long time I doubted which route I would take on this last day. Do I make a complete round trip and just walk from Swalmen to Venlo? Should I walk from Swalmen to Arcen? The first I thought was too short, the second seemed to be too long, because I also wanted to visit the sauna. The private sauna was the big plus of the house and I was looking forward to it all week. However, because you lose a lot of moisture in a sauna, I didn't want to use it until after the last run to avoid any moisture loss.
In Arcen I have had some great times. A number of times I have been there on the Elf Fantasy Fair, often in Facepaint and with costume. Always with a few nights in Arcen itself, but without the possibility to run much when I am there. I wanted to make up for that now. So this is why I chose the route Venlo – Arcen with an extra loop through a beautiful nature reserve to get enough kilometers in it as final stage.
By the way, I also went ‘dressing up’ this day. To keep with the blue theme of the Boucle and to celebrate the finish, I had put on my ‘Changing Diabetes’ t-shirt from Team Novo Nordisk. This was a bit of a risk, as I had never worn this shirt on a long run. Fortunately, this was also the last day, because the risk didn't turn out well: under the slippery shirt, I got a number of chafing spots from my race vest. No doubt helped by the fact that I was not so tightly covered in sweat and sun cream this day. To be completely honest: at some point I started to move my arms a little differently to avoid the chafing pain.
Colorful Arcen
Once at the castle I regretted not having bought tickets for the castle gardens. Around the gatehouse many rhododendrons were already in bloom. And with this weather the roses would undoubtedly be beautiful too. But you had to buy the tickets online anyway, so I decided to just follow the route.
The step from pink rhododendron to pink bird was not a big one. Out of the corner of my eye I saw an almost unnatural pink dot near one of the bird ponds. And that shape is recognizable to anyone who has ever drunk a cocktail: a flamingo! Thanks to the miniature lens of my new phone I could even photograph it as evidence, because who would believe that I saw a flamingo in the 'don't stick your neck out' Netherlands? Even if they were spotted not so long ago in the Groenzoom, that chance is simply very small. This became clear when I met a hiker and we talked about our experience for about fifteen minutes.
King's tomb
Soon I had arrived at the last extra loop of my trip. That this part – De Hamert – is very beautiful is apparently no big secret. At this point I meet perhaps the most hikers I have seen on route in a very short time. Yet an older couple thought itself unobserved: the lady almost climbed into the body of the grey gentleman. Actually I had to laugh about it and it made me happy. Until I came too close and they continued their way as corona couple with 1.5 m in between. If you are in love, age does not matter, follow your heart I would say.
What was so special about this area? Well first of all the many red and golden yellow ‘grass’, the hills and the silver lakes. It gives the area a special atmosphere. And besides that, there is also a rich history here. A beautiful round hill, which stands out because of the poles around it, turns out to be just one of the many man-made burial mounds. These date from about 600 BC, from the Hallstatt period. It's a miracle that this princely tomb still exists today. Only in the last century it has been through a lot. At the beginning of the 20th century it was found during the reclamation of the heathland; in the Second World War a machine gun nest was built on it and then the roots of birch trees growing on it threatened to destroy the mound.
Unfortunately, the tomb was also the last point of the journey for me. Fortunately, there was no need to lay me to rest and give up the fight, as I could have easily walked on for hours more. In that respect, these few days really gave me a boost in terms of confidence in physical health, a confidence that was a bit damaged by the cramps earlier; it brought me a lot of mental peace.
Running for yourself
Chafe marks
Once I got back to bed and breakfast The Eppenbeek In Swalmen, I could finally fulfil a promise to myself: the sauna was waiting. I was happy that I had made the journey and that all cramps had disappeared, but also sad that I had to say goodbye to the beautiful landscape and whole days of playing outside.
The only negative body effects were the chafe marks and three small blisters I had been suffering from since day two. Maybe you don't remember, but in the first part of this story I already mentioned a few small calluses that the doctor noticed. Against those and underneath them the blisters formed. As a diabetic, I of course have sterile needles at my disposal so I can easily empty them, after which a day later I was no longer bothered by them. But believe me: prevention is better than cure, especially because of the risk of infections through blisters. So take good care of your feet and keep the skin supple, this will also prevent blisters.
Now at the end, I could also make up the balance for the Boucle du diabète: I had walked 139,46 km in the four days that I had set aside for it. Secretly I had hoped for something more, but because of the cramps after the vaccination, I was more careful and didn't use all 6 days, but only the 4 in Limburg. Eventually it yielded me a 5th place among the 6-day runners. That may be a bit disappointing considering the number of kilometres, but there are more diabetic ultrarunners than you think.
About the route: this day's route started in Venlo and at the end there was a short extra loop through De Hamert; at Wandelnet this is stage 1 and 2 (map 1 to 7) of the Maas-Niederrheinpad.
Because of the length of the story, I decided to break it up into five parts:
English (UK) 
Nederlands
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