Snow dunes in Meijendel

Even in winter the dunes beckon. Especially when they are covered in snow and ice. A round trip of 30 km through a not very Dutch landscape.

Some times it becomes really obvious that you can't always get a blog ready the same day you run the distance. Because once there is a week of winter weather in the Netherlands, the last time was in 2017, you have to be quick. Just one weekend later almost all the snow has disappeared again. Fortunately we still have this report.

This time my idea was pretty simple. As you may have read in the previous blog, due to fatigue and a sore ankle, running wasn't going all that well. This is why I chose to do a short run as to not miss out on the fun in the snow. Because the snow close to home is a bit boring, in the flat polder landscape you almost walk as if you are on a blank sheet of paper, Meijendel seemed an ideal option. There you have the dunes, a bit of heath and pine trees for variation. And if you want to runthere, you can't go without contacting local running hero Remko Vleerlaag. Fortunately he wanted to set out a route for me of about 30 km, with as little hard road as possible (ankle), and with some of the most beautiful parts of Meijendel. Including the part done by the Duinhoppers (the Duinhopper is a long distance route of 220 km starting in Hoek van Holland and ending in Den Helder). Both Remko and I are a bit fascinated by that hopper-route. He will undoubtedly run it in one go some day, for me as a slow runner stages are a more practical method.

Tram troubles

The start of this hike could have been better. To get to the beginning of the route at the Zwarte Pad in Scheveningen, I had to use the metro and tram. When I arrived at the metro station, it became clear that it was going to be a long day. The metro had been split up because of the winter weather. From Slinge to Rotterdam Central Station and from Rotterdam Central Station to Nootdorp… Unfortunately I had to go to The Hague and in Nootdorp there is no connection to another metro or tram. And there was no bus arranged for today either. If the RandstadRail would run from the next station, I could take a chance. But I might get stuck again at The Hague central or in worst case get stuck without being able to come back. As this type of junction usually has to do with a broken switch at Leidschenveen, I had no illusions that the metro would suddenly start running on the return journey.

Eventually I decided to walk from the Nootdorp metro station to the Leidschenveen tram station. Well, kind of running and walking: I wasn't going to take off my down jacket so I had to walk at a steady pace. The route was easy and largely free of ice and snow. However, at 3.5 km, it was a bit longer than expected. Fortunately, a petting zoo and the white world made up for the boring part along the railway and highway. And once at Den Haag Central Station, the tram towards Scheveningen was running.

Black and white

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once I arrived in Scheveningen the difficult trip was quickly forgotten. It was absolutely worth the effort and within three kilometers I made as many stops to take pictures. Meijendel is so beautiful in the monochrome of snow, sand and almost black pine trees.

I have done the Meijendelloop here twice before. It is a nice run, but it is always disappointing how many parts are paved. This day was different. Not that I have a guarantee, there was too much snow to recognize the road surface, but the first kilometers went along small paths between roads, soccer fields and barracks. The ugliest part at the NATO building was even offroad. Nicely done Remko, it was definitely worth the update and reloading of the routes (he adjusted the route later in the evening). Of course I did pass the highlights of the Meijendel run: the water tower, farm and the bell on the Waalsdorpervlakte that is sounded every year during the commemoration of World War II. Ok, the bell was officially only visible from a distance, but I couldn't resist passing by and going up and down a few dunes to get to it.

Virgin paths

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I was glad I was in this area on a Wednesday. Even now there were quite a lot of hikers, but I could also run large stretches on my own. That's different in weekends, Meijendel is quite popular. And where it is sometimes annoying, today because of the sun and the beautiful snowy views it was actually nice to not be all alone. Almost everyone was cheerful and a couple in their 80s even struck up a conversation at one of the viewpoints. They too thought this was very special: never before had they seen how the dunes were covered in snow.

However, there was a big difference between popular and less popular trails. The sand dunes were by far the favorite, the parts where there was a bit more paved road underneath were almost empty. And then there were the winding paths through the trees. Sometimes those paths seemed to exist only on my watch. There were no human footsteps to be seen, which meant that for several days – the last snow fell three days earlier – no one had been there except for a deer or bird.

To be honest, I was worried from time to time whether there actually was a path, it was that obscure. However, when I walked through it, there was almost always a flat piece of snow the width of a path. Once I could not find the entrance of the path, but there I was just a bit wrong with the gps. It also meant that I was ahead of Remko at least if he was actually planning to run the route today as well. If he was going to do that, he would definitely catch up with me at this photo pace.

Snow patterns

• 

• 

• 

• 

When you run in the dunes, you know your dessert is yet to come: the beach. Secretly, the beach is my favourite place to be, even if it is too cold for dipping. No, Wim Hof is wasted on me.

The road to the beach, however, was not a smooth one. The paths to the last dune crossing were so low that they were completely flooded. And then frozen. That wasn't bad in itself, but the ice wasn't solid enough to carry me everywhere. Every now and then it cracked badly and I had to walk on the tussocks of grass in the verge.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Higher up in the dunes I encountered a completely different phenomenon: drifting snow. In other words, you stand on a piece of sand and then sink in 30 to 40 cm. I was wondering earlier how it was possible that some paths were cleared of snow so quickly… it turns out that they were simply blown over with sand.

On the beach, snow and sand fought against each other even more. I once found a dissertation in the archives about the creation of sand patterns on the beach. The mixture of snow and sand added an extra dimension as far as I was concerned, by making those patterns clearly visible from a distance. Unfortunately there was a lot of drifting snow and I regularly fell in a deep, freezing pit.

Way forward

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

At the end of the run, I was quite done with the running. This was partly due to the slow pace caused by the snow and the many stops. But I also noticed something else: the painful ankle I had been struggling with for weeks had suddenly disappeared. Sometimes, perseverance is better for the body than standing still.

This time, by the way, the Bubble that transmits my blood sugar from the Libre seemed to do a lot better as well. Probably also thanks to the long sleeved thermo shirt I had on; over that only a merino shirt. The Bubble kept measuring for over 4 hours. After that it was too cold. I suspect that the wind near the beach cooled down the sensor too much, something I suffer from much quicker with direct readout of the sensor with the Libre app. It does give a nice overview: from a little too high after the start – deliberately by eating beforehand, but a little too high – to subsiding after 1.5 to 2 hours with an occasional small food spike. Still good to see. Tip for the user: anticipate whether you will drop or rise, because the measurement itself actually gives you information about what happened 15 minutes earlier.

The journey back home went just like the journey to Scheveningen. Again I had to bridge the 3.5 km between stations half walking. Heavy, but I also felt like going home again.

• 

• 

•