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With a formidable second place, Marlene de Boer crowned a wonderful first professional season in Almere. Finishing under 9 hours, making it to the podium, shining in front of the home crowd in your own country, it all worked. Her story.

With a formidable second place, Marlene de Boer crowned a wonderful first professional season in Almere. Finishing under 9 hours, shining in front of the home crowd in your own country, it all worked. “Of course I had hoped so, but the fact that it turned out this way is really great!”

“You only get a few days like this in life,” laughs Marlene, still enjoying an insane Challenge Almere-Amsterdam where she came second behind winner Els Visser. “It was the project of the year. A time of 8.43, that's just bizarre. And you should really enjoy that. Especially after the victory in Cork. And now, on the podium with a second place, that means even more.”

Hard work rewarded

Beforehand, her coach Yvonne van Vlerken had asked Marlene about her 'Why?' for this race. What motivates you. Her 'pure love for swimming, cycling and running', she said on Instagram, but also 'making Yvonne, who is still the queen of the Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, proud and showing her all the hard work we have done together. to see'. “We have been working together since 2020 and she is a huge example,” she says after the race. “I remember that she and one of her athletes were working on a sub-9 (a competition under 9 hours, ed.). That seemed so far away at the time.” She says it with amazement in her voice, as if her achievement, with the countless impressions along the way, has still not really sunk in.

Encouragement from fellow triathletes

“I did a lot of special races last year with my parents or my boyfriend,” she continues. “But the fact that I could now do it with so many people I know, with my sponsors, and actually with my entire team, is really fun.” She enjoyed the support along the way, the cauldron around the finish village, “But also from other triathlon associations. Hearing your name so often is special. But also with participants who hear that the motorcycle is coming and are aware that it is the headline of the race. And then go for a walk, turn around and start clapping. Then you will not only be encouraged by supporters, but by triathletes themselves. That makes triathlon very special.”

Balancing between pushing and race plan

However, not everything got through to her, because the focus was of course on the competition. “Of course you are in your zone and in your concentration. Then you are concerned with: 'What can I do right now to ensure that I stay well for as long as possible?' Especially with the heat. The moment we got to the running course, the temperatures really rose. That is a danger, but I notice that I am doing well. Especially in the first half of the marathon, everything has to run smoothly. Because if it is already tough, then the second half will be really tough. I always feel like I'm kind of on the edge between pushing myself enough and sticking to the plan.”

Continue cycling steadily

According to that plan, she came out of the water ahead of her major competitors Els Visser and the Australian Renee Kiley, but had to let them go on the bicycle part. “Then you know: 'I have my plan. I'll be walking there shortly." But that is difficult, even though exactly what I expected happened. I know that Renee and Els are about evenly matched in swimming and are both very strong cyclists. This was a scenario I was prepared for. I had hoped to get out of the water a little earlier and have a little more head start in the swim. I then made the decision to just stick to my own plan and continue cycling steadily. I had hoped that the gap after cycling would not be as big as it ultimately was. It was more than 10 minutes. If Els runs a good marathon, it will be difficult for me to run close in these temperatures.”

Rising

Ultimately, Els Visser had 6 minutes left on Marlene at the finish. “I think she is the rightful winner and also had the race of her life,” she acknowledges. “Els had the swim of her life anyway and also ran a strong marathon. On the one hand, 6 minutes is a lot, but I'm back to normal. That gives me a lot of confidence for the future to continue the way I am doing. That upward trend is just there. I learn a lot from every race. My coach Yvonne has always said: 'Be careful, if you race with the pros, you will be challenged much more.' A learning point for me is that I gain even more self-confidence. And that I can swim a little more aggressively, that I can trust that I am fit enough and that I can still cycle and run faster. I just notice that this is not the end point. There is still so much room for improvement.”

With these tips from Marlene you can prevent overheating during the triathlon

The race in Almere took place in tropical conditions. Unique in the Netherlands, but this of course occurs regularly abroad. As a professional, Marlene knew how to deal with this and would like to share her tips.

• Drink as much as possible . Don't just drink water, but also a thirst quencher with a saline solution
• Continue cooling. Otherwise, make sure you walk through the aid station and really cool your head there. If ice is present, put ice in your tri suit
• I'm a huge fan of the Omius headband. That is really new science and literally removes heat from your head. It is important to keep the headband wet.
• Pace yourself , even more than usual in the heat
• Wear sunglasses and put on a hat or cap

You can read more about the challenges of racing in the heat here .

Tags

Challenge Almere-Amsterdam Europees kampioenschap Marlene de Boer Nederlands kampioenschap podium triathlon warmte