6It becomes a physical addiction
Flemish licensed trade visits Heineken
Den Bosch
'A tremendous i
The cyclists
Gert-Jan Vuyk (42) ran New York Marathon
On 4th November this year the New York Marathon was held
again. There were more than thirty thousand entrants at the
start. They included regional marketing manager Europe,
Gert-Jan Vuyk (42). Before his departure for the United States
we had a talk with him.
Limits
Preparations
I
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NR. 29 PAGE 6
Continued from page 5
Jan Raas: 'Winning one of the clas
sics, that's something a team of
Buckler's class really ought to be
able to chalk up.
One team member who put in
some stirring performances par
ticularly towards the end of the sea
son was Wiebren Veenstra. At 1.73
metres in height and weighing in at
70 kg, Dutch-born Wiebren is vir
tually unbeatable in any finishing
spurt. 'At one point last season I
had five wins within two weeks.
The most important ones for me',
says Wiebren, 'were those in the
semi-classics Veenendaal-Veenen-
daal and the Grand Prix Raymond
Impanis.'
As a sprinter Veenstra made his
real breakthrough this season. So,
besides Eric Vanderaerden and
Jelle Nijdam, the Buckler team
now has Wiebren Veenstra as a
sprint contender for the final few
metres. 'We don't argue with each
other about it. The one who feels
fittest in the closing stages of a race
just sets his sights on the line and
goes for it!'
Gerrit Solleveld is a cyclist
whose talents lie in another direc
tion. Not a sprinter, he is mean
while renowned in the peloton for
his long solo escapes. 'The high
spot in my season was obviously
my stage win in the Tour de Fran
ce. I won the longest stage in the
Tour following my solo breakaway
over more than 100 kilometres.
And that despite the lousy weather
(driving rain and wind, ed.)'
Peter Winnen experienced both
sides of the coin this past season. 'I
had a good build-up in the pre-sea-
son events and my form was con
sistent. I was working up towards
the Tour de France and I really
planned to put in a good perfor
mance there. Winning the Dutch
championship was something spe
cial for me and it confirmed that I
was in top form. So I was looking
forward to the Tour with confi
dence. But on the day before the
Tour Prologue I was hit by a car. At
first it didn't seem too serious. But
later they found that my hip was
slightly out of joint and that had an
effect on my legs during heavy
physical exertions. So, unlucky me,
I had to give up and pull out of the
Tour', sighs Peter Winnen.
At the moment Peter is undergo
ing intensive treatment for his hip
injury and is working himself back
to 100% fitness. Next season he in
tends to be fully back in action
again to make his contribution to
new successes of the Buckler cy
cling team.
This was the third time that Mr
Vuyk had run the distance of 42
kilometres and 195 metres. Twice
previously he'd competed in the
marathon in his home city of Rot
terdam. This time he decided to en
ter the New York marathon for the
simple reason that 'every runner
must have done the New York
Marathon once.' And this first time
will also be the last: 'I'm only doing
this once, simply because it's very
expensive', says Mr Vuyk, who has
set himself a finishing target of be
tween 3 and 3 {/i hours.
For the Rotterdam man, running
in a marathon means testing the
limits of his ability. 'I always try,
both in my sports and in my work,
to go to the limits. I love car racing
and I've also been active as a rally
driver. Earlier on I did a great deal
of mountaineering and I had
reached a reasonable standard in
that', explains Mr Vuyk. A lack of
time was the reason why he had to
give up mountain climbing. 'If you
want to do it properly, you need to
train a lot in the mountains. So I
had to go abroad every time to
train and after a while that starts to
affect your family life.'
Alpine sport was what brought
him into contact with running.
Climbing mountains requires an
iron constitution. 'Sometimes you
have to climb for 12 to 14 hours at
a stretch. You simply can't stop for
a rest on the way', explains Mr
Vuyk wryly. 'If you have to push
yourself to the limits you need to be
in good physical shape. You can
build up your condition and
stamina by cycling and running. I
cycled for a couple of years, but for
more than a year now I've been
concentrating on road running.'
It all started out as a bit of a lark,
but the Rotterdam-born runner be
came increasingly more fanatic. In
April last year he completed his
first marathon in his home city.
Twelve months later he entered for
the second time. His preparations
for a marathon mean training three
times a week. Two training sessions
are aimed at increasing his speed,
the other is an endurance run over
a longer distance.
His enthusiasm for running has
also made him aware of his eating
habits. 'You start to pay more and
more attention to what you eat.
You read about it and you dis
cover, for instance, that in the
Western world people eat too much
fat. We don't need all that fat'. But
one thing that Vuyk does need be
fore a marathon is a diet high in
carbohydrates, for he loses quite a
few calories during the race. 'In a
marathon you burn up an average
Our interview with Gert-Jan Vuyk took place two weeks before he ran
in the New York Marathon. Here's how he describes his feelings
during that big race.
The New York Marathon is a 'must' for every marathon runner. I'm con
vinced of it now! Not only is the city impressive, but it's also a fantastic
experience to race through it together with more than 25,000 runners from 81
countries.
The organisation is perfect, and what left the biggest impression on me was
the unbelievable enthusiasm of the public - crowds lining the streets several
rows deep, standing there for hours encouraging the runners over those 42
kilometres (you're looking good, you're doing fine, you can make it!).
Because of the heat (over 20°C) and the difficult course, I only managed 3
hours 57 minutes. But that's of minor importance!'
Gert-Jan Vuyk is congratulated by
daughter Susanne after finishing
the 1990 Rotterdam Marathon.
of 2700 Kcal. By eating a lot of
food, I call it 'stowing away', you
have an intake of at most 1600
Kcal. The remaining 1100 Kcal are
supplied when your body begins to
break down body fat. The moment
when that starts to happen is when
you come up against the notorious
'man with the hammer'. Training is
essential so that you can postpone
that moment until increasingly la
ter in the race and so that the ham
mer blow doesn't hit you too hard
when it comes.'
Slowly but surely, the marketing
man is starting to get 'hooked' on
marathon running. 'It's becoming a
physical addiction because nowa
days I feel like running again two
days after a marathon. But that's
important, as you always have to
'train down' after a marathon to
prevent aches and pains in muscles
and tendons.'
with, far left, Mr P. Boets, head of
Heineken Import Belgium and,
second from right, Mr K. Brandt,
regional export manager Heineken.
Some time ago, at the invitation
of Mr Boets, Belgian members of
'Les Etapes du Bon Goüt', an asso
ciation of top restaurateurs, were
guests at the Heineken Brewery in
Zoeterwoude (see photo). The
group also paid a visit to Bols Bene
lux.
'Horeca Vlaanderen', the
Flanders hotels, restaurants and
bars trade federation, was recently
invited by Heineken Import
Belgium for a day's study visit to
the Heineken Brewery in 's-Her-
togenbosch. The group was given a
guided tour in the morning, after
which a meeting was held in the
afternoon to explain the position of
Heineken in the world and in
Belgium.
Pictured here is the executive
committee of 'Horeca Vlaanderen'
Heerlijkhelder Heineken IBelnefcetv Holland Beer HeerljjK.heMer Heineken
