Thousands of triathletes, thousands of stories: participants in Challenge Almere-Amsterdam all have their own story, their own motivation, and their own drive to get the absolute most out of themselves on September 12th. For Ricardo van ‘t Schip, that drive is twofold; on the one hand, he will be doing a Middle Distance for the first time, and on the other hand, he hopes to raise as much money as possible for his terminally ill nephew Michal, who has a glioblastoma (the most aggressive brain tumor there is, ed.).
A word to the wise is enough; Michal is terminally ill. Extra bizarre: in April during Easter, the family was still sitting together as if nothing was wrong, but in May the bad news suddenly came. “Two weeks later, Michael underwent surgery right away,” says Van ‘t Schip. “Initially, we heard that everything had gone well, but later we heard that only fifty percent of the tumor had been removed and that it was too dangerous to remove the rest as well. Yes, that shocks you. He is a 47-year-old man with a nice family and three sons.”
Michal’s life expectancy plummeted in no time to just fifteen to eighteen months. A nightmare scenario. In the meantime, the family is raising money – around £100,000 is needed – for a treatment that is not curative, but is intended to extend his life. “But if you read the stories, it all doesn’t look good,” Van ‘t Schip says realistically in the meantime.
And so the athlete – who is a decent runner with a sub-2:50 personal record on the standalone marathon – uses his Middle Distance debut at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam to raise money to make that desired treatment possibly attainable. “Ten years ago I did an Olympic Distance Triathlon – just swimming breaststroke and on an old bike – but now it’s getting a lot more serious. I’m training my socks off. My life now mostly consists of training, working, and sleeping,” he laughs.
Van ‘t Schip understands that his race takes on an extra emotional weight, but he cannot wait to experience Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. “It should be a big celebration. Of course, tears will flow afterwards, but I have that too when running marathons where this extra weight isn’t there. Sport always unleashes emotions. That is completely okay.”
People who want to donate can do so via the following page: https://gofund.me/0641dcc14
Van ‘t Schip can be followed via his own Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/ricardo_van_t_schip/
