No running in Amsterdam: can only think of the tragic MH17 air crash

I did not intend this blog to be on politics nor to focus on any other world problems. Today however, I don’t feel like writing on happy things. I feel I need to write about the outrage that took so many innocent lives yesterday.

I am profoundly moved by the horrible plane crash of the flight MH17 that left from Amsterdam to Malaysia. I have seen the images on TV of those on the flight, it breaks my heart.. Aboard were 298 people, including 192 Dutch nationals. Among them were many fellow researchers on their way to an international AIDS congress in Melbourne. And families on their way to a perfect holiday in the sun. Making it all more in-apprehensible this tragedy is all probably due to Russian-backed rebels that shot it down.
My Facebook is filled with tragic news, with mourning and condolences.

I heard and read about Pim de Kuijper killed while travelling to the AIDS conference. About medical student Lisanne Engels, hockeyplayer at the second women team of the Kampong hockeyclub, on her way to an internship in ophthalmology. About the gorgeous  Tessa van der Sande, collaborator at Amnesty’s Special Programme on Africa. Three young, beautiful people. And then I haven’t even mentioned that there were 295 other innocent lives taken. 298 people that will all be missed by their loved ones. Every one I know knows one of the victims or knows some one that those.
It’s awful how close this gets. All innocent, beautifull people. Killed, for no reason.
I sympathize with family, friends, colleagues of all victims and wish them all the love and strength.

I hope that the separatists will allow the investigators at the crash site as they were blocked today. And I think the most intelligent thing would be to stop the fighting in Ukraine, immediately.

Today I learned all about hemostasis by performing surgery on anesthetized pigs. It was fantastic, absolutely briljant. Again it confirmed that this is what I love the most and what I want to do; surgery. However it does not feel right to write about it now besides that I would never be able to write about it the way it was, due to this awful tragedy. I will save my surgical stories for later.
I tried a 10km run yesterday, hoping to clear my mind. It did not work. Will save running stories for later too.

Tomorrow morning I will run through the dunes. let’s hope it will help a little.

Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to Berlin.

Good morning!

This is going to be my first blog. And I’d like to explain the reason for starting it.

This autumn I will run a marathon.

A. Marathon.

My very first. Ever.

And that’s it. The reason for my blog. I’d like to share with you my journey towards these 42.2 kilometers.
Since I love running and I’d love to motivate other people to start running, keep running or even to start training for a marathon.

So first, let me introduce myself. I am 27 years old and live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
I am a doctor, currently working on my PhD thesis on breast cancer surgery.

I’ve started running 5 years ago, with ups and downs and never really trained seriously or for a race. Whenever I felt like running I went for a run. Always at the same speed (as fast as you can, with a slight increase in pace once I smelled home) and often the same route.

I have always thought of a marathon as a magic thing; and a person that had run a marathon was a hero to me. However, I pretended I was to busy working/studying to be my own hero and train for it.
Last year I cut the crap. Don’t know why, but it was a feeling of now or never. I signed up for Berlin’s marathon; and got drawn for it!

So there’s no way back. I am going to Berlin.

I am going to run a hell of a distance. And I am going to train my ass off (not literally I hope) to make it!

Follow me on my journey.

Love,

Laurun

 Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to Berlin.