This month we have a very special athlete of the month. Our former chairman Finn! He just retired last Tuesday. We can’t think of a better way to honor him for all his dedication and enthusiasm in the past year. Finn is twenty-two years old and studies medical engineering at the TU/e. We all know him as a long distance runner and a marathon slayer. But this athletic stud is also a swimmer and a cyclist. Because he is a triathlete, but in his purple heart he is a runner of course.
We wanted to know where it all began and the answer was heartwarming. “I crossed the finish line of the Ironman Hawaii aged four. This made me start running to follow in my dad’s footsteps as a triathlete. Since then, I’ve only become more and more enthusiastic about triathlon and especially athletics. Athletics is laughing but also a reset button. Training together at the track is always fun! Running all by myself in nature and just hearing my heartbeat, myself breathing and my feet hitting the ground is like meditation.”
With all that experience and talent, you would think this man is very serious and trains for the Olympics, but the opposite is true. He tells us that his athletic highlight definitely was winning the NK Beer chase on home soil with his fast board members Wessel and Lennert. “I excel at events that combine running and beer, also long distance running and triathlon seem to go pretty well.”
A close second for his highlight was Asterix winning the NSK teams. “It felt like a great team achievement and this was celebrated properly at the party afterwards.”
Finn tells us his favorite distance is five kilometers. But we’ve seen him run much further than that. Last month he ran the Eindhoven marathon. “It was great fun. I crossed the finish line holding the Asterix flag. But my most impressive sport achievement was becoming 27th at the European junior triathlon championships or 42nd at the World junior triathlon championships.”
Finn is also a part of a beautiful purple love story. His better half and former first lady was the athlete of the month a couple of months ago. So a real power couple. But how did it all start? “Well, one day I promised to cook for her and then one thing led to another. Lucky me, I thought she was out of my league! And I asked Tom for approval first of course.”
Finally we have to ask how it was to be our chairman for the last year. “It was a great responsibility and even greater fun. Most importantly I learned how important clear communication is. Simply sitting together and having a chat works the best!” He had so many fun memories and few stood out. “Our Constitution Drink (the parts I remember) were really fun. Also, cheering for the relays during the NSK teams or hiking up a French mountain through the bushes in the middle of the night with 25 Gauls to see the sunrise.”
He ends with a message for the next board: “Don’t take it too seriously and Unleash Your Purple!”