Interview with Koen Raymaekers

Ever regretted going to Kenya No not regretting that I came here Perhaps regret over how we handled things little details like building the house That took me quite a few months of training The key takeaway is that the marathon remains unpredictable after all You never know what the weather's going to do anyway But I still haven't had a perfect preparation and a good race day In that regard it's a bit clichéd but it remains unpredictable Even if it's your 22nd marathon it's still a story unto itself What do you mean You're about to start your 22nd marathon right away and those two still have to coincide Yes of course you'll look back on this moment someday These points in your career when you think there's still something more ahead I'm finally reaching a significant point in my career Will I ever feel as strong again as I did a few years ago And what about the ideal conditions aligning perfectly on a good day So that's already starting to gnaw at me In recent years he had often experienced a recurring issue with his calf There's apparently now at least a diagnosis in place allowing you to do more in your training The symptoms were actually quite variable and difficult to pin down and ultimately the ultrasound revealed that the flexor hallucis longus tendon was compressed at a certain point That's a tendon that transitions into the muscles in your calf And that tendon actually runs beneath your foot arch heading toward your big toe There's a small spot around my ankle where that tendon runs through a kind of tunnel And this appears to be causing the calf complaints as well This year it's once again a Dutch championship at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon How does that feel for you Always a pleasure when a Dutch championship is involved I've now won the Dutch marathon title twice so a third title would always be lovely But initially I just hope to run a good marathon again And above all a good marathon meaning I can maintain a steady flat pace throughout And a pleasant race where in fact I end up with a flat result or at least one based on time e one I also assessed beforehand knowing exactly what I was capable of on that day A battle there Do you enjoy competing against other Dutch athletes Yes that's always fun And you still mainly focus on Dutch athletes So no that's always fun I've always said I want to feel good about myself That's what walking is really for Often that was also a stretch of time you'd want to run But right now I especially want to carry away a good feeling from the marathon That would be the best outcome with a good result