THE LONG RUN

Weight: 80 kilos
Time spent running since 15 November: 15 hours 54 minutes
Distance run since 15 November: 148.6 kilometers
Time left: 16 weeks

The farewell service for my uncle Joop was very good. Chui Hsia came along to the crematorium in Bilthoven, where we met up with my oldest brother, my sister and, most importantly, my mother. Then there were a great many cousins whom I had not seen in ages. Plus, of couse, my aunt Jo, my uncle's wife for about 60 years I think.

People spoke with so much affection of uncle Joop... My mother's favorite brother, son of a baker and himself in the business of making bread and cookies, first in my grandfather's bakery and shop and later in a large factory. A man with a genuine interest in people around him. A wicked sense of humour, too. I have fond memories of the many birthdays at our house where he, amidst the rest of the extended family, would sit cracking jokes with that eternally radiant face that characterised him... Such a pity he's no longer around.

The running, meanwhile, has gone reasonably well. I skipped one 40-minutes run on Wednesday, but Thursday's and Saturday's were good. And today I pushed my barrier by running 120 minutes (aka two hours!) non-stop. For the first time I wore a belt with little bottles of powered water, and I think the regular drinking helped keep me going. Never mind I felt a bit silly, being over-gadgeted and all. At least I kept running.

That long run was in the Tervuren park, a bit out of town at the back of Brussels' colonial museum. I did three laps on the Waranda walking track, which - I did not know this when I started - includes eight sets of steps with a 54-steps total. Here you see some of them. Don't look like much, but believe me they break your stride big time!

Tervuren is a town that harbours many wealthy foreigners, mainly people in high positions in the European Community or executives of Belgian branches of big multinationals. For me the main attraction of Tervuren, apart from the sports facilities at the British School where my football club does pre-season training, is the lovely fountain which stands in the middle of the rundabout at the approach of the town. Never fails to make me smile.

Okay. It's Christmas Eve, so I will go and enjoy it with my loved one (the other loved one, Sanna, has gone to sleep). Tomorrow we hit the road for Ermelo, where we'll cook an Irish beef stew with potato mash and garlic bread for twelve people.

Merry Christmas, y'all.