National Pride

As six of our top marathon-running countries celebrate their National Days this month, we hear from some of the highest ranked runners in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Rankings about how they'll be celebrating, and what running means to them…

Tell us about your passion for running and why you do it?

Tom Van Onvegal (BelgiumM45-49)

‚"As a school kid I found I had a talent for endurance sports, especially for running.Despite choosingcycling in the Belgian tradition as my preferred sport, I occasionally rana marathon as a universitystudent with some success (2:47:00).‚"For me running hasalways felt so natural and relaxing. However, it would take another twenty yearsbefore Ifound my way back
to running as a master. At the start running was the ideal stress relief,but
soon as with everything I do I was also looking for challenges in running
and pushing my boundaries.I love runningbecause you are guaranteed
to be rewarded at race day whenyou work hard and restsmart.It is just simple and tremendous fun to do."