I’ve been avoiding large (marathon) events; why disturb the peace of running by yourself on a random dike in the Netherlands? However, I got invited for a run with the team of startpagina.nl and I couldn’t resist. It was also a great motivation for me to run throughout the summer. This run from Amsterdam until Zaandam is one of the largest in the Netherlands with almost 90.000 participants. 
I used to be very serious about my time; No talking, no sightseeing and straight to the finish. This day I decided to enjoy the experience. High fiving the little kids beside the road. Due to the warm weather, I drank some water at every stop (not something I usually do) and finished within my goal of 1h 30m. 
This was my third event I ran on my five fingers and I realize it’s not so popular in the Netherlands. (people keep asking about them). Arriving in Zaandam, I took the train back home. Leaving the town, I was pleasantly surprised with it’s center architecture. It looked typical Dutch but with a modern twist.