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"I made it!"

I made it. After crossing the finish line, I flew into the arms of chairman Henk Kroes, the best moment of the day for both him and me.

Henk Kroes: "For me, it was on the Bonkevaart, just before midnight, when a man came in on sheer willpower, tears in his eyes from the cold, threw himself around my neck like a sack of potatoes, and yelled, 'I made it!!' Oh, those fast guys who come in like it's nothing... I say it so often: 'The suffering of the last is the glory of the first.'"

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“Together with Joke to the finish”

Wim Aantjens

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

Around 4:00 p.m, I was skating near Bolsward when Joke from Twello caught up with me. From then on, we skated together, stopping at every point to eat, drink, and even for bathroom breaks.

"Donor and member at the same time"

Martien Weerts

Tour of 1986

Leeuwarden

In the fall of 1985, I initially couldn’t become a member—only a donor. The maximum number of members had already been reached. So, I became a donor. To my surprise, a few weeks later, I received an invitation to pay for my membership.

"Frozen sweat and amazing crowd"

Emile Jaensch

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

As a student in Amsterdam, I learned to skate on noren (type of skates). In 1996, I became a member. On Monday, November 25 of that year, I received news that I was one of the 4,200 lucky people with a starting card for the next Elfstedentocht. In 1997, I returned early from vacation. Using sandpaper, I removed the rust from my skates, which I had bought for five guilders. Wearing woollen underwear and three sweaters layered over each other, I armed myself against the cold.

"Rode together with my father"

Jacob Altenburg

Tour of 1985

Sneek

On February 18, 1985, the Elfstedentocht was announced. I, Jacob, 19, and my father Tjip, 52, were not members. I went to Leeuwarden with a friend and stood in the freezing cold all night outside. When the doors opened, I bought two tickets.

"Contact met het thuisfront"

Raymond Rijs

Tour of 1986

Workum

I had cut labels from Het Parool (newspaper) with my name and phone number for each city. As soon as I reached a city, I handed this information to random people on the ice along with a quarter to call my family and keep them informed.

"Shoveling and suffering"

Frans Vriesendorp

Tour of 1985, Tour of 1986

Franeker

The sign "5 km of bad ice" is not very promising. It’s shovelling and suffering, and it’s getting harder and harder. How far is Bartlehiem still? Is that the tower of Bartlehiem? No, it’s Berlikum, which is halfway between Franeker and Bartlehiem, so Bartlehiem is still 20 km away.

"Illegal but also Legal?"

Dick Vlug

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

A moment of choice: what time to start, with start number 65415 or 01070? The decision wasn’t difficult—my skating buddies, with their legitimate low start numbers, were setting off early, and I was the driver :).

"Royal klunen"

W.A. van Buren (King Willem Alexander)

Tour of 1986

Leeuwarden

Before the winner received the victory wreath at the Frieslandhallen, all eyes in Friesland were on someone else: W.A. van Buren. Later in the morning, presenter Mart Smeets announced, "This race has received a royal touch." The participant registered under the name W.A. van Buren was none other than 18-year-old Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. At that […]

"Snowstorms and for Theo"

Joop Raaphorst

Tour of 1963, Tour of 1985

Sneek

Riding the race, that was the dream my brother Theo and I shared. The reports from Friesland were grim. The ice conditions were very poor. Near Sneek, I lost sight of Theo. Should I wait or press on?

"Rushing back to the Netherlands"

Jos Geijsel

Tour of 1985

Leeuwarden

1985 Elfstedentocht: The preceding weekend brought fluctuating thaw. Despite this, we left for a winter sports holiday during the spring break. Monday morning, February 18, it was freezing cold. We continued our journey to Austria. Upon arrival, we received a call from the Netherlands: the Elfstedentocht would be held on Thursday, February 21

"A special posthumous tribute"

Johannes Meijer

Tour of 1985

I wrote a special story about a friend who endured many years of illness with great perseverance and courage. During his funeral, I gave him my Elfstedentocht medal from 1985 as a tribute (posthumously)

"From spectator to member"

Hans Cuijlits

Tour of 1986

Franeker

In 1986, a few friends and I decided to drive from Brabant to Leeuwarden to watch the Elfstedentocht. At that time, we could still park our car close to the start. We spent the whole day driving to various places like Franeker and Dokkum.

“From Workum onward on new skates”

Dirk-Jan Bender

Tour of 1986

Workum

1986. Left early. I was skating on Viking junior skates, which I had received at the end of high school (1962/1963). Before reaching Sneek, I had a nasty crack that bent the tip of my right skate. In Ijlst, I had the tip cut off and kept ploughing on until Workum.

“Skating fever”

Philip Kroon

Tour of 1985, Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

The amazing feeling of gaining speed on magical natural ice has always captivated me. I was so proud when my parents gave me my first pair of Norwegians (skates).

"Cufflinks made from crosses as a souvenir"

Hans Reus

Tour of 1963

My father, Mr. J.A. Reus (1919–1995), completed the Elfstedentocht three times. I inherited his three Elfstedentocht medals. Beautiful symbols, of course, but for years they sat unused in their little boxes in my cabinet.

"Actually quite smart and 'funny' – a helmet!"

Kees Toppen

Tour of 1985

Stavoren

In 1985 and 1986, wearing a helmet was not yet a thing. By 1997, you saw more of them, but still sporadically.

"Elfstedentocht Fever of 2012..."

Nico Brantjens

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

A dutch poem (written in rhyme) to the Elfstedentocht Fever of 2012

"Completed the ‘86 tour"

Henk Roosjen

Tour of 1986

Leeuwarden

In 1963, I was glued to the radio all day. I was determined to participate in the Elfstedentocht and lived in Weesp. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to participate because you had to be 18 years old. From that time on, I trained year after year whenever there was natural ice.

"With the wind at my back to Stavoren"

Herman Wijermars

Tour of 1997

Bolsward

Up to Stavoren, the wind was at my back. Then came the stretch to Dokkum: 110 kilometres against a fierce northeast wind. I stopped for the first time in Bolsward, where an officer asked if I wanted to take off my skates. I thanked her but thought, "I’ll never get them back on."

Skiing or skating?

Erik Wijthoff

Tour of 1985

Leeuwarden

After 22 years, it could finally happen again... I had booked a winter sports holiday from Friday, February 5th to February 28th in Ischl, Austria, with our family. On the Friday of departure, it thawed... so off to Austria we went. Enjoying the long skis, but... On Monday evening, we heard that the trip could […]

"With two pair of skigoggles at the finish"

Jans Groothuis

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

As darkness fell, we were handed a flashlight in Oudkerk. Heading toward Bonkefaert, I was blinded by the floodlights and ended up in a field. After my so-called “fallen off” and then reattached ski goggles, I crossed the finish line shortly after.

"One of my greatest experiences"

Michel Bego

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

I am Michel Bego, born on November 15, 1952, in Rotterdam. On January 4, 1997, I was living in Etten-Leur. The most important thing was that I had a starting ticket. I stayed with my second cousin, Ron Muijzer, in Leeuwarden. I was in the purple starting group, starting at 10:05 a.m.

"I made it!"

Johan van Marle

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

I made it. After crossing the finish line, I flew into the arms of chairman Henk Kroes, the best moment of the day for both him and me.

"Medal displayed in the living room"

Herman Struyven

Tour of 1963, Tour of 1985

Leeuwarden

1963: een Belgische krant bracht verslag van de tocht, voor mij een reden om lid te worden. Mijn oude lidkaarten zijn van '65 tem '72, door een verhuizing en een vergeten adresverandering was ik geen lid meer.

"In the distance, Franeker appears, what a joy!"

Evert Frankes

Tour of 1963, Tour of 1986, Tour of 1997

Franeker

In de verte doemt Franeker op, wat een feest daar! Daarna onder de laatste brug door het donker tegemoet. Wat was het fijn om Bartlehiem te zien opdagen, nu nog even heen en weer naar Dokkum.

"Into the dark with my miners' lamp..."

Jacomina van de Plasse

Tour of 1986, Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

A second chance after 1986. In the dark, I skated towards Sneek. By Stavoren, it was against a wind of force 5. I found a group and joined in. Took it easy for a while and then joined the next group.

Overslept

Siebe Plantinga

Tour of 1985

Gytsjerk, 21-02-85. Early in the morning, I suddenly sat up straight in bed. Startled awake. What time was it? I came to my senses. Overslept!! Oh no, the Elfstedentocht. Out of bed and quickly put on my skating clothes. A quick bowl of Brinta, the bike out of the garage, and off to Leeuwarden. Just […]

"Nearly untrained at the start..."

Matthijs Schröeder

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

I completed the tour nearly untrained because my wife and I had coincidentally taken a month-long trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest in Nepal, at an altitude of 6 km, at the end of 1996, leaving us full of red blood cells.

"This is something you should never do again"

Harry Wooning

Tour of 1997

Dokkum

In 1997, heading towards Dokkum, we had strong headwinds. I told myself, "This is something you should never do again." I still had some energy left for the return to Bartlehiem, knowing from my experience in 1986 that there would be another stretch of headwind ahead.

“On the Zwette, after every fifty strokes, into the reeds”

Jan de Heer

Tour of 1986

Dokkum

In 1986, I started the race completely overtrained with an inflammation in my left knee. After the experiences at the finish line in 1954 and 1963, I, as a fair-weather skater, had no illusions that I could manage such a feat, but there was no turning back.

"Completed the tour twice"

Jan Meester

Tour of 1985, Tour of 1986

Leeuwarden

When the Tour went ahead in 1985, I panicked, but luckily, I was able to take over my friend’s starting card. My skating buddy Pip Tesselaar wasn’t so fortunate. Wearing an orange armband was required to avoid being considered a free rider.

“As one of the last to start”

Patrick Vervaele

Tour of 1997

Leeuwarden

Since I was at the start of the last pen to open in Leeuwarden, standing quite far back, I cautiously began moving toward the exit. Meanwhile, the clock was edging dangerously close to 11:00 a.m. when suddenly, because I was in the last starting group, the rear gates were opened, and everyone rushed toward the Zwette to begin.

"Blacksmith from Balk repairs left skate"

Jan Willem Jansen

Tour of 1985

Franeker

February 21, 1985; Ice floes and thawing weather; many cracks. On the Slotermeer, the tip of my hard steel blade breaks off, resulting in a razor-sharp point on the glide side. Struggling and falling, I manage to reach Balk.

After 29 years, finally reunited with his medal

Anjo Hofman

Tour of 1986

For almost 29 years, Anjo Hofman from Stedum had to wait, but since January 2015, he has finally gotten back his Elfstedentocht cross from 1986. The Stedumer is passionate about skating and participated in the Elfstedentocht on February 26, 1986. However, he never actually got to hold the medal. "My wife had picked it up […]

"Fighting against wind and snow"

Jan Piet van Zeggelaar

Tour of 1963

In 1963, as a conscripted soldier at the Nunspeet military base (Medical Corps), I was selected to participate in the 1963 Elfstedentocht. It was a harsh race. In Stavoren, we had to fight against the wind and snow for a few kilometres, and most skaters stopped there

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