Photo WSV Ceres Last Saturday, October 4, it was time for WSV Ceres’ annual ALS run. More than sixty runners—almost all of them Ceres members—took part in the run across the Wageningen Mountain. Together, they raised 6,105 euro, says Ceres president Daan Smit. ‘That’s more than double the target amount of 3,000 euros.’
‘It was a beautiful day,’ says Smit. ‘We did a warm-up in our front yard with some music. That naturally attracts some attention. The nice thing about these kinds of social events is that passersby often stop to watch, wave, and clap along the route to cheer us on.’
The run started around noon. Participants could choose between a 6-kilometer or 10-kilometer course. ‘The start and finish were at our building on Generaal Foulkesweg,’ says Smit. ‘From there, we ran uphill, past the stadium on the hill, and then back down via Veerweg. For the 10 kilometers, you had to complete part of the course twice.’ Smit himself also participated in the 10 kilometers. When everyone had crossed the finish line, the sun came out. ‘We had a nice chat in the front garden, some drinking lots of water, others even a beer.’
ALS
WSV Ceres started raising money for the ALS foundation after a former member was diagnosed with the muscle disease. It is a fatal disease in which muscles fail one by one. ‘He was always an active and committed member,’ says Smit. ‘He used to live in Burlenburgh, one of our most beautiful student houses. The current residents ran with us again this time—they always raise the most money.’ This year, Team Burlenburgh raised 1,385 euros.
If it were up to Smit, this would not be the end of the initiative. ‘By doing this together with other student associations or, for example, joining forces with the Thymos sports foundation, the ALS run could become an event for the entire Wageningen student body. It would be a great opportunity to get all students involved in this good cause. And then even more money would be raised.’
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