Looking at the poster of the latest Virtual Takbo event of Pinoy Runners Global (PRG), the Amsterdam Virtual Run 2020 hosted by Pinoy Runners Nederland, one is invariably drawn to the Coat of Arms in the middle. The curious cat in the Bicolano Penguin (BP) had me googling about it and true enough, it is the Coat of Arms of the city of Amsterdam.
Deciphering it would be food for the mind.
At the heart of the Coat of Arms are three white X's displayed on a black band that runs the middle of a a red shield (such a shield is called an escutcheon). Nope, the triple X does not refer to the iconic Vin Diesel character. Nor does it refer to the sex tourism hotbed of De Wallen located at the centre of the city. The X's are actually St Andrew's crosses named after the apostle apostle Andrew , one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the brother of Peter. He was sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Romans in Greece, but asked to be crucified on a diagonal cross as he felt he wasn't worthy to die on the same shape of cross as Jesus. Some people believed that the St Andrew crosses refer to three dangers Amsterdam faced in medieval times: fires, flood and the Black Death. While many more point to the 3 crosses originating from the crosses in the coat of arms of the Persijn family. The land which Amsterdam now occupies was reclaimed from the sea around the 12th century. Large tracts of land were owned by the Persijn family.
On top of the red shield with the 3 St. Andrew's crosses is a big crown. It is the Imperial Crown of Austria. Why is the crown of a Holy Roman Emperor of Austria on the coat of arms of Amsterdam? Back in the days of the Hook and Cod Wars in 15th Century Holland, the bourgeoise in the city (Cod) where in conflict with the nobility in the countryside (Hook). The ones in the cities like Amsterdam supported Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. In 1489, the Holy Roman Emperor gave Amsterdam the right to use his personal imperial crown in its coat of arms, in gratitude for the support.
Although a fairly recent addition, the motto "Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig" is very much a part of Amsterdam's coat of arms and forms an inseparable part of the symbolic identity of the city. In 1946, Queen Wilhelmina honoured Amsterdam with the motto "Heroic, Resolute, Compassionate" to commemorate the February Strike of workers and civil servants in 1941 in Amsterdam. On Feb 25 & 26, 1941, ten thousands of people in Amsterdam stopped work and demonstrated on the streets against the German occupiers after 427 young Jewish men were rounded up and taken to a concentration camp a few days before. The massive strike in Amsterdam was the only one in all of the occupied Europe between 1940 and 1945.
 |
| The Dock Worker Monument, located in the Old Jewish Quarter in Amsterdam, commemorates the 1941 February Strike |
The coat of arms of Amsterdam is truly rich in history. A historic past which many of its residents are proud of.
Another source of pride for Amsterdammers is the Amsterdam Marathon which started in 1975 and has been held annually ever since, except in 1978. It is a beautiful marathon and it is a Platinum Label Road Race in the latest competition calendar updated by the World Athletics for 2020 . To quote the www.runfuntravel.com website:
"Run through the beautiful city of Amsterdam, known for its fast and beautiful course. The start and finish take place in the historical Olympic Stadium. This leaves an unforgettable impression, not least because of the presence of the supporters in the tribunes and the marathon grandstand. The Amsterdam Marathon course follows a part of the Olympic route along the Amstel River, past stately homes and a few windmills. This route offers beautiful rural scenery. The course leads you through Amsterdam's city centre and passes many highlights, which would also be worth a separate sightseeing tour. Some of the most attractive sights are the Olympic Stadium, Rijksmuseum, Vondel Park, Amstel River and the new area of Zuidas."
Indeed a beautiful marathon in a beautiful city. No wonder, tens of thousands register for this event. In a more recent year, 44,094 runners registered for the various segments (full marathon, half marathon, 8km and and kids run). With nearly 16,000 registered marathon runners, the Amsterdam Marathon is one of the largest European marathons.
Sadly for 2020, the regular edition of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon is cancelled due to the global pandemic with all entries automatically transferred to 2021. There is a Virtual TCS Amsterdam Marathon 2020 from Oct 18 to Oct 25. It is not for free as it entails the use of a TCS Amsterdam Marathon App and participants can choose from 3 packages : Virtual Run Package at Euro 5; Run for the Medal Package at Euro 10; and Run for the Raceshirt Package at Euro 35.
 |
| Minnie Schaaphok is a Team Captain of Pinoy Runners Nederland. She is originally from Leyte. |
To help keep the celebration of the Amsterdam Marathon alive and running, the Pinoy Runners Nederland (PRNL) has decided to host the Amsterdam Virtual Run Marathon 2020. BP took the opportunity to interview PRNL's leader Minnie Schaaphok, who is also one of the founding members of PRG. Here is our Q&A:
BP: How and when did Pinoy Runners Nederland started?
Minnie: In 2014, I start my running journey. My goal is to join a running event and run my first 5K in our small barangay here in the Netherlands called Veendam. Together with my running buddy Aileen Haan from Cebu, that time I created Pinoy Runners Nederland (Team Pinoy) in year 2014 to encourage some Pinays to join the group. Then I met Els de Guzman in Facebook and she is also active in running. Then we registered for our first TCS Amsterdam half marathon in 2014. Doon po nag start yung addiction ("verslavend" in Dutch) namin sa running. We almost run a race every weekend here in Nederland.
BP: How many members of PRNL?
Minnie: We have 52 members but only 10 runners are active joining races.
BP: Explain the reason for PRNL to host the Amsterdam Virtual Run 2020?
Minnie: Tradition na namin ang tumakbo yearly sa TCS Amsterdam Marathon, but this year we want to run the 42K distance, kaya naisipan namin mag host ng Amsterdam Virtual Run sa Pinoy Runners Global. We registered also in the official TCS Amsterdam Marathon 2020 Virtual Run on Oct 18 2020.
BP: Have you ran the actual TCS Amsterdam Marathon (42kms)? Would you know how many of the members of PRN have ran the the actual (non-virtual) TCS Amsterdam Marathon (42kms)?
Minnie: Yes. I ran with Els. We are a total 7 members of PRNL who are 42km finishers of TCS Amsterdam Marathon.
 |
| PRNL runners proudly showing the Philippine flag at the Amsterdam Marathon |
 |
| PRNL has 7 members who have finished the TCS Amsterdam Marathon |
The PRNL has magnificent 7 members who are full mary finishers of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. One of them is Els who is a kababayan from Bicol. Living in the Netherlands for 20 years already, one time a few years back she brought her family for a vacation in the Philippines and it is at that time that the BP got to meet her, having shared a common passion for running. Working on this blog article, the BP touched base with Els and asked her a few questions to have an added feel of the world class marathon that Amsterdam and the whole of the Netherlands are proud of. Here is the interview:
BP: Have you run the TCS Amsterdam Marathon (42kms)? How many times have you finished it?
Els: Yes I had run it twice the 42kms. And 4 times the half marathon.
BP: What is your best time in the Amsterdam Marathon?
Els: My best time us 4 hrs 33 mins. This was in 2017.
BP: Describe the experience of running in the Amsterdam Marathon. Why do you like running in the Amsterdam Marathon?
Els: For me, I can describe it as one of the amazing marathons in Europe. You start and finish in the Olympic Stadium at the city of Amsterdam which you can feel that you are one of the elite runners. I love running at the Amsterdam Marathon because it's always amazing: the support, the crowd and the enthusiasm from the people along the course. Shame that we can't run this year. But I will be running the 42kms as virtual for Amsterdam Marathon and to our pinoyrunner group. I consider it as my yearly run from 2014.
 |
| Els de Guzman at the finish line in TCS Amsterdam Marathon 2017. |
Looks like Minnie, Els and more PRNL runners are annual devotees to the beautiful marathon of the city of Amsterdam. Which brings us back to the motto that is part of the coat of arms of the city.
Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig. Heroic, Resolute, Compassionate.
When introduced to Amsterdam's coat of arms after World War II, these 3 virtues referred to the uncommon goodness of the people of Amsterdam in standing up for fellow human beings and standing up for what is right and just during an impactful event in 1941, a challenging time when foreign aggressors ruled their land.
It can also be argued that these 3 virtues are applicable to us runners. These 3 virtues are habit(s) that are not something ingrained in us when we are born but rather something we practice and improve on.
Clearly, being RESOLUTE is something an addict of long distance running cannot do without. To be purposeful, determined and unwavering should be there if one is to break out of the proverbial "hitting the wall' in order to finish a marathon or more.
HEROIC may not be very obvious in running as compared to resolute. But try to see the intertwinity of heroism and love of country and connect it with the ever familiar image of Pinoy runners proudly showing the Philippine flag upon finishing a race in a foreign land.
The meaning of COMPASSION is to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. Lately, there has been some science literature on the phenomenon called Helper's High. Endorphins, a brain chemical that gets produces when one is out running a 5K or more. It is the hormones that give us a Runner's High. Turns out that a similar kind of high can be experienced when we do charitable deeds of helping others. It is Helper's High. Imagine then the possibilities of experiencing a double bliss of Helper's High and Runner's High. It can be done. It can be random acts of kindness while running. It can be more deliberate endeavors like using running as fund raising for a charitable cause.
So lets get going and running with intentionally developing our virtuous habits of Heldfhaftig, Vastberaden and Barmhartig. We open ourselves to be a better version of ourselves.
Imagine the possibilities.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment