Chris Kools (59) from ‘s-Gravenzande knows exactly what he is getting into. “That’s the worst part,” he laughs when asked what inspires him to drive exactly 1710 laps on an ice rink within 24 hours. He wants to set a new world record to draw attention to the harsh times that ice rinks are going through with the high energy prices.
You can safely call Kools a skating madman. Since he discovered his love for sports in 2008, he can no longer be beaten off the ice rink. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday he drives his rounds at De Uithof in The Hague. And sometimes he also takes Friday and Sunday with him. With more than 13,300 laps completed, it already gave him the track record over the past year. “And then it starts to itch. If possible, I also want to do as many laps as possible in one day,” he says.
Three Elfstedentocht
Kools even hopes to beat the world record. That dates back to 1994. Roelof Kruidhof established it on a track in Baselga, Italy. After that, several attempts were made to break the record in the Netherlands, but so far no one has succeeded. Kools has to skate 655 kilometers non-stop to make it. That is more than three Elfstedentochts or exactly 1710 laps of no more than 50 seconds per lap.
It sounds like an impossible feat and yet Kools thinks he can do it. He has already completed two 24-hour marathons, only with rollerblades. He now skates an average of 42 seconds per lap, so Kools should have enough time, he calculates. “But don’t go too fast.”
There’s no doubt it’s going to be tough. Although he tries to be as well prepared as possible on the ice. The ideal line has already been found during his thousands of training laps; a red line under the ice that is exactly 385 meters and is in the middle of the track. This way he avoids having to slalom between the slow drivers on the outside and putting too much strain on one leg by taking too sharp inside bends.
Eat ten times as much as normal
Nothing is left to chance with his nutrition either. Kools has calculated that he needs to eat 21,000 kilocalories to complete the monster ride, ten times as much as normal for an adult man in a day. That means eating a lot of pasta, noodles and eggs in the days leading up to it. And during the ride enough fruit juices, nut bars and broth. But not too much, because Kools wants to avoid having to go to the toilet. “The story goes that Kruidhof used a catheter for his stool. I try to drink exactly as much as I sweat out again.”
Last year, Kools already skated for 9 hours straight. It was so mind numbing that he started reading the billboards along the track backwards to see if he could make fun words with the letters. That was not a success with all boards, however: at Van Koppen Arbeidsrecht, the word ‘cams’ kept coming to mind. “But of course we weren’t going to stop,” he laughs.
Kools has agreed with the ice masters that he can continue to skate during the mopping breaks, something that is not normally allowed. ,,During those 9 hours I noticed that it is very difficult to get going again if you have stood still for a while. My legs then sour. You better keep going.”
Kools does not just want to complete a special challenge with his achievement. He also hopes to get positive attention for the many ice rinks that are having a hard time due to the high energy prices. “So let’s make it an event right away.”
On Friday 10 February at 7:30 Kools will start at De Uithof ice rink in The Hague.
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Tags: Skating crazy Chris impossible hours nonstop laps ice rink Interior
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