Cross champion Evi Falkena receives support from Reggeborgh Foundation
Evi Falkena can count on support from Reggeborgh Foundation. The athlete from Dronten will be included in the Foundation's Groene Appeltjes programme. ‘I am very happy about this. It will help me further along my path, allowing me to expand my training programme with altitude training, among other things,’ says the Dutch under-20 champion in cross country and the 5,000 metres.
Falkena (19) has always been a good runner. When she and her brother used to participate in a Kids Run - while their parents ran competitions - she was often the fastest. So it was a logical choice for her to join the Flevo Delta athletics club as a six-year-old girl. Until the age of fourteen, Evi competed in all parts of the heptathlon. ‘I always enjoyed running the most; it was also the event I was good at.’ She joined Loopland Gelderland, a talented group of young athletes who train together weekly at Papendal.
‘I always enjoyed running the most; it was also the event I was good at.’
- Evi Falkena
Falkena ran all distances, from 800 metres to cross-country, and won medals in all events at the Dutch Championships. Over the past two years, the Dronten native has specialised in longer distances and cross-country. ‘I just really enjoy running. It's a good way to relax.’
Falkena lives in Oosterbeek, close to Papendal, and studies Health and Society at Wageningen University. ‘We sometimes train on the track, but I usually run outside in nature. If I had the choice, I would prefer to run in the woods around Arnhem. It's very beautiful there. At home in the polder, it's harder with those long straight stretches and lots of wind.’
The beauty of cross-country running is mainly the variety, Falkena believes. A fast course suits her well, but she also performs well on a difficult course with sand. ‘And in cross-country running, the finishing time doesn't matter; it's about being the fastest.’
Falkena hopes to demonstrate this on the track at the European Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, in early August. This winter, she wants to qualify for the European Cross Country Championships. She does not want to look much further ahead than that. ‘I look at my career on a year-by-year basis and just want to finish as high as possible. I'm not going to say now that I want to go to the Olympics, because that's not realistic at the moment.’
‘With her national titles in cross-country and her strong performances over longer distances on the track, we see Evi as a promising running talent. We are curious to see how she develops and will of course be following her closely.’
- Inge Wessels from Reggeborgh Foundation