Five against the wind

Hello, copy desk? What’s your name, kid? --- Phillip, are you ready to take this down?

Tuesday, January 30, 1940.

Leeuwarden, Friesland, The Netherlands. 23:34.

In the early hours, more than 3000 competitors and amateurs anxiously waited in the dark at the starting point of the Elfstedentocht (Eleven city tour). A 199 km skating race over frozen canals, rivers and lakes that connect eleven historical towns in Friesland, one of the two most northern provinces in The Netherlands.

Yes, I’ll wait. --- Can I go on?

Only when the Elfstedentocht Association determines that the ice is at least 15 cm thick throughout the course, will the race occur. The first of these races took place in 1909. Today was the seventh time the race was held. Only those who are members of the Association are eligible to compete, but anyone can participate.

This morning the conditions were less than ideal. The temperature was -15C, the near gale force wind from the north-east did not let up all day.

Sure. Let me know when you are ready. It's not my dime. --- Right.

At 05:00, the starting gun sounded for the competitors. The amateurs left thirty minutes later. The veterans knew to wear newspapers against their skin to hold in the body temperature, but even that might not have been enough today. A small group of ten or twelve pulled away quickly. As soon as the skaters were away from the city the full impact of the freezing wind was felt. It followed them as they headed south to Sneek, the first of the check points where each competitor must have his card stamped.

The water near the dairy plant in Sneek was still open. Normally the skaters would be klunen, I will spell: K-L-U-N-E-N. This means walking in their skates over any surface other than ice, like snow or carpet, to the nearest frozen canal or the can unlace their skates and walk in their shoes. This year the Sneek fire department had flooded streets, so they skated to the reentry point.

Damn! --- Hello? Copy desk? Get me Phillip, will ya? --- How much of that did you get? --- Right fire department. Okay, here goes.

On they went via Ijlst to Sloten. After leaving Sloten the course turned west to Staveren, and the wind became a factor. The strong, north-eastern wind constantly blew a fine mist of snow across their path and staying in the center of the canal became work. The sun briefly appeared, bathing the vast, flat land in an ethereal golden light, but soon the sky turned grey again.

Blasted! --- come on ---Hello? Phillip? Good man. --- How far back? --- Right. Ready?

The first six skaters that passed the check point in Stavern were Piet Keyzer, Cor Jongert, Auke Adema, Sjoeke Westra, Dirk van der Duim and Gerrit Gijzelen.

--- What? --- Yes, I’ll spell that for you later.

The men warmed up with hot chocolate before turning north to Hindeloopen via Workum. The wind was now square against them. Sometimes they would come to a standstill, but eventually they reached Workum.

Spectators braved the cold to cheer on the skaters. The small group of men crouched down, trying to make themselves as small a target as possible. There were still many miles to go. Too early to fight for position, they worked together, skating in line. Every hundred strokes or so, the front skater would drift to the rear to take advantage of the slip stream.

They reached Busward, the halfway point, by mid-morning. Some were disgruntled to see that they were well off whatever pace they had planned since the wind and the cold slowed them down. While gulping a cup of pea soup, they eyed each other warily, trying to take their measure. Who looked more tired? Who would be more likely to take off too fast, and who would fall back? How long could they work together before it would be each man for himself?

Yes, I’ll wait. --- Ready? --- Come on, man. --- Okay?

After Busward the wind came from their right again, but the 17 km leg to Harlingen wound mostly through the woods. The trees broke some of the biting wind. Many bridges in Harlingen were too low over the canals to skate under. The men had to lie on a skit and were then pulled under the bridges.

The course turned north-northeast after Harlingen, directly into the wind again. Twelve hard kilometers to Franeker. Snow began falling in earnest, covering the ice. Citizens tirelessly swept the lane. The top group was down to five men. Mr. Gijzelen had fallen away from the pack. His skate laces had frozen and snapped. The time it took to relace his wooden skates left him too far behind.

Their breaths froze on their skin as they exhaled. Icicles drooped from lower lips and chins and clung to scarves and sweaters. Around noon the five checked in at Franeker. The snow now created white-out conditions.

Not again! --- Hello? Find Phillip for me. --- Yeah, I know. --- Ready?

The leg to Dokkum was the longest. 26 km northeast, followed by 19 km due north. They battled the wind, cold, snow, and fatigue. Though more volunteers worked to sweep the path, for more than 20 km the skating lane was too narrow for anything more than single file. They had to shorten their strides, slowing the pace even more. At this point there was no competition, just survival.

The rest of the skaters were too far behind to be of consequence to the outcome.

At 15:00, more than two hours behind the previous race in ‘33, the five forerunners arrived at The Drost Tavern in Dokkum, the last check point before the finish line. Here the five men made a pact. Cor Jongert convinced his fellow competitors to continue to work together.

Yes, you heard that right. He claimed that the last race, the one in 1933 had two winners.

Yes, I’ll get you those names later.

Why couldn’t they award five winners this year? Jongert argued adding that they might well be the only ones finishing. They shook hands on the pact and set off for Leeuwarden. However, about five kilometers from the finish line Auke Adema sprinted forward. The other four went after him.

Chaos ensued.

At 16:33 Auke was the first one in sight of the finish line. The spectators who had been waiting for most of the afternoon in the freezing cold broke away from the sides and clogged the last few meters. Auke was caught up in the enthusiastic melee.

At 16:34 Piet Keyzer crossed the finish line first but was also waylaid by the crowd. Cor Jongert was the first to have his card stamped at the end point.

When the five men were introduced to the Prince Consort Bernhart, the prince suggested that all five be awarded the gold medal.

To recap.

3404 skaters set off this morning at 05:00 on a 199 km race. Of the 688 competitors 124 finished the race. The first skaters came in after 11 hours and 34 minutes. Of the 2716 amateurs 27 finished the course. The rest abandoned the ordeal, some with broken bones, many with frostbite or damaged corneas from snow blindness.

That concludes my report. Thank you, Phillip.