Nierdaagse Going next level to raise money for the Dutch Kidney Foundation

In the month of June, people from all over the country walked their own routes to raise money for kidney research. For the third year running, researchers from our department also joined to step up for kidney patients, as a total of 9 companions joined the Fidney Marchers 3.0  team.

When we picked the 18^th and 19^th of June for our walks, we were of course unaware of the weather forecast. Naturally, we were blessed with expectations of an agonizing 33 degrees Celsius on Saturday and thunder storms on Sunday. Luckily, the forecast for both days became less extreme as the week progressed and we were ready to go. To try and beat the heat, we started early on the first day and walked 15 km through the Hatertse & Overasseltse Vennen west of Nijmegen. After adventures through high grass, over barbed wire and on trampolines, we completed the first day without much trouble and were ready to prepare ourselves for the tough second day.

Starting in the rain with our umbrellas at the ready, we walked 30 km through Beek, Berg & Dal and the Ooijpolder. The hills of this area offered some difficulties early on, but luckily we were quickly able to recover with pancakes at the Duivelsberg restaurant (although it would be okay if they are a little bit less generous with their cheese quantities the next time). In the Ooijpolder, we were nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes, but we narrowly escaped to the ferry. After one last climb up to the finish line, another Nierdaagse was successfully completed by all the participants. With the €1,750 raised, we hope we have made a nice contribution to the advancement of kidney research.

Ready to go again next year!