Noor Van De Veer

1 September 2021

"I recommend Sweet Sport Performance because of Erik's inspiring physical and mental coaching, his fun and adventurous schedules, and his proven ability to create training plans for injury-prone runners with big dreams."

Ultrarunning coaching

Noor van de Veer, a fanatic alpinist and runner, transformed from running short laps with recurring injuries to an ultra runner with impressive results. With the help of Sweet Spot Performance, she ran the Ultra Trail des Dents du Midi (57K, 3800D+), achieved a second place at the Dutch Ultra Running Championship, and managed to stay injury-free.

“I recommend Sweet Sport Performance because of Erik's inspiring physical and mental coaching, his fun and adventurous schedules, and his proven ability to create training plans for injury-prone runners with big dreams.”

-North of the Feather

Challenge

Noor's love for running was often interrupted by recurring injuries such as shin splints and persistent knee pain. As a result, she had lost some of her confidence in her own body. Despite these setbacks, the dream of becoming an ultra runner continued to burn.

As a fanatic mountaineer and with a few friendly adventure races under her belt, she knew that she wanted to do it, but she didn't know how to do it properly without running into injuries.

With the Ultra Trail des Dents du Midi (57K, 3800D+) in sight, Noor ended up at Sweetspot when she was looking for good guidance with a long-term perspective.

Approach

To ensure that Noor could continue to perform sustainably and without injuries, she was given a tailor-made program.

Customised training schedules that enhanced both her running and alpine activities.
Monthly coaching sessions where we talked about mindset, motivation and race preparation.
A strategy that emphasized patience, progressive building, and, above all, enjoyment of the process.”

Norwegian experience

“Erik’s story appealed to me because of his enjoyment of the sport and his passion for long (mountain) adventures. Coaches who are so focused on adventure running are not often found in the Netherlands…

As a climber myself, Erik understood what I was doing a lot besides running. The schedule he made for me every month turned out to be exactly what I needed: long and slow, lots of time on your feet, building up conservatively, but never boring.

The training is varied and always challenging. Erik has an integral view and builds the schedules in such a way that my alpine climbing strengthens the running, and vice versa.

This way my injuries stayed away and my confidence in my own abilities grew every week.

In September 2021 the time had come and I completed the Dents du Midi with great pleasure. Along the way I felt well prepared, both physically and mentally.

It went better than I could have ever imagined, which led to a great finish time and even a 2nd place at the National Ultra Running Championships. The most amazing thing for me was that my body could handle it and I had no pain at all afterwards.”

Evolution

After her successful finish at the Dents du Midi, Noor continued to grow as an ultrarunner. With each race, her endurance became stronger and her self-confidence grew. In the meantime, she has gained several wonderful experiences.

Norway's achievements did not go unnoticed.

She has already been interviewed several times, such as here for the monthly magazine Hoogtelijn .