Ton van Nieuwenhuizen, Nijmegen/The Netherlands

Q: What other sports, besides Track & Field, do you like to watch?

A: I always enjoyed watching tennis and gymnastics, because I used to play those sports myself. But now that I spent a couple of months in Australia I really got into Aussie Rules / Footy. I like that the game doesn’t stop as often as American Football and contains more action (goals) than soccer. In the end I always think that it is the ambiance that makes a game though…for that matter, I would probably enjoy a good game of curling as long as the crowd is going crazy:-)

Q: What is your favorite song to listen to before a race?

A: I never listen to music during my warm-up, because I like to take up what’s going on around me and music would also distract me too much to concentrate on what I’m about to do.

I do listen to music on easy runs and especially (lonely) long runs. I think my favorite running song at the moment has got to be “My People” by the Presets. In the spring of 2009 I went to an intimate 100 people-counting concert of the Australian band in Tallahassee and have been hooked on them since. "My People" is a very upbeat song that reminds me of racing and subconsciously makes me run way faster than I was meant to, for the 5 minutes it lasts.

I compare the part between 2.55 and 3.20 with the anticipation near the end of a tactical race. You can feel the move could be there any second, but it’s not quite happening yet. By the time it gets to 3.20 it is just out of control. When I listen to this song during an easy run by that point I always catch myself sprinting like my life depends on it...and asking myself: "What do you think you're doing?":-)