“Just hurry up.” She said it with a happy smile, but Brittany’s intentions were clear: there had to be no delay during the No-Limit Challenge which just took place, despite all the corona measures in The Netherlands. For Brittany, it was her sixth participation in the No-Limit Challenge, which is meant for people with intellectual disabilities. She enjoyed it as much as all previous editions.
During the No-Limit Challenge, which for the past five years has always been on the calendar of Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, participants usually first swim in the swimming pool, then drink coffee, then do a bike ride on their city bikes, then have lunch and finally they walk a loop. This year the concept had some changes because of the corona measures and the participants only did a bike ride of fifteen kilometers, then had lunch and finally walked another seven kilometers. “But I’m actually glad that there was no swimming today”, Brittany said very positively. “It’s always fun to participate, every year, but it’s also very tough. I was on a city bike with no gears: that doesn’t make it any easier. And the walking part was tough too.”
In addition to Brittany, seventeen other sports enthusiasts with a disability took part in this year’s No-Limit Challenge, all supported by a personal companion. One of them was Bobby, with whom cycling and walking seemed easy. “We just keep going, aren’t we? You’re a man for that”, he laughs. It wasn’t made easy for him by the way, because halfway through the bike part his tire snapped and he was forced to switch to the bike of his companion. “For me, it’s the fourth time I’ve been participating and we had a nice pace as always”.
The pace was no problem for Roy, another competitor, either. Armed with a backpack full of water, he walked solidly. “Too bad there wasn’t any swimming, but biking and walking is also fun. It was heavy though, we have been all over the city. I’ve participated three times before, but next year I’ll definitely be there again.”
