About Gijs

1991?: Born in '87, the first 16 years of my life I lived in Eindhoven in the south of the Netherlands (aside from one year in Singapore). All four of us have short Dutch names: Maud, Bram, Gijs, Loes.

2003: In my life I have tried many sports (Pole-vault, Volleyball, Basketball, Ice-Hockey, Skiing, Soccer, Tennis, Indoor Hockey and Sailing) yet most time I spent running: until I was 16 I trained ca. 6 times a week.

2004: After graduating from high school in The Netherlands I went to Canada for one year and lived with a host family. Aside from brushing up my English I learned how to dress for -40 degrees Celcius. This could come in handy at the beginning of my trip.

2007: During my period at University College Utrecht I organized a hitch-hiking competition to the North Cape. Me and Eelke discovered that it is cold up there at the end of October.

2007: During my exchange in Thailand I studied Sustainable Development and Community based tourism. Here I am rowing in a dugout canoe.

2007: Cycling in difficult conditions in northern India

2007: This is my first and only long-distance cycling experience. On pink 40$ Hello Kitty bikes we cycled 800km from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

2008: The Roparun was also a big physical challenge. With a team of 8 runners you run non-stop from Paris to Rotterdam. In total I ran 80km and cycled the same distance within 48 hours.

In 2008 I graduated from University College Utrecht with a honors degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (specializations in Economics and Social Geography)

2008: After University College I took one gap year during which I did an internship at ABN Amro working with Sustainability and traveled to Africa twice. This was my second half marathon running through a wildlife reserve in Kenia. I now ran 4 half marathons (Khon Kaen, Lewa, Utrecht and Lyngby. My first marathon I ran in Tromsø, Norway. After cycling for a year the triathlon might be my next challenge...

2009: During my first trip to Africa I traveled from Kenya to Cape town and did an internship in Zambia. During my second trip we did a feasibility study for starting a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant in Namibia or Mozambique. We also visited this conference in Johannesburg.

2009: I have many pictures of me standing on my hands. During Cape To Cape 2012 I will try to stand on my hands in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

2012: In 2009 I started my master in Environmental and Natural Resource economics at Copenhagen University. During the 2,5 year I also worked part-time at A.P. Møller - Mærsk working with Sustainability. I graduated with a thesis called ''Cost-benefit analysis of the Fuel Switch performed by Maersk Line in the Port of Singapore''.