Cecile Mestrini

I am Cecile Mestrini, known as @Sportieve_Bourgondier on Instagram. I grew up in South Limburg but have lived near Bread for many years. I am lucky to have come from a family of gourmands where everything is focused on eating and drinking. Sport was never of much interest, either to participate in or to watch.

My job is as a project and event manager at Dutch Outdoors. We organise sporty breaks with a touch of good food. What a match! Occasionally I go along to lead a break such as trail running in Lapland or a bike ride in Girona.

During my student years in Breda i rather easily gained the usual weight. This triggered me to slowly begin running. I was not immediately won over. I had phases of enthusiasm followed by phases when the gourmand in me took over... In 2015 I was given the opportunity to run the New York marathon. Now this finally won me over. Not only the marathon itself but also the path to get there. Now I am 15 (trail)marathons further on... I cannot imagine life without running. It is a part of me. It keeps me sane! My best marathon was New York. The toughest was a trail marathon over Mont Ventoux. The longest were the Krijtlandtrail in South Limburg (52km) and the Houffatrail (53km). My preferred running companion is my dog, Joop. Whenever possible he comes along on an aventure.

Triathlon

I signed up for half an Ironman in 2021 completely out of the blue. I had never competed in a short triathlon and I couldn't swim front crawl. I trained for half a year and finished successfully. After finishing I decided to sign up for the full Ironman. #bucket list! I managed to finish this in August 2022. I am incredibly proud of this. 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.2 km running. 

Goals

I am always looking for a new challenge. This keeps me motivated to train. Without a goal, I find it hard to sustain the motivation to exercise. I'm going to the Scottish Highlands soon to cover 160km trail running in 4 days. That's my next goal!

I also have a great passion for cooking. Due to sports, my interest in and knowledge of healthy food has grown. But taste always comes first! Healthy can also be very tasty, which is something I want to share with others. I try to inspire people with my healthy recipes. When it comes to sports nutrition, taste and natural ingredients are very important to me, which is why Kalkman is a good match! If you ever have any questions about the products, feel free to ask!