His father had his own greenhouse company. He started his own company together with his brother. He has a personal record of 2 hours and 21 minutes on the marathon and this record he ran at the age of 43 (!)
Since the Tesselaar's saw opportunities in Freesia, they started growing this beautiful flower. The meaning of the flower is lasting friendship. "I fully recognize myself in this," says TDR athlete and grower of the Freesia, Pip Tesselaar.
In 1988 Pip Tesselaar (44) started growing Freesias together with his brother. The marathon athlete eventually bought out his brother and started for himself. He has expanded it further and further. “It is very satisfying if you can get more improvement in the production or the quality of the flower. The search for improvement remains a challenge, "says the Freesia grower. Top athletes are also always looking for improvement.
"If you don't look for improvement, you don't overcome it and you lose weight"
Pip sees many similarities in having his own company and top sport. “Running a business is also top sport. If you are not looking for improvement, you will not overcome it and you will lose weight. In one way or another, top sport also helps you to think business-like, "says the marathon runner. “I am always looking for more revenue, but also to limit costs. The two largest costs are labor and energy. The goal is to achieve the same production with less energy consumption. That is an improvement, because it should not cost more than it yields. This is also true in top-class sport, because if, for example, you run 200 kilometers a week and then have too little time to finish
to rest, it also becomes proportionally less. If you achieve more sales but also have more costs in return, the result will ultimately be less. "
The TDR athlete also sees many similarities between the Freesia and the marathon. "If you can handle the load to train a lot, the stretch is endless," says the TDR athlete. “Just like with the marathon, a lot of stretching is possible in the production of the flour. Because we specialize in growing one type of flower, we can increase production considerably. If you are going to train specifically for the marathon, you will also get much more out of it. ”
Running a business takes a lot of time. Pip has a wife and is the father of two beautiful children. Combining your own company, family and top sport is a profession in itself. “The most important thing is that the company has good people who are in charge every day. I have to create it so that I can walk away, "says the proud father. Private, work and training are often mixed up. If Pip has to train at three in the afternoon, he does the administration instead of three at eight. A new building was built in 2007. Pip needed time to get his company back in order. He then had to put running into third place. “If the business is not going well, walking is still a hobby. If things go well, the advantage is that you look at the company in a fresher way. By walking next to my company I become more detached from the company and that helps me to make good decisions. ”
"I like experimenting, for example, a height tent in my active period"
The Heerhugowaar resident slept in a high altitude tent. A high altitude tent causes the body to produce red blood corpuscles. He had to spend 12 hours a day in it. "This was very difficult. I didn't always make it to 12 hours. I can still make some gains here. In order to achieve the 12 hours, you have to make many concessions. I like to experiment with, for example, a high altitude tent during my active period", says the Heerhugowaar resident.
The PWN Egmond Half Marathon has always been a classic for Pip. The elements of the weather always play a major role in this competition. In 2009 it was a slow edition. “The village was running fast. We came through the first four kilometers in 12 minutes. There was a lot of watching on the beach and things went a lot quieter. When a truck came by that went a little faster, I decided to walk behind it, "says the TDR athlete. By
Pip had escaped the lead group on his own. He came down the beach second and finished in a time of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Pip Tesselaar has been doing athletics since 1979. He sees the creation of Team Distance Runners as one of the biggest changes in athletics. “In my time, associations had some good athletes. If the level is not there and you walk 33 minutes in the ten kilometers, everyone thought it was good. After all, the winner always goes fast. Occasionally good athletes came from Noord-Holland. Since TDR joins the forces of the good athletes, the level in North Holland has risen compared to the rest of the Netherlands. After all, competition is always needed to get better, "says the experienced athlete.
Pip thinks the marathon finds the best distance. The TCS Amsterdam Marathon is for Pip the best event he has done so far. “In 2011 everything fell into place. It was the perfect race, perfect weather and I was in the perfect group, "says the passionate athlete. Pip walked in in 2011
the TCS Amsterdam Marathon more than five minutes from his personal record. He finished in a time of 2 hours and 22 minutes.
Source: www.lechampion.nl
