My journey as a marathoner
In ‘My journey as a marathoner’ I take you on a journey from childhood to the Berlin marathon. I talk about how running was first a refuge to digest grief and how it has become a real passion that colors my days. The book is a candid story about what drives me as a long-distance runner.
“Running through forests and fields brings me peace. Flying on a dead straight towpath gives me tons of energy. But over the years, I’ve also discovered that running is a kind of a language, a way of expressing where words fall short.” –Tessa Avermaete
Readers reactions
"I want to thank you for your story. I recognize so much of myself in it, and seeing where you are now gives me comfort. I recently lost a good friend. I struggled with an eating disorder for years and have recently started running as well. Your story gives me courage."
"Very open, vulnerable, and authentic. Hats off, beautifully done!"
"Your talent for explaining complex topics clearly and engagingly was something I already knew from your TV appearances. Now, your book has completely blown me away."
"Really well written. Some things are so relatable as a runner, a mom, ... At other moments, you present yourself so vulnerably to the reader. Impressive!"
"Once you start reading, you can't stop!"
“Tessa, I enjoyed your book!
Before I started it, I thought it was primarily for (novice) athletes and would be about the running process. I’m not a runner, so I had some reservations. It’s about sports, of course, but it’s much more. I could have thought so, of course. That you invited Marc Herremans to your first presentation was already a hint. The man also talked about his separate sports process but equally about how he deals wisely and courageously with various obstacles that appear on his life path (and in his case, there are quite a few!).
Your book is well constructed. The reader feels you are growing in your “journey as a marathoner. Those looking for it will get technical data. I wasn’t particularly, but they fascinated me anyway. This is undoubtedly because your running history is so much more. It is a story about an entire period of life. Of yourself, but with equal consideration for your entire broad entourage.
You dare to be vulnerable. Moreover: you tell that you are vulnerable and how you deal with it. You don’t do this in a pedantic way at all, you allow yourself to look into your soul, you mention your dips and failures and of course you are happy when you succeed. Luckily! Exactly because of that mix, I feel connected to you. This multifaceted approach engages me as a reader.
Moreover, you write smoothly, pleasantly, in narrative style (and that is a great art!).
I am happy to revise my initial idea: it is not a book just for runners! ‘My journey as a marathoner’ is recommended to a great many.”
Who is the target audience?
Marketing experts have told me. ‘You have to be really specific on the target audience for your book’ But I’m sorry, it’s just the way it is. This book can be worth reading for runners of all ages, and even be interesting for people that don’t even have running shoes.
This is the story of an ordinary woman, mother of two young adult sons. I don’t have a top sports body and, like everyone else, I carry a nice backpack with me. Far too young, I asked myself a lot of existential questions. Furthermore, and probably because of that, eating disorders are no stranger to me. I don’t shy away from those taboos in my book.
In this book, you find out about my personal journey as a runner: my first running shoes, the first races and the first time on the podium. Many runners rush into things. Patience is a beautiful gift if you want to become a marathoner.
And of course, the book is also aimed at runners who love that epic distance: the marathon. With a PR of 03.11.56 (Berlin 2023) and as vice-champion at the BK Marathon in Eindhoven (2024), I now dare to call myself an expert by experience.