Search term

Search term

Student story Lucas Muijtjens

Breath by breath - running the IRONMAN® to raise awareness of tuberculosis

We discover new things about staff and students every day at our faculty. That Kim is working on a non-invasive test for kidney cancer. That Christian provides solid evidence-based health tips for mindfulness. And that Lucas, a Human Movement Sciences student, is competing in the IRONMAN® European Championship to raise awareness of tuberculosis.

When two passionate minds meet, great things can happen. A few months ago during a Maastricht Social Run, Human Movement Sciences student Lucas ran across Juan, an alumnus of Governance and Leadership in European Public Health. A conversation about training for the IRONMAN® European Championship and working for the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation led to a partnership to help raise international awareness of tuberculosis, one of the deadliest infectious global diseases.

Lucas Muijtjens

Lucas Muijtjens is a Human Movement Sciences student teaming up with Juan Barrios, an alumnus of Governance and Leadership in European Public Health. They are raising awareness of tuberculosis through Lucas' participation in the IRONMAN® European Championship.

A chance encounter

During his first master’s in Health Education and Promotion Lucas founded the Social Run Club Maastricht to promote a healthy lifestyle among students. Lucas: “It’s a free run where everyone can join. During one of the runs, I met Juan who joined us for the first time. He started talking about tuberculosis (TB) and his work at the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation and I talked about my training schedule for IRONMAN®.” Juan saw an opportunity and suggested using IRONMAN® as a platform to help raise awareness of tuberculosis.

“Even though I have a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences, my knowledge of tuberculosis was limited. Before agreeing to a partnership I researched the disease.” The most striking fact for Lucas was that TB is still the deadliest infectious disease in the world causing 1,3 million deaths yearly (WHO – Global Tuberculosis Report 2023). “This disease must be tackled on multiple levels because nobody is safe until everyone is safe. I met with Juan and the organisation again to set up the collaboration.”

Breath by breath

“The Dutch KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation aims to end tuberculosis in the world, and focuses on: tuberculosis and related health problems, antimicrobial resistance and pandemics. Part of our strategic approach is to disseminate knowledge; we aim to distribute knowledge on TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and overall care. The IRONMAN® competition is internationally renowned and attracts a large audience. It’s a perfect platform for Lucas to draw attention to our organisation.”

Lucas will wear sports gear provided by KNCV with their branding and tagline ‘Together we can end TB’, accompanied by a quote they used earlier in this campaign ‘breath by breath’. Lucas: “That’s what I will be doing during the IRONMAN®, breathe through an exhausting and estimated 11-12 hours to finish the IRONMAN®. Hopefully, when people see me wearing the KNCV gear, they will approach me and start a conversation.” 

Lucas feels ready for the IRONMAN® and can count on the support of everyone at KNCV, especially Juan. “Sometimes we are in the right place at the right time. I joined the Social Run Club to train for an awareness-raising run for TB. Meeting Lucas who is willing to support our cause as an athlete is amazing. I will definitely be standing at the finish line to cheer on Lucas when he finishes.”

Text: Ruben Beeckman

Also read