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

Student story Lucas Muijtjens

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.

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

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