Remarkable Dutch Elite Athlete (27) Thrives on Chaos: 'Crying on a Treadmill in Shanghai, so I Can Do This Now Too'

At 27, Keetels is taking the Dutch marathon scene by storm with her remarkable story. Juggling her job as a flight attendant for KLM, she manages to clock elite times, including becoming Dutch champion in Rotterdam and winning in Vancouver, Canada, just three weeks later. She consistently crosses the finish line with a spring in her step. On Sunday, she won in Vancouver; on Monday, she landed; on Tuesday, she flew a round trip to Berlin before sharing her story on a talk show that evening. By Wednesday, she was off to Curaçao again.

"I'm definitely not quitting my job as a flight attendant," Keetels states. "It truly energizes me. One moment I'm in Kuala Lumpur, then I'm running along the coast in Rio de Janeiro, and then I'm on a beautiful track in Portland. That gives me so much energy, and it's worth every jet lag. I do want to work fifty percent, though, to create more room for improvement."

In April, she realized in Rotterdam just how well chaos and a packed schedule suit her. "I really felt the jet lag there, having just returned from Argentina. Then, there was even more chaos the day before the race because I'd forgotten my gels in my hotel room. So, at 10 PM, I took the train back and forth to retrieve them. Someone on the train asked me what I was doing there, knowing I had to run the next morning."

She performed admirably, securing the Dutch title with a dominant display. She wouldn't easily scale back her busy lifestyle. "I find it great mental training. Sometimes I come back from a long flight and it's tough. But if I can do it today, I can do it during a race," she tells herself before lacing up her shoes and heading out for a run, no matter where she is.

"It's both physical and mental. On race day, it works to my advantage that there have been so many moments where I've proven I can do it. I can draw on that throughout a race. 'You were crying on a treadmill in Shanghai, so you can do this now too,'" she reminds herself. Her sudden rise in the marathon world has come out of nowhere for many, and frankly, for herself too.

"In 2019, I signed up for the children's cancer fund, but I was also starting my student life then. So, I wasn't an ambitious athlete. I just wanted to raise money and found myself embraced by the warm community of the KiKa family. Since then, I've run two marathons every year for charity, and I certainly haven't run all of them sober. My friends always said I ran on sheer willpower."

Now, even the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are her goal. How on earth will she manage to compete at the highest level? "I'm currently looking for sponsors so I can work fifty percent. That way, I'd fly for seven days and be home for three weeks. Then I could, for example, train at altitude and then catch another flight. Or I could take unpaid leave. I'm also looking for a coach, as I'm doing it all without one right now. I feel there's so much more in me. Small adjustments could really make a huge difference."