Jake Maarse
Seldom had the Netherlands experienced the level of cold that accompanied the winter of 1963. Held against that frigid backdrop was the Eleven City Race (the Elfstedentocht). A long-distance tour skating competition that takes place on natural ice, the race is almost 200 kilometers long; and is the biggest ice-skating tour in the world. The race is held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, leading past all eleven historical cities of the province. Held at most just once a year, and only when the natural ice along the entire course is at least 15 centimeters thick, since 1963, the race has only been held three times. The Elfstedentocht of 1963 has passed into history as "The hell of '63" when only 69 of the 10,000 participants were able to finish the race, due to the extremely low temperatures of -18 °C, powder snow and a harsh eastern wind. The 1963 winner, Reinier Paping, who needed 11 hours to finish the race, became a national hero. Conditions were so horrendous that many of the contestants had frostbite, broken limbs, and damaged eyes. As a result, the race would not be contested for the next 22 years. Residing in Holland in 1963 an eight-year-old Jake Maarse was captivated and began skating. Emigrating to Canada in 1976, Jake and his wife eventually settled life near Cobourg as a horticulturist, while also renewing his love of long-distance skating, with Jake competing in various events throughout North America and Europe. In 2001-03, he was the only skater competing in all three distances at the Lake Placid marathons, winning all three (10K, 25K, & 42K) in 2002. In 2004, Jake co-founded “Marathon Skating International”. That same year Jake helped with the establishment of the MSI Race Series with seven events contested throughout North America. In 2011 and 2016 Jake participated in the Alternative Eleven Cities races which were held in the Weissensee, Austria. Ten thousand skaters come together there every year to celebrate long distance skating. In 2018 Jake helped organize Friendship races with about 100 skaters from Canada, the USA and the Netherlands. Since 2018 till present Jake is still an active skater and is involved in fundraising skating events for charity every year through the Rotary club of West Ottawa.