Proud? Miranda was incredibly proud! Completing the ASML Half Marathon in 2025 was the icing on the cake for her of a year of challenges, falling down and getting back up. And ultimately, of that beautiful victory, especially over herself.
“In August 2024, I went under the knife because my health left much to be desired. Now, a year later, the same woman, a different body, a stronger mindset. Your body changes along with your habits, focus, and goals. It is not magic, it is a little help from the surgeon, hard work, and making choices.” That is what she wrote on her social media.
Miranda was obese and weighed 120 kilos just a few years ago. She had physical and mental problems, such as depression related to ADHD diagnosed later in life. A Vitality Club encouraged her to exercise, and she tried all kinds of programs to lose weight. Without real success, so that is why she went ahead with the gastric bypass in August 2024 after all. “With good guidance from an obesity clinic, I then set to work on changing my eating habits and lifestyle. Exercise played an important role in this.”
The gym turned out not to be her thing; walking appealed to her more. The step to running soon followed, first with the help of an app and then, starting in January 2025, with the Eindhoven club Get Running. Apart from the positive physical effects, it turned out to give her an enormous amount of peace of mind. “I start with a question or a concern, and by kilometer five it is often resolved on its own. While running, for a moment I am no one other than myself; I don’t run to escape, but to come home to myself.”
Running with a club also helped her. “It is incredibly motivating. Every training session is small proof that I can do something I couldn’t do yesterday. That feeling never wears off. Additionally, at Get Running, I see people every week who thought running wasn’t for them, and who then just show up—each at their own pace, but they are there. A club like that turns an individual feeling into something you share. Your personal achievement also becomes a bit of the group that ran with you. What touches me most is the moment after a training session or running event, when people seek each other out with that look of ‘we did a great job together again.'”
At Get Running, she made rapid progress: she soon ran 5 km with ease, and soon after, 10 km. In October of that same year, she ran the ASML Half Marathon in Eindhoven.
It didn’t stop there. Miranda took courses and, with the support of Eindhoven Sport, completed the MBvO Sports and Exercise Leader for Seniors training. Along the way, she obtained the Assistant Running Coach (LT2) diploma from the Dutch Athletics Federation.
By now, she regularly fills in as a trainer at Get Running and provides numerous courses and guidance to seniors, helping them get moving in a smooth, fun way. To this end, she has even founded her own company under the name Fit met Mier. “I am living proof that anyone can do it.”
And sure enough, this year she had her sights set on the ASML Full Marathon in Eindhoven, but that idea has since been scaled down to the Quarter Marathon. She has simply been too busy to stick to the training schedules. But as far as Miranda is concerned, that Full Marathon will definitely happen in the near future.
