Professor Swinnen chairs the Department of Oncology but in 2011 he was first and foremost a father who had to watch his youngest son undergo a very heavy cancer treatment. Chemotherapy, surgery, radiation treatment,... Pieter, a tennis fanatic who was always top of the class, had to quit school and ended up in a wheelchair.

Five years after his treatments he’s doing relatively well. But he’s still struggling with the after-effects, says Johan Swinnen. “Pieter is still nauseous every morning and often very tired. He also has balance issues, so when he accompanies me during my running practice it’s always with a special tricycle.”

Johan Swinnen training with his son Pieter.

Thanks to intensive physiotherapy Pieter is still making progress. At his day centre he’s recently taken up disability football. And the wheelchair was put aside for good a couple of months ago.

So it’s time for his dad to keep the promise he made five years ago: “To honour Pieter’s perseverance and that of many other cancer patients I want to re-enact their fight in a symbolic way. I knew early on that I’d be making the legendary journey to Compostela, where so many pilgrims have gone before me, each with their own goal. My goal is hope in the fight against cancer. I’m also doing it to raise funds for the Leuven Cancer Institute, of which I’m the vice-chairman. They do pioneering research to improve the treatment for cancer. That’s how we try to really give shape to this hope.”

Heat and cold

We're less than two months away from the big day, when Johan will be seen off on the parking lot of University Hospitals Leuven, Gasthuisberg. Four and a half weeks later his wife Annemie and Pieter will be waiting for him at the finish line in Santiago de Compostela. If all goes well, he’ll have covered almost 2,500 kilometres by then. Running. As far as he can tell, few people have already done this. “It will be tough, I’m aware of that. I leave on 21 August – right after my final re-examinations – and I’m hoping to arrive around 22 or 23 September – a couple of days before I have to teach again.”

As I’ll be running twelve to fifteen hours per day there’s little time to recover. My biggest concern are injuries: the smallest sore can become a massive problem.

Calories

The journey to Compostela is not Johan’s first feat. Earlier ones include running from London to the source of the Thames. Three hundred kilometres in three days, with the occasional half-hour nap. “And last year I ran 240 kilometres through the Jura. But this is a whole new level. I’ll have the support of an amazing team, both in Leuven and on location, with a camper van.” Johan will spend most nights in this van but he also wants to sleep in a real pilgrims’ inn a couple of times, to really get a feel for the unique atmosphere. “Not every day, because I’m told that it’s hard to get a proper night’s sleep in these dormitories (laughs).”

“The camper van won’t be able to follow me everywhere I go, because I’ll be taking a traditional pilgrimage route, often via unpaved roads.” To make sure he doesn’t get lost along the way he’s made GPS files of all stages: “I’ve already tested some of them in the past weekends. From Leuven to Namen and from Namen to the French border, each time about 70 kilometres. I just have to make sure that I get enough calories, salts, and water. If it’s really hot I need about five litres of fluid during a long-distance run."

Airmail paper

Quite a few people have already expressed their willingness to run or cycle alongside Johan for a little while: “The first kilometres from Gasthuisberg are particularly popular: they’re downhill (laughs). But some people will also join me in France or Spain for a couple of days. One colleague will even come all the way from Australia.”

"In the weekend I try to do one long-distance run of about 70 km."

In the meantime, he’s trying to train as often as he can: “But it’s not always easy to fit that into my schedule. In the weekend I try to do one long-distance run of about 70 km and one hill training of about 35 km. But during the week I usually train only one or two hours per day. I often don’t get around to running until very late in the evening.”

Over 150 messages have already been submitted. Some people were considerate and used thin airmail paper.

Furthermore, he also makes time for swimming and power training, with an eye toward carrying his backpack. This doesn’t just carry water and provisions but also messages from cancer patients, their families, and researchers. Hence the name of the challenge: ‘Letters for Compostela’. “Sometimes it’s easier to commit something to paper than to say it. We placed red post boxes throughout the hospital so that people can leave a note. But they can also get the messages to us through our website or our postal address.”

Over 150 messages have already been submitted: “Some people were considerate and used thin airmail paper (laughs). The messages express anger and fear, but also gratitude and hope, there are children’s drawings... We have even received messages from abroad. One patient wrote that he never got to visit Compostela himself and now sees his dream come true a little bit after all.”

Professor Swinnen drawn by his son Pieter

Camera crew

It’s still a surprise what will happen with all these messages in Compostela. A stone is ready as well, with a haiku on it that was written especially for this occasion. The author’s name is still Johan’s well-kept secret. “I’m going to leave this stone at the Cruz de Ferro, a few hundred kilometres before Compostela, where pilgrims traditionally leave a stone from their homeland. This symbolizes the burdens of which people want to free themselves, in this case the burden of cancer.”

He watches with admiration as his son turns his life around. “Before his illness Pieter dreamt of becoming an architect or a technical draughtsman. Now he has discovered that he’s very good at creative drawing.” One of Pieter's drawings is a cartoon character of his dad, and the resemblance is striking. It’s printed on mugs and notepads that are sold to raise money for the Leuven Cancer Institute. Those who want to contribute in a different way can also choose to sponsor kilometres.

It all started very small but now the media is following the project with growing interest. “I’ll be followed by a camera crew on my journey. That puts some pressure on me, of course.” But Pieter, in any case, is confident that his father will succeed: “He’s someone who doesn’t quit. Yes, I’m proud of him.” And vice versa: “Pieter is not a quitter either. All these years, he’s borne everything without complaining, always staying positive. It’s out of respect for his fight and that of so many other cancer patients that I want to complete these journey.”