They are off: 108th edition of the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse begins

The 108th edition of the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse, or four-day walk, kicked off at 4am on Tuesday.

More than 45,000 walkers from more than 70 countries are taking part in this year’s event, with marchers covering up to 50 kilometres a day.

The first day takes participants across the Waal Bridge into the Betuwe region, into the town of Elst. It is known as “Blue Tuesday” and the centre of the Elst is decorated in blue with walkers welcomed by bands and spectators.

Each day, the marchers will take different route through Gelderland, Brabant and Limburg. They can choose to walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometres a day.

The Vierdaagse was first held in 1909, when 306 mostly military participants set out from 10 army garrisons around the country, an initiative of the Dutch League for Physical Education amid fears that the rise of motorised transport would erode soldiers’ fitness.

The event moved permanently to Nijmegen in 1925 and has been skipped only in 1914 and 1915, during the Second World War and in the coronavirus years. The 2006 edition was called off after the first day, when two walkers died in extreme heat.

Marchers will get lucky with the weather, which is forecast to be between 20° and 22° degrees in the afternoon, slightly lower than average. The next four days will mostly be sunny but with occasional showers on Wednesday and Thursday.

The age of participants has been steadily declining. For years, walkers were mostly 60 plus but this year 20.5% of walkers are in their 20s. They only accounted for 7.5% of marchers in 2016.

The march ends on Friday in Nijmegen. At the finish, the walkers are welcomed by thousands of spectators and showered with flowers.