Here we go again. 2004 is here and the Nijmegen March is fast approaching. As Wendy Bumgardner mentioned so well, there is a limit to participation this year. As of February 26, 2004, the listed number of registrations are 39, 900 out of 47,000 and the former number is climbing fast. It gets more interesting as one reads on.
This year the American Military has it's own official marching contingent, the first time is quite a number of years, ranking in size and importance with the Dutch, British, German, Belgian and Scandinavian countries. The USA will be administering and assisting with registration and control of its own personnel. We are now back in the big leagues in the marching world.
One rule that has caught many by surprise is a requirement, initiated by the American Contingent, that all US personnel marching in this years event are required to walk with a group. Also known as a Marching Contingent, it will consist of 11-44 personnel. The basic rule is that if a group departs the morning of the first day and finishes the end of the last (fourth) day, and do so with less than 10% of the original personnel dropping out, the group (or the remaining members of the group) are also awarded a Group Medal.
One aspect of group marching is that personnel train together prior to the actual event and become accustomed to a consolidated pace. In the past many members among the USA attendees met for the first time at the march and being they were not accustomed to each others pace. This resulted in injuries and excessive fatigue. Those who were not accustomed to a slower pace found themselves with problems due to finding themselves on their feet longer than they were used to. The issue of the faster pace, however, accounted for most of the problems.
Given the above developments, my advice is, if one has not made the request for registration to reside at Camp Huemensoord, this should be attended to immediately. Their email address is: vierdaagse.cvm@army.dnet.mindef.nl In the text of the message give your full name, rank, military affiliation and unit, and a mailing address for the registration form. Also make a request that the email be forwarded to the American Contingent Officer for further processing.
Furthermore, if anyone from the military community is planning on training alone and attending the march with a group, train well, long, hard, and often. The emphasis will be on speed so an individual is not caught off guard by a faster pace. Wear the same boots at Nijmegen you trained with. Pick up all the pointers you can on foot care and take them to heart. At the camp one can get their feet taped. I do this religiously every year and this will also prevent blister injuries and supports the lower muscles of the feet somewhat.
Time is short this year. The official registration process only opened a few weeks ago and the slots are going fast. Also as of 26 February, 2004, I was informed there are 5,000 positions available at Camp Huemensoord, however there is no clear cut policy as of this date whether those positions also include slots for the march. So make haste and get those requests in. Be sure and return the paperwork ASAP and wire your money to the appropriate locations (one for the march and another for residence at Huemensoord).
Good luck and much success!!
