Nijmegen Vierdaagse
Day One - The Day of Elst
The 30K
walkers and late registrants start from the Julianaplein, a few blocks further from the
train station than the main start at the De Vereeniging. At each site there are food
vendors, souvenir shop, restrooms, and places to sit and socialize. Prominent at De
Vereeniging is the Compeed booth selling blister plasters.
On Tuesday morning, walkers must then pass through a start punch area. Start times vary
by distance. The military teams start from their own camp area, the Heumensoord. The 50K
walkers start from 4 am – 4:45 am, the 40K walkers from 6 am – 6:45 am and the
30 K walkers from 7:30 am – 8 am.
The later start time for the 30K walkers allowed me to
have my great Dutch breakfast (included with the room) of meats, cheeses, bread, yogurt,
juice, coffee, rolls before catching the train to Nijmegen. It was easy to follow the
streaming hoards of walkers to the Julianaplein, where we faced a mass of 7000 inching
their way through the start punch station. It took almost 45 minutes in this mass before
we were finally free and on the trail, just making it at 8 am. The weather was cool and
pleasant, far better than the high humidity and temperatures in the 80’s of the
previous few days.
We walked through the north of town to the Waalbrug,
where a single Nijmegen resident saved the bridge from being blown by the Nazis, enabling
the Allies to cross the Waal River and take the city. We passed by the site where
Charlemagne had his vacation castle, next to the bridge.
Crossing to the north side, we entered the town of Lent. The streets were decorated
with banners and flowers and streamers of flags. Every resident had their viewing area set
up on the sidewalk, often with coffee and breakfast to watch us pass by.
Many of my fellow walkers were greeted personally and I
swiftly learned that the Vierdaagse is above all a local event. About ¾ of the
participants are Dutch, and it seemed many were from Nijmegen itself. This great send-off
kept us cheered as we headed into the countryside. I kept an eye out for restrooms and
finally stopped at the first opportunity, about 5K or 1 hour into the walk. I waited in
line a half hour, afraid to continue lest it be another 5K before the next opportunity. As
I continued, many walkers dived into orchards to use the natural facilities.
The walkers formed a
continuous stream, 5 to 8 abreast covering the roadways. I was going a bit faster than the
average and passed people continuously, although it took some snaking through and looking
for openings. There was none of the jostelling I had heard of from previous walkers, but
indeed as many banners said, "You Never Walk Alone." The majority of the walkers
were Dutch, of every age range from the minimum age of 12 to no maximum, with the elders
walking as well as the teens, 20-30’s and middle agers. I also greeting Japanese
walkers. Many of the foreign walkers carried their national flag or flew it, as I did,
from their pack.
The countryside had cows and corn, with
smattering of sheep, goats, and Shetland ponies. We passed large areas with greenhouses
and orchards. I love the Dutch houses and farmhouses – all in brick with a little
trim. I looked at the faces of those lining the road – they were likely my distant
cousins as my mother’s family left this area with three shiploads of locals and
migrated to Oregon in the 1800’s. Due to our being the only Catholics in our area of
Oregon, the Dutch community remained isolated as far as intermarriage until my Mom’s
generation. As a result, my genetic kinship with those in the "old country" is
pretty strong genetically, and it shows in the strangely familiar faces that greeted the
walkers.
We passed a rest stop giving out free apples and juice
and then continued down the country lane to Elst. Here we met up with the 40K and 50K
walkers who had started earlier than us. Some rested in a schoolyard with their feet
propped up on the wall. Our ranks swelled even more as we squeezed through town. Just past
the church a giant Heinz ketchup bottle signaled booths where crackers with various Heinz
spreads were being given out. The trail was now lined with drink and snack vendors. I
stopped at the free coffee booth. The walkers slowed as we passed through first
checkpoint, where control workers punched our start cards, often walking backwards while
being mobbed.
Children lined the streets – happy Dutch faces in general. They
had their hands out for "high fives" and also to receive stickers from the
military units and some of the sponsored teams. This is how the next generation of
Vierdaagse walkers were being recruited, to walk when they turned 12.
At the next town, Valburg, I planned to get some lunch – it was about 11 am. But
what luck – here were folks handing out cheese sandwiches for free! I accepted it
gratefully and continued on. I stopped at the Wander Wasser booth to have some water.
My next rest stop was
at the British military station. This area had first aid tents, massage and canteen for
the military but was also open for latrines for everyone. The line was short for the first
rate flush toilets and handwashing facilities. I decided to walk until noon before taking
a rest break.
Right at noon I passed a park – the perfect place to lay down and prop my feet up on a handy post. As I lay there with the sun bathing my face and legs, I felt complete happiness. Here I was in my native homeland, walking with 38,000 others on the biggest walk in the world, being applauded from the sidelines by distant cousins.
I took my shoes off while resting as the others were
doing. I noted that over half of the walkers wore hiking boots, many of them looked quite
heavy. The military units wore their regulation boots. Only about a quarter of the walkers
wore athletic shoes – I was wearing lightweight New Balance shoes. A smattering of
walkers wore sandals or even flip flops. For attire, the walkers wore everything from
shorts to hiking pants to miniskirts. Many wore cotton t-shirts – either the
Vierdaagse shirt or team shirts. I was wearing jogging shorts and a New Balance Cool Max
walking shirt. I bought an REI hip pack that was spacious enough to carry a rain poncho
and plenty of Band-Aid Blister pads. At this point I had to use some of the blister pads.
I noticed that I had an insert in my right shoe that I thought I had removed. I had worn
these shoes for 20K in heat before with no problem, but not with the insert. The
difference in angle was now giving me a blister on the ball of my foot.
After 20 minutes I got up and rejoined the parade. I
sought out groups who were singing – military groups often sang, and even if the
songs were in German or Dutch they provided a way to keep your pace going and mind off
your feet. I walked for several kilometers with a Logistics Battalion who were very
tuneful. I stopped again at the next British military area for the latrines. I checked my
map and it seemed I had less than 10K to go. I bought a Diet Coke after finishing off my
water and seeing no easy refills.
We turned the corner
at Oosterhout and were on the home stretch along the Waal dike. I fell in with a group of
middle aged women singing bawdy ballads. With 5K to go, I stopped at a stand and had an
Extran sports drink while babying my foot – the blister on the ball had now fully
developed. I passed the monument to the 82nd Airborne who established their
Waal crossing site here in 1944.
As we neared the Waalbrug, throngs again lined the streets to greet us back – and beerstands tempted those who might need something to kill the pain of the blisters. It began to rain and I put on my rain poncho. Finally we crossed the bridge and the short walk through town to the Julianaplein. I had made it, the first 30K walk of my life. My legs still felt strong and energetic, but the blister pain was pretty bad. I had converted to a racewalk stride to protect the ball of my foot and now a blister was forming on the heel as well. But no rest – now to stand in line to turn in the start card and get the barcode card and a new card for the next day. This took a half hour to accomplish.
I stumbled off to the train station where I bought a hamburger and Coke in the restaurant. I checked on possible return times for my trip back home on Sunday. I bought some bottled water and a milkshake and caught the train back to Boxmeer. The first car I entered was full, so I entered a car filled with 20-somethings who burst into singing and cheering when I sat with them. We had a lively conversation about the walk. They were from near the Iselmeer and were walking the 50K route, both men and women. They were staying in Cuijk where they planned to drink beer and party all night as they had to get up early anyway to walk the 50K. I declined their invitation to sleep with them rather than returning to the duller Boxmeer, but took it as a compliment and laughed with them at their antics.
Houses along the way, I'd love to move in!
Continue:
Second and Third Days
Final Day - the Via Gladiola
About the Vierdaagse
Registration, Lodging, Travel
Net Links:
Vierdaagse Official Site
Gemeente Nijmegen: the
City of Nijmegen site
Europe for Visitors at About.com
International Marching League Events
International Walking Event Net Links
Full Disclosure: Wendy Bumgardner attended the event as an IML delegate, with some expenses paid by the hosting organization.
