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The Saturday routes all begin with a walk along the beach on the sand. I immediately worried about getting sand in my shoes, but oddly enough didn’t, and similar results were reported by my walking friends. We proceed up the beach past rows of tall hotels and then past an area that has no hotels, to Wenduine where again there are resort hotels lining the beach. The route then cuts through the dunes to a checkpoint at a café. Here the marathon route breaks off to continue through the dunes to Vosselslag and then back along the beach to De Haan to rejoin the shorter routes at the same spot it left them.

Now we headed out into the countryside. Everything is flat as a Belgian pancake. It is farming country and we pass cows and sheep and tidy farms where all of the buildings are made of brick. You can see for miles, and often you can see the line of walkers stretching off for miles. The walk is on paved one-lane roads with the rare car or truck. At about the half way point for the 24k route we pass through tiny Nieuwmunster and then on to Zuienkerke. In Zuienkerke the town has really turned out to tempt us with food and drink stands and also to have a town garage sale with items lining the road.

Walking Through the Countryside

While the weather has been dry, it has been windy with the wind coming strongly off the North Sea. Now we turn straight into the gale to head back the last 10K. Be sure to wear a waterproof, windproof jacket and bundle up - many people got very cold. My Patagonia Torrentshell jacket layered over a long sleeved CoolMax shirt was perfect for moving at my pace. I was also happy that I wore sunscreen, which protected both from the sun and from windburn.

On your start ticket there are coupons, and at 2 kilometers from the finish was a most welcome sight - a big tent where you can redeem the tickets for Coke and beer (one ticket for each for each day). I redeemed both and quickly drank the Coke Light, having not bought enough water along the route. I also picked up the Grimbergen double-bock beer bottle, thinking I would take it back to drink later. But after purchasing a hot dog with sauerkraut, I succumbed to thirst and temptation and drank the Grimbergen also. It was marvelous. The tent had live music, hot dogs, pancakes, pastries, beer and Coca Cola (both are sponsors). It was a very welcome respite on the long trail and relief from the wind.

Reinvigorated and oddly not feeling the least effect from the double-strength beer, I trotted off for the final 2 kilometers. I made a detour to my hotel and freshened up a bit before going to the finish tent.

At the finish, you get no award for walking only one day, but can have your IVV books stamped. They check you in with the electronic scanners. You can redeem your fish coupon for a plate of fish. I missed that, but friends report it was very good - and they don’t especially like fish. There are many brochures for other walking events available, and live entertainment on the outdoor stage.

In the evening, walkers can attend the Blister Ball at the Forum, with music and dancing.

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