The 3rd week of July, traditionally circled in red in Nijmegen calendars, is fast approaching. 47,000 participants from 77 countries are preparing for edition number 105 of the 4 Days of Nijmegen. Also MAX today is there, because the publisher Hein will try for the first time to win the coveted cross. You can follow his journey on this site.
4 days 2023: no corona or heat wave
In 2020 and 2021 the corona pandemic threw a spanner in the works, but the Nijmegen 4 Days are completely back. The 2022 edition was forced to be shortened by one day due to weather conditions, but such an intervention is not necessary this year. It will therefore be another 4 times 30, 40 or 50 kilometers for the 47,000 participants, including more than 6,000 soldiers.
Moldova and Ecuador make their debut at 4Daagse
The 4Daagse promises to be an international party. Runners from 77 countries – from Afghanistan and Argentina to Vietnam and South Africa – are at the start. For the first time, there is also a representative from Moldova, which means that all European countries participated. South American Ecuador is also sending a 4-day runner for the very first time.
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A party for young and old
The walking event is not only for all nationalities, but also for all ages, from birth year 1932 to 2011. Blanche Troost-Tompot from Roosendaal, who has already become the oldest debutante in 2019 , is the oldest runner at 89 years old. Hub Mooren (91) from neighboring Bergen op Zoom participated in 1954 as a conscript soldier and in 2023 will be the oldest of all participants. The most experienced runner is 80-year-old Willy Hey from Wijchen, who is aiming for cross number 63.
The 200 kilometers of Hein
On the other hand, there are 17,338 beginners, from 11 to 84 years old. Publisher Hein, a former resident of a student room in Via Gladiola, is one of the newcomers. He now knows what to do in Nijmegen during the day, evening and night. But he will discover for the first time the 4 journeys of 50 kilometers, via Elst, Wijchen, Groesbeek, Cuijk and all the rest. How is he after hundreds of kilometers of training, including a weekend walk in Ireland? You can read it here in the next few days MAX today.
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How to follow the 4 Days?
If you want to encourage the participants, you can of course stand along the route. The exact routes per day can be found on the 4Daagse website. Consider (traffic) crowds, especially in and around Nijmegen. In addition, it is possible to follow the performance of Hein (Henricus) and other runners remotely. For this, you can download the 4Daagse app on your iPhone or Android phone. If you’ve done this in the past 4 days, see if the app still needs an update. Via the plus sign in the start screen you can search for runners, which you can track via GPS during the walking days.
(Source: 4Daagse.nl, Omroep Gelderland, De Gelderlander, Omroep Brabant, NOS. Photo: Ivo Antonie de Rooij/Shutterstock)