The 4 Days March in Nijmegen: The Ultimate Guide for Completion

­­To say the 4 Days March in Nijmegen is tough is to say burning your month on hot coffee only hurts. But it doesn’t “just” hurt, does it? It chars every one of your 10,000 tastebuds until your mouth tastes like ash and the food you eat becomes lifeless and without flavor.

But somehow, by the beginning of the next day, you find yourself daring to drink another sweet cup of joe because, let’s be honest, you love it. You need it. It’s part of your routine. It’s what you look forward to in the morning and what you crave when you start becoming lifeless and in need of some energy.

The 4 Days March in Nijmegen is a lot like that lol.

This blog post is geared towards my brothers and sisters in arms who are tired of moseying about their days, weeks, and months, and are in need of ‘something.’ It’s for those of us who are sadistically searching for an opportunity to risk ‘burning our mouths on’ if it means we’ll be rewarded with a burst of energy. This post is for those of us who need something to jolt them back to life.

Sound like something you’re interested in? Then read on!

What is the 4 Days March (aka ‘Nijmegen’)?

Simply put, the International Four Days March (or De 4Daagse or simply, “Nijmegen”) is the world’s largest multiple day marching event. Reading between the lines though, you can decipher that it’s more like muscle and body aches, blisters, and very, very tired feet for four days straight.

Every third week in July, ~40,000 participants from around the world meet in Nijmegen, Netherlands to walk 30, 40, or 50 kilometers a day for four consecutive days for a chance to earn the royally approved medal, the Vierdaagsekruis (Cross of the 4 Days March). This year, about 5,000 military showed up to march the 4 Days March with about 450-500 of them being from the United States. Hooyah!

So what are the military requirements for the Nijmegen march?

For military marchers specifically, here are the requirements for participating all 4 days:

• Ruck 40km a day (along a dedicated military route)
• Wear your military uniform (that means combat boots, not your favorite pair of Hokas or Brooks lol)
• Carry 10kg (~22lbs) of weight in a ruck

Sounds fun. Where do I start?

Registration for military folks (other than the Dutch) is done through that country’s delegation (i.e., registration personnel) found here: https://www.4daagse.nl/en/participation/military-individual/registration. In essence, you’ll simply e-mail your country’s delegation and request to be registered once registration opens (usually around February).

I chose to participate individually because there was no way I was going to find the minimum number of 11 folks to participate with me given where I work (i.e., with a bunch of old guys lol).

Additionally, detachments must start and end as a team. Being that this was my first march, I didn’t want to have to either keep up with or be slowed down by a team. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of benefits from marching with a team such as camaraderie, jokes, memories, etc.; I just didn’t want to be a last minute “add-on” to a team that had already trained together for months.

I marched as an individual but ended up marching with three other individuals as a sort of pseudo-group. All three of us were technically individuals but we kept pace with each other, ate dinner together, and stopped at rest points together; I highly recommend going about your first march in this fashion as it made it much more enjoyable and memorable.

How do you train for the 4 Days March?

In short: get a ruck, put 10kg in it, and go walk. A lot lol. Just kidding…

Surprisingly, I didn’t find a training plan for the 4 Days March anywhere online. Rather, I only found a few blogging articles from pre-2020 that had a handful of helpful tips. What I was looking for was anything about how many miles I should be putting in (and when) leading up to the event.

I never found it.

So, I decided to create my own Nijmegen training plan and, well, I survived lol.

However, before I give you my recommended training plan (that worked for me), let me first give you a few of the best practices that worked leading up to the 4 Days March:

• Make sure your family is ok with the amount of time you’ll be dedicating to training.
  • You aren’t just doing 45–60-minute training sessions in the gym after work in preparation for Nijmegen. Rather, you’ll be doing 4–5-hour walks around the city multiple times a week as you get closer to the event. If your family doesn’t/won’t support this, it’s going to be much, much more difficult to finish the 4 Days March.
• Train like you’ll fight (i.e., train in the right conditions and in the right uniform).
  • You’ll be expected to march in uniform during the event, so don’t just train in your best moisture-wicking athletic attire. Rather, you need to train in the combat boots you’ll be wearing during the event and in your uniform (jeans and long sleeves at a minimum). To do this, I just stuck to the forest trails around my apartment since I was less likely to look like a crazy person walking around neighborhood in camouflage lol.
• Eat well and stretch often.
  • During the 4 Days March, I burned around 8,500 calories a day. During my training, I burned around 5,000 calories a day. You need to eat a good diet that’s calorically dense to compensate for this. Ensure you’re eating a high-protein diet that’s rich in complex carbs with tons of fruits and veggies that provide fiber and vitamins.
  • Rucking is just like any other workout that requires stretching afterwards. During the actual event, my hamstrings were the tightest part of my body afterwards. Ensure you’re listening to your body and taking care of it! A lot of other guys had extremely tight hip flexors and, of course, tight calves. Foam-rolling on off days and holding 2–3-minute stretches in your lower body after a good training day will minimize your chances of injury while maximizing your chances of finishing.
• Find what works for you and don’t change anything 6 weeks out.
  • 4 Days March is a marathon event, and you’re likely to want some sort of quick carb during your trainings. Take them out with you and eat them while you’re rucking to see how you feel afterwards. Do they give you bloat? Do they make you want to stop for a restroom break? Take notes of all these things and dial in your “game day” rituals and nutrition so you’re prepared come July. For me, I loved munching on Muesli, granola, and pop-tarts during my training sessions so, that’s what I brought with me.
  • Take note of how your socks perform while training as well. Do you get rashes on your ankles at 4 miles? 6 miles? 8 miles? Take note and change socks accordingly. Then, during the actual March, mirror the same things you did so you ensure success.

If you’re going to prepare for the 4 Days March, I recommend you heed all of my advice above AND have a solid training plan. Nijmegen isn’t anywhere near as intense as selection or GORUCK, it’s much more of an endurance event. You won’t need to do push-ups in a puddle or do flutter kicks while someone sprays you with a hose; you just need to get comfortable walking long distances with a ruck on your back.

Here’s my recommended training plan in your lead-up to the Nijmegen 4 Days March:

• February
  • Sign-up for the Nijmegen
  • Begin by walking 4-5 miles a week (no weight) until you get comfortable walking a total of 10 miles in one session
  • Take breaks as needed
  • Switch between your military boots and comfortable walking shoes as required
• March
  • Begin rucking with 1/2 the weight required (5kg) for 4-5 miles at a time
  • Strive to complete 10-15 miles in one session
  • Take breaks as needed
  • Switch between your military boots and comfortable walking shoes as required
• April
  • Begin rucking using the full weight required (10kg)
  • Accomplish at least 25-30 miles a week
  • Strive to complete 10-15 miles in one session
  • Try to limit long training sessions (10+ miles) to no more than three breaks
  • Stick to your military boots exclusively
  • Finalize travel plans if coming from CONUS or outside the EU*
• May and June
  • Continue using full weight required (10kg)
  • Accomplish at least 30-40 miles per week
  • Strive to complete at least one session totaling 20 miles
  • Try to limit long training sessions (10+ miles) to no more than three breaks
  • Stick to your military boots exclusively
• July
  • Continue using full weight required (10kg)
  • The final week/week and a half leading up to Nijmegen, keep training to a minimum (no more than 5-7 miles per session) and stretch a lot.
  • Book travel plans to Nijmegen (if traveling within the EU)*

How does lodging/food/restroom breaks/medical/Wi-Fi/etc. work during the March?

If you’re fortunate (or crazy) enough to get a slot to walk the 4 Days March, you’re in for an amazing experience.

• Lodging for the 4 Days March
  • During the 4 Days March, you’ll be staying on Camp Heumensoord: A Dutch Military installation just south of the town of Nijmegen. Sleeping will be in bunk beds with foam mattresses. See my “tips for success” at the bottom for thriving in these conditions!
  • Admission to Camp Heumensoord typically opens the Saturday prior to the March; I recommend getting there early for your best shot at a bottom bunk (which you’re going to want).
• Food during the 4 Days March
  • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is included in your registration fees.
  • During the actual event, breakfast and dinner are buffet-style so portions can theoretically be endless.
    • Breakfast is bread, hardboiled eggs, yogurts, muesli, meats and cheeses, fruits, jams and jellies, coffee and tea.
    • Lunch is provided at a dedicated military rest area along the route, and it was almost always noodles with meatballs or chicken. There were vegetarian options available, they were usually just the noodles and sauce.
    • Dinner is a hot meal that’s very carb-centric (e.g., spaghetti with meatballs, lasagna, rice stir fry, etc.) along with a great green- and beet-salad station with a few other sides.
  • Military rest areas along the route had plenty of snacks to include power bars and fruit. 
  • A word of advice for the vegetarians and vegans: there are vegan and vegetarian options but, they are very few. It’s not impossible, it’s just a bit hard.
• Shit/shower/shave facilities.
  • The shower facilities were great on Camp Heumensoord. I had hot water every time, a shower curtain to close for privacy, and plenty of space to hang my towel or change of clothes for when I was finished.
  • There were large troughs with spickets for running water to brush your teeth in, so I never waited for something like that.
  • Shaving was easily done in one of the many sinks/troughs around the bathroom facilities.
  • Toilets had running water and doors to close for privacy. They were also separated just far enough from the sleeping areas to keep any smell away, but close enough to get to at 0200 in the morning without walking too far in flip-flops.
  • Along the routes, you’ll find amble restroom areas. Some are overcrowded with the thousands of walkers while others are barren. Keep a few coins (~2 euros) in your pocket to pay for a restroom if time is against you; typically, the pay restrooms never had a line. 
• Charging stations
  • Yep, even out in the middle of the forest, you can still charge your devices! Small electronics (cell phone, power banks, etc.) can easily be charged in one of the charging stations by your delegation’s sleeping quarters. Picture a tent with a giant computer rack that has about 70 plug-in stations; that’s what a charging station looks like lol.
  • They’re all EU plugs, meaning your US stuff will need an adaptor and be able to handle 220v.
• Wi-Fi
  • The Wi-Fi throughout the base was fantastic. I was able to send e-mails, listen to music, and read an e-book no problem. Hell, one dude even brought his Xbox and played Call of Duty in the charging stations with very little lag. That guy was super weird but, to each their own lol.
• Medical
  • Each delegation has their own medical tent. To be blunt: these folks are here to pop your blisters and put Band-Aids on your booboos, they’re not there to be a functional operating room lol. While they do have the ability to administer IV drips and whatnot, you’re looking to be DQ’d from the event if that’s what you visit them for. By and large, the folks (me included) who visited the medical tent were there to have blisters cleanly drained and wrapped so new ones didn’t form. The medical staff did fantastic work!
  • Every military rest station has a medical tent, they’re not exclusive to Camp Heumensoord.

Why do the 4 Days March?

I suppose the classic answer for this question is, “it depends”. Why would anyone want to march 40km a day for 4 days with 22lbs on their back? Perhaps the answer is:

• To test your mettle
• To step outside your comfort zone
• To get that camaraderie fix that your unit doesn’t offer
• Because it’s an extremely unique event
• So you can wear a foreign military’s award on your uniform

Whatever your reason, you’re going to be rucking 22lbs, in uniform, in sweltering heat, with uncomfortable boots, for the equivalent distance of a marathon-a-day for 4 days straight. If your reason isn’t good, you’re more likely to quit. Just saying lol

Personally, I did the 4 Days March for two reasons. The first was because I wanted to test my mettle; I wanted to see if I could simply endure the trials that came with such an event, and finish. I had played around in the special forces side of the house only briefly as a cadet in ROTC when I trained to become a TACP. Looking back on those days now, I realize how much I just wanted to see what I was capable of.

Quick rant: seeing red and green is something I’m not capable of, hence why I’m an intel officer now lol. Anyway…

The second reason was for the foreign medal; no question about it lol. Personally, I think these kinds of things are simply badass. A chance to wear a foreign military award on my US uniform? Say no more fam lol take my money.

In fact, earlier this April, I completed a Danish Contingent (DANCON) march simply for these same exact reasons. Then it was only a 25km ruck but you still had to carry 10kg on your back and complete in under 8 hours. Since then, I’ve been hooked on doing sorts of things with foreign military folks. Where else will you have the chance, right?

Frankly, I realized the real reason I was doing the 4 Days March about three days into the event: the camaraderie. I effing love military camaraderie. There’s just something about doing hard shit with a bunch of hard dudes and dudettes that you simply can’t find anywhere else than in the military. And given my staff-level job in Stuttgart…let’s just say I haven’t seen true camaraderie since, well, Korea.

I mean I watched German military detachments with 25+ soldiers march lockstep to a Jodie of “Who Let the Dogs Out” lol it was the coolest! One night, I had beers with three French Navy submariners whose dreams were to one day go to American and visit New York City. Another night, I traded my ISR patch with a Spanish Special Forces member, the equivalent to the USAF’s TACP. These are the things I live for, and it’s why I did the 4 Days March.

What will your reason be?

Globetrotterkyle’s Tips for Success during the 4 Days March

If you’ve made it to this point in the post, you’re likely to sign up. So, without further ado, here are my recommendations for success at the 4 Days March.

• Bring lots of moleskin, tape, and other thigs to help with blisters.
  • Additionally, get good at popping your own blisters so you don’t have to wait in line at the medical stations. Wait times easily exceed an hour on Camp Heumensoord after one of the 4 days so, learning how to do it yourself can help get you back on your feet faster.
• Buy a headband with speakers in it so you can sleep to white noise.
  • Remember, you’re in a giant tent with 200-250 hardcore Americans; you know there’s a bunch of snoring going on at night lol. To prepare for this, I bought a headband with Bluetooth speakers in it so I could cancel out the snoring with white noise. It changed the game, and I rested better than anyone around me.
  • Here’s the link to the one I bought: Sleep headband headphones
• Bring a small, camping air mattress for added comfort.
  • The foam mattresses aren’t the worst but, they’re no pillow top either lol. A small, camping air mattress will add that extra layer of comfort. I used the one out of my camping backpack from REI
• A 50-degree sleeping bag should be just fine.
  • It gets cool in the evenings but, nothing that requires your arctic sleeping bag. Something rated down to 50-degree Fahrenheit will suffice.
• Bring lots of things to hand out to kids; stickers, small trinkets, etc.
  • When you pass through the towns, kids will bombard you for your patches. If you’re anything like me though, you’d probably want to wait until you have beers with that German or Dutch Lt Col before you start handing your patches away. So, a roll of stickers will save you and make a kiddo’s day at the same time!
• Bring lots of patches to trade with military folks.
  • Like I mentioned earlier, you’re going to meet a lot of foreign military folks. These guys and gals love trading patches with US folks so, be sure to bring at least a dozen from your home unit to trade.

• Be sociable!
  • The best way to ensure you have a great time during the 4 Days March is to find some folks to hang with and talk to before, during, and after the event. Whether it’s along the long stretches of boring road or at night in the party tent, being sociable is key to having a memorable experience.
• Stop at the bowling alley, don’t just go by.
  • During the first two days of the 4 Days March, you’ll pass a bowling alley about 3 miles before you reach Camp Heumensoord. Stop there and have a beer, trust me. Essentially, this bowling alley closes off their parking lot, sets up large speakers and about 40 tables and tents, and they serve beer to all the military walkers. Stop and enjoy one, you’ll be glad you did!
• There are three bars on Camp Heumensoord, be sure to visit them all.
  • The Brits, the Swiss, and the Dutch all have bars on Camp Heumensoord. The Brits’ is rather low key while the Swiss have live folk music players to keep you entertained. Be sure to locate and pop into each one for a cold beer after one of the long days.
• You’re in uniform so don’t forget to shave!
  • You’ll be passing by foreign military Generals and saluting them throughout the March; do you really want to be the one US member who forgot to shave? Then again, almost every other military allows beards so, maybe they’ll think you’re just trying to blend in lol. Your choice but, I’d suggest shaving at least every other day.
• Showers are only one temperature: hot.
  • Unless, that is, you stick to the showers closer to the middle of the shower tent. If you use the ones along the wall, expect some pretty hot temperatures. 
• Go to the party tent and watch some of the skits from the different contingents (countries).
  • After every contingent/detachment finishes a day of marching, they’ll form up and march into the party tent to perform a quick skit. Attending one of these skits is a must! While I was there, the best one was performed by the Swiss, hands down. They all brought inflatable flamingo pool floaties, put them on, danced into the party tent, and saluted their commanding officer using the flamingo’s heads rather than theirs lol. Doesn’t seem funny now but, it was then.
• Bring a pillow.
  • The only things you’ll be required to bring to Camp Heumensoord during the 4 Days March is a sleeping bag, a pillow, and toiletries. Be sure to bring your good pillow, not a crap one. You want to maximize your chances at getting a good night’s sleep.
• Bring a cover/boonie hat for passing through towns.
  • Yes, military members are required to march in uniform but, you’re allowed to remove your cover/hat when you’re not passing through towns. So, I recommend bringing a boonie hat so you can remain in uniform and also keep the sun off your face and neck. Plus, they look cooler lol.
• Take your time and take lots of breaks; everyone’s there to celebrate you!
  • Please don’t rush the 4 Days March when you finally attend. Take breaks, hang with the foreign military folks, drink a beer every 8-9 miles, and don’t let anyone rush you. It’s a giant party in every one of the small towns you visit, and for some, it’s their only chance to wish you success. Let them cheer you on and, when able, enjoy their hospitality!

My last tip, and probably the most important one, is to tell you to march down Charlamagne on the final day; it is so worth it!

On the last day of the March, after you’ve received the coveted Vierdaagsekruis (Cross for the Four Days March) you’ll have two options: march quietly back to Camp Heumensoord or, march down Charlamagne Street to the tune of 20,000 people literally lining the streets to cheer you on, give you magnolias, and throw you free beer. Sounds like a no-brainer but, some folks choose to march back to camp to the sound of crickets and tired feet.

March down Charlamagne, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.