She finally has him inside: the coveted Four Days Cross Cross. This year Diana Willart from Roosendaal officially ran the Nijmegen Four Days Marches and thus received the award that she just besides last year. Then she was one minute late when she picked up her starting ticket, so she did walk the 160 kilometers, but received no official recognition. This year she ran again, with a valid starting ticket. “Nice to have something tangible now,” she says proudly.
Around two o’clock she crosses the finish line on Friday, among thousands of other walkers, but with a very own story. For Diana, the highlight of the Four Days Marches can begin at that time. “The party,” she says laughing. The tiredness is in her legs, but the joy is clearly audible. “The sense of togetherness at this event is indescribable. We all make it a big party.”
She is often recognized on Via Gladiola. Along the side her name sounds several times. People want a photo, sometimes even a signature. Diana is no longer stranger to the seasoned four-day follower, thanks to her journey last year. Then she was one minute late to pick up her starting ticket, so she was not allowed to participate in the walking tour. Yet she ran the full 160 kilometers. At the end, she just didn’t get a four -day cross.
“You have to hang the garlands yourself.”
This year it is different. This year everything is correct. “Nice to have something tangible now,” she says proudly, with the official four -day cross in her hand. Yet it was not an easy journey. The legs have waived, the head sometimes had to cooperate. “Day one, three and four went well. On day two I had more trouble. Last year I was very tough on that day. I think it is because of a huge loop that you make about a long dike. That piece was very tough, certainly because it had rained a lot.”
She walked alone, without friends or family. She was also on her own on the campsite. But that didn’t feel like a loss for Diana. “I had a great time with the fellow runners. You have to hang the garlands yourself.” The garlands are therefore plenty of: on the sticks, in the streets, in her voice.
For the time being she will stay in Nijmegen for a while. “The party here at the finish will take a while, I think. We will soon go into town. Around eight o’clock tonight I will leave for the campsite.”
“It’s not much different than last year.”
Although the cross is inside, it is not the most important thing for her. “Of course it is nice to have something tangible, but that is not what I am doing. The atmosphere and the memories do me much more. That is why it is not much different than last year, when I was symbolic.”
She does not have resentment towards the organization, despite last year’s debacle. “I filed a complaint and then it was closed for me. No irritation or hatred towards the organization.” What remains is the love for walking, the atmosphere and the common goal. Diana is therefore not going to leave it at this. “It keeps enjoying. As long as I have that feeling, I will stay
