The Four Days Marches virus is a well-known term for walkers who have ever walked the Nijmegen Four Days Marches. José van den Broek (76) from Veldhoven lit several family members with it. This year she is participating for the thirtieth time and three grandchildren, her daughter and son-in-law are also at the start.
When it comes to the 4Daagse, the scrapbooks and photo books are put on the table in her apartment on the edge of the center. Over the years, José has preserved a lot about the most famous walking tour in the Netherlands. She participated for the first time in 1991 and even now, 32 years later, she still hasn’t had enough of it.
“Last year was supposed to be my thirtieth 4 Days, but a week before I was hospitalized with a groin hernia. I heard my doctor jokingly tell the surgeon to tie me up tightly, because I wanted to come along so badly walking. I followed it on television as much as possible.”
“The finish was very emotional.”
2004 was a special edition for the Veldhovense. “My husband was terminally ill and received a result on the Tuesday of the 4 Days. But he insisted that I run, because he knew how important it is to me. I finished the tour, which was very bad after the finish emotionally. He passed away a few months later.”
Over the years she walked with friends, but she also wanted to do the same with her grandchildren. The oldest three had little to do with it. But when granddaughter Eva turned 12, she decided to participate.
“In my head, 30 kilometers was not intense at all. I also found it to be better than expected in practice and it was quite easy to follow,” says Eva. “It was so much fun that I enrolled again in subsequent years.”
Eva and her grandmother also put on the walking shoes during the corona years. They walked an alternative route from Eindhoven to Nijmegen, including overnight stays. Eva: “We walked together all day long. That was very nice. Only the distances in the center of Nijmegen seem much greater if there are not thousands of people on the side of the road.”
“We’ve earned that beer or wine.”
Eva is now 16 and runs the 40 kilometers with her father. José hopes to meet them a little further down the course. “It’s such a fun event, we have a lot of fun along the way. I also enjoy the surroundings. Afterwards we drink a beer or a glass of wine, we deserve that.”
But before they open that drink, it is often a matter of suffering. “Sometimes it rained all day,” says José. “It’s important to bring ponchos and put dry socks in your backpack.” Hot days are also annoying. “Once I got dizzy from the heat. And saw people fainting around me.” Good preparation is half the work here too: “Don’t forget a cap or hat and you can put a wet scarf around your neck to cool down.”