“It’s going really well. With everyone. We’ve turned nice and warm.” Jos Luten is walking along with nine other men from Pesse in the Nijmegen Four Days Marches. At four o’clock this morning they took the first steps.
Or well, four hours? “That was the intention.” But the boys had a somewhat ‘slow start’. Twenty minutes later than planned, they passed through the gates and their four-day adventure began.
The ten are participating to raise money for Matchis, the Dutch foundation for stem cell donors. Jos Luten himself was a stem cell donor for his father. Thanks to these stem cells, his father was able to live five years longer. He passed away last month. “He is with us in mind throughout the four days,” says Luten.
Incidentally, his father is not alone in his thoughts. He had jewelry made with his father’s ashes incorporated. “I don’t think I can get the ring off, I have such swollen fingers.”
The boys wear recognizable blue shirts with ‘Strong for Matchis’ for the entire four days. “And we have red, white and blue flags with Pesse on them and of course we have the Drenthe flag with us, our pride.”
This year is the 105th edition of the Nijmegen Four Days Marches. The start was this morning at 4:00 am. On the first day, the day of Elst, the walkers walk through the Betuwe. About 47,000 people participate.