Clapping people, banners, music and lots of fun. Many hikers of the Nijmegen Four Days Marches walk through Cuijk on Friday. The atmosphere was festive, with many encouragements from the public along the route. Via the Pontonburg over the Maas, the tucks eventually left our province again.
A boy with a water gun provides refreshment among walkers. “It is busy,” he says, as he has the runners wet spray. A little further on, for a tunnel, is a group of cyclists. “We didn’t walk,” laughs one of them. “We came from Venray by bike. That is easy to do.” They drove along the Maas and stopped in Cuijk to experience a piece of the Four Days Marches. “The weather is beautiful and I can look at people in the face.”
Along the route are people with colorful signs: ‘You Did It‘,’ Proud of you ‘,’ Topper ‘. “It’s a good encouragement for everyone,” says a woman proudly. Her youngest daughter is one of the walkers. “Normally she is partying this week, but now she wanted to experience the event from the other side. This is really heavier.”
When she sees her daughter, the mother plans to cheer hard. “And we surprise her with some goodies.” Another woman on the side is waiting for her cousin. “He is walking for the third time,” she says. “Last week he ran the Kennedymars of eighty kilometers.”
Charity
Loper Rody from De Moer already has 35 kilometers in the legs. “It’s going perfectly,” he says. “I am not bothered by anything, we are going to make it.” On Thursday he ran for a good cause: for Thijs Verboven (15), a fellow villager who died of cancer last week. “I have no words for it, it is incomprehensible,” he says emotionally.
Rody collects money through his ‘donation shirt’. The amount raised for a treatment against the rare brain tumor to which Thijs suffered from now has risen above one hundred thousand euros.
Among the runners are also two hundred customs officers. One of them, from Amsterdam, says that it is ‘very tasty’. “We have nice weather. Only Wednesday was it less.” She expects all colleagues to reach the finish. “I always like to walk through. It’s nice to see how the residents always encourage. A nice distraction for the sore feet.” She gets Brabant glasses from the Brabant Reporter Omroep. Laughing she says: “Now I represent three provinces”.
Enjoy
An employee of the Red Cross walks along on the side. “Thousands of blisters,” she sighs. “Wednesday we continued to continue blisters until half past twelve.” Some people came in crying. “They left again with a smile. That’s what we do it for.” Her tips: take dry socks, eat well and drink, take rest and especially keep walking in the middle of the road. “Otherwise you will be slanted.”
A cheerful runner says: “I am really just enjoying the cosiness. Really fantastic.” Yet she is also a bit heavy. “I think of my father all day, he died of asbestos cancer.” She often walked with him. Her husband, who underwent an open heart surgery, is also running. “It is very special to walk together. Nice that my husband has recovered so well.” The festive mood returns. “Baila, Baila, Baila”, the woman sings while she continues her way dancing.
Gladiolus
Further on, a woman hands out drinks on a tray. “We have been doing this with the family for years,” she says. In the meantime, a foreign soldier walks past, with a twelve kilo backpack. He says it was warmer last year, but it is going well.
A man from Diemen stands out in his Batman outfit. “Four days go with that banana!” He is wearing bright pink glasses, but is offered a typical Brabant copy. “Keimooi, I feel a real Brabander.”
On the other side is a group of Cuijk boys with gladiolus and a bar full of snacks. “If you have made it here, you will earn something from the shelf,” says one of them. A year ago he asked especially for this Brabant Day of the Four Days Marches. “This day was in my agenda.”
