The 89-year-old Blanche Troost from Roosendaal has received her coveted Four Days Marches cross. For a moment it seemed that the oldest female participant of the Nijmegen Four Days Marches was not allowed to complete the tour this year because she had started too late. But on Friday afternoon she finally crossed the finish line and received her cross. “I am very happy with it,” says Blanche with satisfaction.
Blanche and her friend made all the headlines when they were disqualified on Wednesday and went on anyway. The two missed the train and arrived too late at the start, so they were no longer allowed to participate. But when they could show that they had walked the entire route, the organization stroked their hearts with their hands. They got a ticket anyway.
And so Blanche arrived on the Via Gladiola on Friday afternoon after four days of walking. “It was quite an event,” she laughs. Her name was called and she was applauded by the crowd. “I have had many congratulations from unknown people. You don’t expect that. I had to laugh about that”, Blanche chuckles.
She arrived on time, an hour and a half before the final signal. And still as fit as a fiddle. “The last kilometers I just felt a little dizzy. But that also worked out well.” How does she keep up at her age? “I normally walk a lot too,” says Blanche. “30 to 40 kilometers a few times a week. I don’t have to put in that much effort,” she says. “Just bring water and wear good walking shoes.”
She is now back on the train on her way to her guest house with her son, just across the border in Germany. Proud with her third Four Days Marches Cross in her pocket. Will she participate again next year? “That’s the point,” she says. “You never know how my health will be, but if I keep running like this I’ll just participate again. And then we’ll do our best to be on time,” laughs Blanche.
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