No specific preparation, tropical heat and a lot of muscle pain: this Nijmegen Four Days Marches was not a bed of roses for Tamara Hiddes from Emmen. Nevertheless, she reached the Via Gladiola this afternoon, where she was given a festive welcome. “I’m super happy and relieved.”
There was no such thing as a smooth last day of walking for Tamara. The first twenty kilometers were tough. “I had a hard time getting through it, but a baco and a Red Bull helped me.”
As the kilometers passed, the Emmense got more and more into her rhythm. “The last twenty were a big party. From Cuijk it is actually a long Via Gladiola. On the last part I also take off my walking shoes and put on the slippers. You are highly regarded, I will then reach the finish.”
A blister had formed on one of her feet. “Fortunately, it wasn’t much. I did have a lot of muscle pain.” Possibly a result of the few training kilometers. “I did have a pedometer with a challenge for ten thousand steps. But that doesn’t mean anything, of course, compared to this.”
Compared to a number of other runners, Tamara did start on Tuesday. That day was canceled by the organization due to the heat, but Tamara and a number of runners thought otherwise. “That makes me really extra proud of this edition. Three days sounds a bit cowardly to me, a kind of ‘two-fingers-in-the-nose edition’,” she previously told Radio Drenthe.
Next year, the Emmen thinks that he will participate again. “I assume that I will be there again. If you call me now, I will say no. But next year, I think I’ll be there again. I’m going to shower first, then go home and sit on the couch for two days. We will look again on Monday.”