Nijmegen: The Road to Via Gladiola

The Vierdaagse, or 4Days Marches is an annual walk that has taken place since 1909, with this year being special in that the walk started and finished in Nijmegen for the 100th time. For the Canadian team from Formation Europe, this year’s walk held a special meaning – it marked the first Canadian team participating since the pandemic and commemorated 80 years since the liberation of the Netherlands.

This is the largest multi-day marching event in the world, this year drawing over 45,000 registrations from a record high 86 nationalities. The youngest participant this year was 11 years old, the oldest no less than 94. Approximately 35% of participants were aiming for their first completion; 210 people were walking for the 25th time, 34 were participating for the 40th time, and 62 for the 50th time.

The record holder for the most marches completed is Bert van der Lans, who finished 71 times, and who sadly passed away in early 2025. Now, Willie Heij (82) is now the living participant with the most completed Vierdaagse, completing his 65^th walk this year. He has taken part every year since he was 15.

The 2025 edition of the Vierdaagse saw a record 42,777 participants finish, and 1.1 million visitors to the Vierdaagsefeesten festival.

View from the Stands: Kerry

My husband was participating for the first time as part of the Formation Europe team, and we took a mini family vacation to go support him and cheer on the Canadian team! Stepping off the train in one of the small towns along the route, the atmosphere was electric with energy. In the towns surrounding Nijmegen, there was no need for signs to point you towards the routes, which stay the same each year. All you needed to do was follow the sound of pumping music and loudspeakers. We discovered the rest of the town was very quiet, but as we followed the sounds of the pulsing music, we quickly discovered why.

The streets along the route were lined with people, many who spent the whole day in their spots to cheer on the 45,000 walkers who passed by. People travel from all over the country to support and encourage participants, setting up tents and lawn chairs to hand out food, drinks and sweets to the walkers. Many of the military teams handed out items to children along the route, from stickers to keychains, and patches.  

Entering Nijmegen, we saw banners that said ‘4 dagen lopen, 7 dagen feesten’, or 4 days walking, 7 days festival. The Vierdaagsefeesten festival is known as one of the biggest festivals in the Netherlands. The streets were lined with food trucks, event stages and mid-way rides, with signs pointing to other entertainment events, children’s activities, and towards Via Gladiola. As the day went on and more walkers arrived, headed towards the finish line (the military teams had to go a little farther to finish at their home for the week, Camp Heumensoord), the crowds grew thicker around the route, offering encouraging words and cold beverages to help walkers with the final push for the day. Walking back to the train station, thousands of people were arriving for the evening’s entertainment.

Via Gladiola- the victory lap. A main street in Nijmegen gets a new name for the week of the Vierdaagsefeesten festival, becoming the Via Gladiola. It is tradition to hand out gladiolus flowers to the walkers along this route, a symbol of victory since the Roman times when gladiators were showered with these flowers. The final day of the marches had the same feeling as the previous days, with the addition of stands selling gladiola flowers and bleachers along the victory lap route. As people found their seats in the stands or along the Via, the celebratory energy kept climbing higher as more and more people came around the bend in the road to complete their march. Bands were playing, spectators were cheering and greeting their loved ones, and some walkers had the energy left to do pushups or cartwheels to the delight of the crowd. We waved our Canadian flags and cheered and did the wave as walkers played to the crowd for their victory lap. When the Canadian team came around the corner, we were able to present our gladiolas and the spectators around us joined in our celebrations!

We were happy to have had the opportunity to participate from the stands, and may look at attending as participants in the future!

PSP Perspective: Bertand

This year, I had the opportunity to support the Canadian contingent during the Nijmegen 4 Day Marches, and what an experience it was. It was my first time staying on a military camp, and that alone made it unique. The atmosphere was buzzing from day one, with people from all over the world coming together in a mix of excitement, nerves, and determination.

The camp itself had a great vibe. Of course, as the days went on and the kilometers added up, the fatigue set in, but that only brought people closer. Everyone was in the same boat, so there was a lot of joking around, mutual encouragement, and shared snacks.

Lots and lots of snacks. Think endless protein bars, Bifi meat sticks, and soup served by the bucket at the rest stops.

Rest stops were a well-earned moment of peace. Feet up, boots off (for some brave souls), and just enough downtime to mentally and physically recharge before getting back on the road. Some people even busted out a few stretches, which honestly should have been more enforced.

One part that I really enjoyed was helping the team warm up early in the mornings and guiding some cooldown stretches at the end of each long day. It was a small way to support them, but it seemed to help both physically and mentally. Sometimes it was just about standing around, chatting with members, offering a distraction from aching feet or sore legs. Even a casual conversation seemed to lift spirits, and those little moments added up over the week.

One of the highlights for me was cheering on the military members. The energy was contagious, with everyone cheering for everyone, no matter the flag on their uniform. It was also cool running into familiar faces. Some German military members from our base were there, and we connected with people we’d met at the Diekirch Liberation March earlier in the summer. They actually recognized us, which made the world feel a lot smaller in the best way.

A personal side mission? Patch swapping. Members were kind enough to pass me a few patches to trade with, and it became my mini-adventure throughout the week. One in particular caught my eye early on. I’d only caught a glimpse of it and heard it was from someone Spanish. After days of asking around and bouncing from building to building, I finally tracked it down. Small victory, but very satisfying.

Evenings had their own energy. The international tent was always bumping. I’d be lying in my bunk, half-asleep, just listening to the music and wondering how those people would manage the 2:30 to 4:00 a.m. wake-up call the next morning. Speaking of which, the infamous morning wake-up song will be burned into my brain forever.

I held off on joining the festivities until the final night, and it was worth the wait. Great vibe, great people, and a perfect way to close out the week.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time there. No regrets, just a truly unique experience that I feel lucky to have been part of.

Links:

• Camp Heumensoord Wake-up song: The Instant Reliefs - Wake Up

• Baila de gasolina: Effe Serieus - Baila De Gasolina (Officiële Videoclip)

• https://www.4daagse.nl/en