An Cosantóir

| 25 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE attention, nonetheless, it was reassuring to see that support was available if any member of our team needed assistance. Statistically, Day 2 sees the largest number of withdrawals for various reasons including, fatigue, injury, or a lack of training. Our team remained intact and followed a similar routine with an early start of 0530 hrs, a march away from the city and into the Dutch countryside to the small town of Wijchen to the west of Nijmegen completing a 38km loop and back once more to Camp Humensoord. Day 3 is one of the toughest days of the Marches, 81 km covered and starting off with limited rest on tired feet knowing you're only at the halfway mark with 2 full marathons to go. Morale is essential to keeping spirits up and promoting a can-do attitude; there's a fantastic sense of camaraderie amongst military detachments as teams from different nationalities drive and encourage each other on throughout the course. Thursday is known as the day of the 7 hills and the route took our team southeast of Nijmegen to the town of Groesbeek and along the famous Groesbeek heights which overlook Nijmegen and would be familiar with any students of Operation Market Garden. Today, Groesbeek is widely known for its Canadian War Cemetery with 2,338 Canadian soldiers interred there at the end of the Second World War. Crowds represent a further challenge faced during Day 3. Teams typically march at a consistent, steady pace and various route's part and re-join depending on the chosen distance. For approx 10km all four routes of the Vierdaagse (30km, 40km, 40km (Military), and 50km) combine to cover the 7 hills. This leads to congestion on the route as walkers slowly progress up each incline, others simply grind to a halt and stop in the middle of the road, adversely impacting the team's planned pace. Our Team did their best to press ahead and gathered a small following of walkers eager to keep to their planned timings. Time spent stalling in crowds eats into badly needed rest and recovery time back in the camp. Day 4, Friday, presented a similar physical and mental challenge as the team prepared for its final day and faced into 45km of marching. It was the longest day of the March with our team setting off in a cool mist before dawn, ideal walking conditions and a vital window to make as much progress as possible before the energy sapping mid-day heat kicks in. On Friday the team really felt the presence of a new and much welcomed team member – the cheering crowds lining almost the entire route urging teams to keep going the whole way to the finish line. The Royal Dutch Airforce put on a fantastic display overhead with F16 fighting falcons, C130 Hercules and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters criss-crossing the route on its way south from Nijmegen as we crossed the Maas River via the impressive John S. Thompson Bridge at Grave, also taken by 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden. The route snaked its way through the towns of Grave and Beers, then crossed the river Meuse via pontoon bridge constructed at the town of Cuijk where the team stopped at their final military rest area before pressing on through the village of Mook for a final 10km to the Military finish line at Charlemagne on the outskirts of Nijmegen. There, both the team and individual participants were met by Colonel Sean Murphy, Deputy Military Representative to Brussels who presented the Vierdaagskruis (Cross of the Four Days) to each member of the team. The team took a brief rest and departed for the final 5 km march into the city centre, thankfully this time minus the 10kg weight they had carried for the previous 163km. With cheering onlookers, the final 5km flew by marking the end of the team's 168km journey. Objective achieved, our 2 Brigade team completed the 4 Daagse intact, and this would not have been possible without permission and support from GOC 2 Brigade, Brig Gen Tony Cudmore, Col Sean Murphy, Lt Col Gary Skinner (2 Bde HQ), Lt Col Tom Fox (OC 7 Inf Bn), Lt Col Frank Colclough (OC 27 Inf Bn), Comdt John Murphy (OC 2 Eng Gp), and Comdt John Moody (OC 2 BTC). www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 25 Vierdaagse website If you are interested in finding out more about the 4 Daagse, please contact Lt Fergal FitzGerald 2 BTC via email fergal.fitzgerald@defenceforces.ie 2 Bde team in Camp Humensoord John S. Thompson Bridge at grave Memorial to 82nd Airborne

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