An Cosantóir

32 | The Nijmegen International Marches By Capt Brendan McDonald (54 Res Cav Sqn) T he Nijmegen International Four Day Marches (Vierdaagse) is the largest marching event in the world. It is organised every year in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in mid-July, as a means of promoting sport and exercise. Participants walk 30km, 40km or 50km daily, and on completion receive a royally approved medal, the Queen Wilhelmina Four Days Cross (Vierdaagsekruis). Registration closes at 46,000 entrants. While originally a military event, civilians have been participating in increasingly large numbers, with over 40,000 taking part last year. Military teams follow a slightly different route to civilians, starting not in Nijmegen city centre but in the Heumensoord military camp, a temporary camp built every year just south of Nijmegen to house all military personnel. Military participants have a choice of either walking 50km a day or 40km carrying a pack of at least 10kg of dead weight, in addition to the large amounts of water required to keep hydrated in the heat. The importance attributed by the Dutch government to the event was reflected in the establishment of the Queen Wilhelmina Four Day Cross medal in October 1909. Each year between 6,000 and 10,000 military from all parts of the world participate. This year there were military representatives from Austria, Australia, Canada, Demark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the USA to name just some of the participants. It was also the first time the Irish Defence Forces had been represented in almost 20 years. In Ireland the International Walking Festival has been held in Castlebar, County Mayo, for over 50 years and this festival has had a close link with Nijmegen since its inception. Every year military personnel from various armed forces participate in uniform in the Castlebar festival. In 2011 military personnel from Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden took part along with members of 54 Res Cav Sqn representing the Irish Defence Forces, as they have done since 2009. It was following on from this event in Castlebar in 2011 that the idea of participating in Nijmegen came about. Help was at hand with advice from the Castlebar Walking Festival commit- An Cosantóir Dec 2012/Jan 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie tee. Permission was sought to wear our uniforms as uniforms are worn by all military participants in Nijmegen. A seven-man team comprising five members of 54 Res Cav Sqn and two members of 1 Cn Cois (Capt McDonald, Sgt Hamrock, Sgt Gillespie, Cpl Flanagan, Cpl Grier, Pte Cox and Pte Doolin) was selected. The Irish team members participated at their own cost, taking time off work to take part in the Dutch event and training began in earnest in January of this year. The walks demanded determination, strong will and a decent fitness level. The current boot issue to the Defence Forces really proved to be more than capable but even with that the course was so tough that very few of the team avoided serious blisters, as did few others of the 6,000 military participants. The event, while demanding, was a brilliant experience for those who attended. The first day the route covered

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