Nijmegen March

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Vierdaagse banner
Military members on the march

The Nijmegenmarsch or Nijmegen march (long form / Dutch de Internationale Vierdaagse Afstandsmarsen Nijmegen , colloquial / abbreviated Vierdaagse ; German  International Four Day Distance March Nijmegen ) is a four-day march that begins annually on the 3rd Tuesday in July in the Dutch city ​​of Nijmegen . The organizer is the Stichting DE 4DAAGSE (German Vierdaagse-Stiftung ), which is part of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Bond voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (Abbreviation KNBLO-NL ; German Royal Dutch Association for Physical Education ).

history

Fourth day cross (14th award)
Nijmegen March 2004

The march was first conducted in 1909. At that time the 300 participants could start from 13 different locations. A year later it was decided to only tackle the hike from one place in the future. The first woman took part in the march in 1911. Although she achieved the goal, she did not receive a medal. The first foreign groups - today there are more than 60 civil and military delegations - registered to take part in the event in 1928 . In 1932, for the first time, more civilians than military personnel registered for the march. The four-day march from Nijmegen became extremely popular after the end of the Second World War. In 1954, more than 10,000 people took part for the first time.

In 2003, for the first time in the history of the march, the route was limited to a maximum of 40 km on Tuesdays due to the high temperatures.

In 2006, the 90th Vierdaagse had to be canceled after the first day of marching for the first time since 1909. At temperatures of more than 35 ° C, 30 participants had to be taken to hospital. Two people, including an experienced hiker who was participating in the hike for the 13th time, died. Another person was in critical condition. In total, the emergency services had to look after around 300 people. Of the 44,000 participants, around 1,000 did not reach the goal. Since even higher temperatures were to be expected on Wednesday, the popular march was not continued. A handful of die-hard hikers reported for the start on Wednesday anyway. The festivities surrounding the world's largest event for hikers were held. The vast majority of the participants left anyway, including most of the approximately 5,000 military personnel from home and abroad.

On July 19, 2016 at 4:00 am, 50,000 participants started the “hike with the most participants worldwide”.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 march has been completely canceled.

execution

To receive an award, you have to successfully complete four daily stages of 30, 40 or 50 km, depending on your age group and status (civil or military). The standard length for men is 50 km (military with 10 kg of marching gear: 40 km) and for women 40 km per day; shorter daily stages apply for juniors (up to 16 years of age) and seniors (from 50 years of age).

The starts are staggered according to routes and start groups between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m., first the 50 km hikers, last the 30 km hikers. All hikers must have reached the destination by 5 p.m. (on the last day: by 6 p.m.).

All stages start and end at the same place every day (on De Wedren, which was renamed Vierdaagseplein in 2016 ). The routes run around Nijmegen. Around 1.5 million spectators watch this spectacle, with a folk festival atmosphere accompanying the marchers throughout the week.

As the number of participants has continued to increase over the past decade, it was limited to 45,000 hikers between 2007 and 2012, as the capacities on individual sections of the route were exhausted. This fact made it necessary that first-time runners were regularly subjected to a lottery procedure in order to receive one of the coveted starting places. Since not all participants who registered in spring actually receive their starting documents in July at the venue, the maximum number of 45,000 participants has not been reached since 2006. In order to improve the chances of getting a starting place for first-time runners and to achieve an approximate utilization of the route, the number of participants was increased to 46,000 for 2013. This makes the Nijmegen March the largest event of its kind.

On the occasion of the 100th Vierdaagse 2016 (one-time) 50,000 starting places will be available. In addition, the route length of 55 km per day, which has not been offered since 1966, will be offered again (once). Thus, on the second day of the march after 50 years, the municipality of Druten will again be a four-day parish. At the end of the registration phase (s) it was clear that more participants had registered for the 55 km route than for the classic 50 km distance. In addition, 100 participants will run a so-called honor lap of 50 km in length. Every 25 participants will run an additional 50 km on one of the four days from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. (250 km in total) - i.e. between the regular days of the march, which are also completed.

In 2016 a special exhibition on the Nijmegen March entitled "Walking through time" was on view for one hundred days in the Nijmegen Museum Het Valkhof .

The four-day march is also part of the marching events of the International Marching League (IML) .

Awards

Four-day cross with crown and number plate for the 3rd or 4th successful participation

Three different medals and a certificate of attendance are awarded as an award when the 4daagse is passed . The most important award, the Four Day Cross , was recognized by the Dutch Queen as an order in several stages. There are basically three levels of the Four Day Cross awarded:

  • 1. Successful participation: Gilded bronze cross
  • 2. Successful participation: Gilded bronze cross with crown
  • 3rd to 4th Successful participation: Gilded bronze cross with crown and number plate of participation
  • 5th-9th Successful participation: Silver-plated bronze cross with blue enamel and number plate of participation
  • From the 10th successful participation: Gilded bronze cross with two-tone enamel and number plate of participation

Another visible subdivision of the individual award levels shows the number of successful participants and also provides additional motivation to achieve the next award level: After the first successful participation, the gold-plated bronze cross is awarded. The second successful participation is rewarded with the gold-plated bronze cross, which also has a crown above the cross. Participation 3 and 4 are indicated by a "number plate" to be attached to the ribbon. The fifth successful participation is rewarded with the silver cross with blue enamel on the cross arms, the sixth participation with the silver cross and the crown. Participations 7, 8 and 9 can be seen from the “number plate” on the ribbon. Participation no. 10 is honored with the award of the gold cross with two-tone enamel. No. 11 can again be recognized by the additional crown and this is followed by the already known number plates for entries No. 12-24. From the 25th successful participation up to and including the 39th participation, the number is framed by a laurel wreath. Further subdivisions of the gold cross, which can also be seen through the color design of the enamel of the bundles of rays between the cross arms and the cross arms themselves, are available for the 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th participation.

Bundeswehr soldiers , law enforcement officers of the Federal Police (Germany) and helpers from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief may wear the medal as a ribbon buckle or a large badge on their uniform.

In addition, there is the "supply medal" in the form of a round, bronze-colored medal. It is intended for supply and support personnel of marchers and marching groups, as well as the group award in the form of a large, gold-plated "coin" with an embossed representation of the four-day cross.

Web links

Commons : Nijmegenmarsch  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. http://orf.at/#/stories/2350130/ 50,000: Largest migration in the world in the Netherlands, orf.at, July 19, 2016, accessed July 19, 2016.
  2. ^ Corona in the Netherlands: Chronicle from April 14th to 24th. +++ “De Vierdaagse” march will not take place this year +++. In: nrz.de. April 27, 2020, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  3. Vierdaagse Start & Finish ( Memento from June 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  4. Vierdaagse - Persbericht 2016.004. In: www.4daagse.nl. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 .
  5. Vierdaagse - Persbericht 2016.006. In: www.4daagse.nl. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 .
  6. T / m 4 sept: 100th Vierdaagse - Wandel door de tijd - Museum Het Valkhof. In: www.museumhetvalkhof.nl. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 .