Recollections of the 101st Nijmegen 'Four Days March' in the Netherlands as part of the Australian Air Force Cadet team in July 2017

When I first heard the name 'Nijmegen' it conjured up, for me, images of some famous WWII battlefield in Europe, due to my keen interest in military history. However upon further reading the upcoming events in Cadet one [(our activity management system in the Australian Air Force Cadets; AAFC)], I could immediately see that it was a marching event. Not just any 'marching event' but in fact, as I was soon to discover, it was the largest multiple day marching event in the world. Known as the International Four Day Marches Nijmegen (or the Internationale Vierdaagse Afstandsmarsen Nijmegen in Dutch). Having been run every year in mid-July in Nijmegen, Holland, since its inception in 1909, this event sees both civilian and military participants walk either 30, 40 (Fig.1) or 50km daily depending on their age and gender, and on completion, they receive a royally-approved medal, known as the Vierdaagse Cross (or Cross for Marching Proficiency).