Day 1 Blue Tuesday – The day of Elst

Today's route:

Nijmegen – Oosterhout – Valburg – Elst – Bemmel – Lent – Nijmegen

At 3:00am, I hear a gentle, "It's time to get up," as the walker next to me is awoken. We are not allowed to have alarms in the sports hall; I've woken up naturally on my own. We are to get ready, eat breakfast, pack snacks that are laid out for us, and get in our shuttle by 4:15am.

The start of 4Daagse each day is de Wedren – the epicenter – a square in Nijmegen where the march starts and finishes each day. The beginning of the march is deafening - the college students who have been out partying all night are still up to cheer on the walkers. However, as part of a group, we are using the quieter starting gates at Vierdaagseplein so miss out on the majority of that excitement. At 4:45am, they scan our wristband, and we are officially off!

Right away, on our way out of town, we walk over the Nijmegen Bridge. Nijmegen's Waalbrug bridge was once the longest arch bridge in Europe. (Tidbit: The Waal River becomes the Rhine River when it crosses into Germany.)

Crossing Nijmegen's Waalbrug bridge is an unforgettable and emotional moment at the start of the walk.

The 4Daagse is not a RACE – speed is not the point. You actually get disqualified if you are caught running! The walking rule is clear – at least one foot has to be on the ground at all times. Not even speed walking is allowed. (Tidbit: Back in 1928 the Norwegian team was disqualified for running part of the way.) The whole point is just completing all 4 days. Finishing the distance.

Along the way, to make sure we are completing the proper distance, there are several checkpoints along the way where our group's checkpoint card is punched. At the checkpoints, it is mandatory that we are together as a group; anyone missing from the group at a checkpoint is deemed to have withdrawn from the event. The trick is that the checkpoint locations are unannounced.

At the checkpoints, they walk backwards to stamp every walkers cards. (As a group, we share one card.)

If it is your first-time walking it, you are called a debutant – making your debut. It is like a right of passage.

"Limited" to 47,000 people, the 4Daagse is like walking in a huddle - it can be a bit crowded and intense, hammering on the scale of the event.

The 4Daagse organizers say, "A bit of crowding is part of the experience. If you're looking for a quieter walk, sign up for a different event."

My favorite thing about the walk are all the locals lining the streets of the different towns we walk through, shouting encouragement and handing out snacks. But most adorable are all the little kids, waiting to high-five us as we pass!

The most exciting town today is Elst - it is just one big, long party!

Getting into Elst, we spotted fresh stroopwafels being cooked - and jumped out of formation to get some!

About 6,000 military personnel prove their stamina in the march – dressed in full uniform and carrying a 22-pound rucksack. By far the majority of the military are Dutch. (In fact, over 85% of all of the participants are Dutch.)

United States! Our BDWF group takes our three rests stops in the same area as the military.

After miles of lined streets of people on our walk back into town, we make it to the finish. Instead of 25 miles, we have managed to complete a marathon - officially stopping at 26.2 miles. Once again, they scan our wristbands so the system recognizes that we have officially finished for the day.

Time for a celebratory beer at the finish!

The evenings are short with hardly any time to blog. We don't have access to electrical outlets in the sports hall - and all of our devices are drained and dead; they get checked into the office for charging. We take a shower, get taped, eat dinner, have a team briefing, and crawl into bed.