Day 3 Green Thursday – The day of Groesbeek

Today's route:

Nijmegen – Mook – Milsbeek – Groesbeek – Berg en Dal – Nijmegen.

"It's beautiful today. Very green," we have been promised. "No rain jacket today."

Such a beautiful morning!

The constant 8 to 10-hour strain on your whole body after teo full days of marching
takes its toll. Yeah, there's a 100-percent chance your body's going to hurt! "There are places on my foot that feel ok - but the majority doesn't," comments Greg at the start.

On average, about 8% of the participants who start the march do not complete it.

We check the barometer each morning. Yesterday 978 walkers didn't finish.

"Slow and steady finishes the race," Scott reminds us. It is so true - a slower pace feels so much better on the aches and we have plenty of time to finish! Even though you have to walk, not run, fast walking is NOT allowed (another rule). I fell behind my team first thing in the morning when I stopped to order a cappuccino. When I walked fast to catch up, although said in Dutch, the message was clear. Unacceptable.

Don't miss the free pancakes being handed out!

"Have you done your altitude training?" The jokes about the "hills" started early. Today is known for its "The 7 hills of Groesbeek."

Hills in the flat Netherlands? The 7 hills of Groesbeek on Day 3 don't look like a significant challenge, but after 2 1/2 full days of walking over 100km, any extra effort is a strain.

"Do you think this is one of the hills?"

"This must be a hill. It's going up."

One of the "7 hills of Groesbeek"

The hill is measured in centimeters, lol!

Our team took an unexpected but delightful detour after lunch. We went to Germany! It is not a well known stop, but it is great for a beer or coffee, or brat, literally in Grafwegen, Germany - just a little off the course.

Leaving Germany to enter back into the Netherlands

Groesbeek's "De Zuidmolen" windmill

Another detour, this one more somber, is just as you leave Groesbeek - the Canadian Commonwealth Memorial and Graveyard. While it is Canadian, it is meant as a place to take a private moment to remember all those that have given their all in past & present conflicts.

Canadian cemetary

From here, it was downhill into Nijmegen. Unfortunately, with 2 km to go, we experienced insane crowding on the course. The partiers were overtaking half of the walking street, leaving no room for the 45,000 walkers to go through. It was almost frightening, with hints of trampling and squishing. There's no way the 4Daagse organizers will allow that to happen again.

The last 2km of today's route were so bottlenecked that the orrganixers had to extend the finish deadline

It was a long day and uneventful evening. I definitely felt the strain today! I'm so thankful we all made it this far - just one last day to go!

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