THE PARTNERS
Dorien & Dees:
a colourful duo
Walking buddies Dees Gerrits from Leusden and Dorien Alink from Driel (both aged 65) met during the 2014 edition of the 4Days Marches. Dees walked part of the route barefoot and Dorien wore strikingly colourful attire. They have been walking together ever since. Their mission during the walk? To enjoy themselves and create little moments of happiness! They do that by putting a quick smile on the faces or twinkle in the eyes of elderly, disabled, and other people lining the route. ‘It costs nothing and it does a lot. Being nice to each other is just so important, especially after the past two years we’ve had.’
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Dag 4
Walking the 4Days Marches barefoot
Dees has been living barefoot for years and wears ‘barefoot shoes’ only when it is really necessary, or when his feet get overly sensitive during the 4Days Marches due to the different surfaces. His lifestyle has made the soles of his feet so thick that 60ºC asphalt barely makes him twitch. A small sacrifice for the 4Days Marches: wearing barefoot shoes comes with a chance of blisters.
Dorien has been walking each day of the 4Days Marches wearing a different colour since 2003. Blue Tuesday (her husband Wijnand came up with this name for the Day of Elst when he was still working at the Overbetuwe local authority), Pink Wednesday, of course, Green Thursday because of the woods in and around Groesbeek, and royal Orange Friday because of the entry along Via Gladiola. Dorien was pleasantly surprised when the main sponsor, Lowa, launched 4Days Marches T-shirts in those colours in the exact same order. If you, like Dorien, want to be colourful and look the part as you walk this year’s 4Days Marches, order your T-shirts online here.
