ON THE ROUTE
GREEN THURSDAY
‘Shift your focus and take in your surroundings’
In photo: Liz Marquart Scholtz
Since as far back as 1999, Liz Marquart Scholtz (50) has not missed a single edition of the 4Days Marches. Together with her walking group called Happy Feet – a mixed group of individual military participants – she turns the event into a party every year. Their pit stop at the Piepenbrock family home on Bredeweg in Groesbeek, where Happy Feet has been welcomed with coffee, cheesecake and a drink since 2001, has become a proper tradition. ‘They really take care of the walkers.’
The always cheerful Liz has the best tips for the dreaded third day. As an experienced walker, Royal Netherlands Army colonel and Head of Military Healthcare Policy, she knows the route like the back of her hand. Her message? With the right preparation and mental support, walking the 4Day Marches, all the way to the beer tent at Heumensoord on the final day, is effortless. ‘The real struggle goes on in your head.’
1. The rising sun
Liz and her nine fellow Happy Feet members are in good spirits. Why? Because it’s the third day, you’re past the halfway point. To Liz, that feels like a massive boost. ‘On top of that, the landscape is very different from that on Tuesday and Wednesday. The natural beauty is stunning. Before you get to Mook, along the dike, you see the sun rise. You walk along the banks of the River Meuse, which offers beautiful vistas. Enjoy the silence there, the natural surroundings. A lot of walkers stop to take pictures of those surroundings.’
2. Custard-filled bun
Not to be missed: the group always stops for a custard-filled bun at the church in Mook. Liz: ‘We always get there around 06.30 hrs, by which time we've already been looking forward to it for an hour. We take a fifteen-minute break there. From Mook to our next stop, the second war cemetery before Groesbeek, is a fair distance. Blisters bothering you? Get blister treatment at the Red Cross. Enjoy the lively atmosphere in the villages of Plasmolen and Milsbeek along the way. That will get you through it. Shortly after that, the Groesbeek festivities start as soon as you get to the first hill.
3. The Peeps
Then it’s time for the traditional visit to the Piepenbrocks on Bredeweg. How did that come about? Liz explains: ‘During the 2000 edition, a child on the side of the road gave me a note with an address on it. It was Guus. I sent him a postcard. At the next edition, Guus handed me another note. And his mother invited me and my group in for coffee. We’ve been going back there every year ever since. And every year, we bring them a Happy Feet gift. We have meanwhile developed a complete range of products with our penguin logo on them. Everyone recognises us! Even a former Defence Secretary, Ank Bijleveld, recognised us and came over to talk to us at Heumensoord.’
‘The real struggle goes on in your head.’
4. Avoid asphalt gazing
‘Amid the festivities in the villages of Groesbeek and Berg en Dal, the people there basically carry you through,’ says Liz. Mindfully enjoying your surroundings is a real pick-me-up when you’re feeling drained. ‘You see a lot of walkers staring at the ground. Shift your focus and take in your surroundings. Avoid asphalt gazing. And let the group carry you. People get in their own heads a lot. It’s a physical challenge, but the biggest battle is the one in your head.’ Liz herself has that very sensation on the final stretch of the route, on the way to the beer tent at Heumensoord. Thankfully, there are people lining the route on Beukenlaan as you get closer to the finish line. They help Happy Feet during their final metres on Thursday: ‘For us, it always feels like coming home.’
5. Train as you fight
The somewhat Spartan conditions at Heumensoord do not bother Liz. She also has a few tips for a successful 4Days Marches: ‘Train as you fight. That’s the motto of the Dutch army, as we prepare for a war situation as realistically as possible. It’s about nutrition, sleep, training. In other words: replicate the conditions of the 4Days Marches as much as possible as you train for it. Take with you what you will use during the actual walking days, so that you can figure out what works. And carry your high-carb snacks for the road in an easily accessible bag. By snacks, I mean a banana or energy bars, for example. You have to make it as easy as possible for yourself.’
Heumensoord: Green backdrop with a military past
In Roman times, there was a key north-south route from Nijmegen to Tongeren in present-day Belgium. Strategically located on that route, Heumensoord was home to a Roman guard post from which the section between Cuijk and Nijmegen was guarded.
During the 4Days Marches, Heumensoord is primarily known as the military camp. Thousands of military participants sleep there during the week, set off on their walk from there and return to this green base at the end of the day.
