ON THE ROUTE
ORANGE FRIDAY
The day of victory
In photo: Karsten Russ
Walking the 4Days Marches is not a casual thing for Karsten Russ (35). This Nijmegen-based photographer has a camera clipped to his shoulder strap and his eyes wide open. Karsten is working on a photo book about the 4Days Marches. Not from the sidelines, but from within, as a walker. In 2025, he walked the marches for the first time. This year will be his second. His favourite day is Orange Friday: the day of victory. For Karsten, there is more to that than just crossing the finish line. It’s the moment when four days of fatigue, encounters and unexpected stories come together. He takes pictures of people with prostheses who make it to the finish line, and a man announcing after walking 200 kilometres that he is off to Switzerland for a walking holiday next. Two coaches along the route handed him a card that read: ‘You don’t have to like it to be able to do it.’ Friday is the day when everything comes together. Karsten captures it all step by step.
1. The Hatertse and Overasseltse Vennen wetlands
Early in the morning, the route passes through the Hatertse and Overasseltse Vennen wetlands. The water is still, the group spreads out and everyone is still in their own bubble. And then the sun rises and people slowly come back to life: you can tell by their shoulders, their stride, their faces. Karsten: ‘Together with the morning sunshine, this is the perfect way to slowly wake up on the final day of the 4Days Marches. For walkers who are into nature, this is the ideal time to take it all in. It’ll get busy again soon enough.’
2. The coloured bridge to Grave
A bit further down the route, you cross a brightly coloured bridge to the village of Grave. For many walkers, this is when the day truly begins. Legs loosen up, chats get going, and the energy you’ve been building up over four days starts to flow freely. And what comes after that tops it all off. ‘The bridge at Grave was a highlight for me. That’s where the sun came out, waking up and energising the walkers. And this was immediately rewarded with a party in the centre of Grave. The locals certainly don’t let you pass their village unnoticed: there’s cheering and partying. For a brief moment, you forget that you’ve already racked up so many kilometres. It’s one of those places where the crowd lining the route does the work for you.’
‘Friends, music, gladioli and suddenly you’re no longer exhausted at all.’
3. The pontoon bridge at Cuijk
Around the halfway point, the route crosses a pontoon bridge across the River Meuse near Cuijk. ‘The part before that bridge was tough — crowded, lots of sensory input, everyone in their own head. But when you get to the other side, you feel the vibe change. On the other side, cans of beer were cracked open, people became all chatty, and everyone started walking with a slightly straighter back. The tension vanished. This is where the victory starts, even though there is still a long way to go to Via Gladiola.
4 Via Gladiola
Via Gladiola is not a secret, but if you have never walked it, you can’t imagine what it’s like. ‘Two hours ago you were really in pain, you were exhausted, but then the crowd lifts you up and it just doesn’t stop. Friends, music, gladioli and suddenly you’re no longer exhausted at all. In 2025, my step counter marked 90,529 steps on Orange Friday, which meant 73.4 kilometres, a personal best. Of those 73.4 kilometres, I walked 23 after crossing the finish line on Via Gladiola, because the post-finish festivities also count.’
A Roman victory flower
Also known as 'sword lily’, the gladiolus flower was a symbol of strength, courage, victory and perseverance in Roman times. In Nijmegen, more than any other place, this symbolism carries extra weight. After all, this city was once home to Roman soldiers, who were known for their strict discipline and great perseverance. This is why it feels so right for walkers to be handed gladioli as they walk down Via Gladiola on Orange Friday, as a tribute to four days of endurance, pushing boundaries and ultimately triumphing during the 4Days Marches.
