Nijmegen mayor not worried heat will disrupt Vierdaagse walking event

Nijmegen Mayor Hubert Bruls said Thursday that this year's Vierdaagse walking event, scheduled for July 21 to July 24 in Nijmegen, will go ahead even if extreme heat occurs. Organizers, meanwhile, warned that repeated weather-related cancellations linked to climate change could eventually prompt a discussion about moving the event to another time of year.

A record number of registered participants have withdrawn from this year’s walk. The organization said 3,915 walkers canceled their entries, the highest number recorded for the event.

Speaking at a news conference, Bruls said he was not concerned about possible heat during the third week of July. He said he preferred practical measures over canceling the event.

Possible measures include adding more water stations, opening routes earlier, shortening routes, giving participants more time to finish and placing small children's pools filled with water along the course.

Organizers have also raised concerns about increasingly extreme weather linked to climate change. March leader Henny Sackers said organizers could consider moving the Vierdaagse to another time of year if the event were canceled two or three times because of extreme weather.

Bruls rejected that idea. "A great deal of water would have to flow through the Waal before we would take that step," he said.

Bruls said moving the event would create too many practical problems and conflict with other events held during the rest of the year. He also said starting walkers even earlier was not feasible because of emergency service availability and the large numbers of people celebrating in the city.