Walkers underway on 2nd day of Vierdaagse; 805 drop-outs, 12 disqualifications on day 1

Participants of the Nijmegen Vierdaagse have set off for the second day of the walking event. On day one, 805 people dropped out of the four-day walk, and 12 people were disqualified.

Day two of the Vierdaagse is known as Roze Woensdag, or Pink Wednesday. It takes walkers to the Land of Maas en Waal. As is tradition, Nijmegen turns pink on the second day of the Vierdaagse to raise awareness for the LGBTQIA+ community. According to Omroep Gelderland, the timetables at NS stations are also in rainbow colors on Wednesday.

The second day of walking started with 44,956 walkers, 805 fewer than day one. These people did not finish the finish line on time on day one, or did not start at all.

In addition to the dropouts, 12 people were disqualified. These were two soldiers who were two soldiers who were carrying less than the mandatory 10 kilograms of equipment and 10 regular participants who cheated on the distance walked, march leader Henny Sackers told Hart van Nederland.

First to cross the finish line on Tuesday was wheelchair participant Ronald van Dort from Ridderkerk. He is participating in the Vierdaagse for the seventh time and is covering 50 kilometers daily this year. He told Hart van Nederland that he could have gone faster, but has to stay behind the safety car.

The Red Cross reported that day one was a “very good walking day.” Due to a system malfunction, the aid organization could not yet provide figures on the number of blisters pricked, but based on situation reports from the aid stations, operation leader Han Pelster thinks everything proceeded as expected. “No particular peaks, no very long waiting times,” he told Hart van Nederland.

Aid stations reported pricking blisters on a remarkable number of younger participants. According to the Red Cross, experienced, often older walkers are generally better prepared.