Omroep GelderlandWheelchair user Ronald van Dort was the first to cross the finish line this morning
In association with
Broadcasting Gelderland
NOS News•Friday, 13:17•Modified Friday, 13:59
The first participants have completed the Four Days Marches. Due to the expected heat, the routes were shortened by 10 kilometers today. This also meant that the participants finished faster this morning.
The first participant of the Four Days Marches crossed the finish line in Nijmegen at around 08:45. It is wheelchair user Ronald van Dort. He was also the first to cross the finish line last year.
Van Dort was so early this morning that the temporary bridge at Cuijk was not ready at all. And so he crossed the water in a unique way: by speedboat. When he arrived at the Via Gladiola he still looked quite fit. “I’ll drive on to the campsite, regarding 9 kilometers”, he said this morning to Broadcasting Gelderland.
About 5 minutes later, the first runner arrived. 30-year-old Andrea Kivits ran the 40 kilometers, but like everyone else, she has a dispensation today. “I feel good. I might have easily done another 10 kilometers,” she said.
Not everyone along Cuijk
On the last day of the Four Days Marches, the runners started in the morning through a quiet fen area. Only the runners who registered for the 50 kilometers arrive in Cuijk, where traditionally it is already a big party.
Anyone who walks 30 kilometres today will not cross the Waal at Heumen to the south, but will walk over the Maas-Waal Canal to Malden. At the end of the route, the gladioli will be handed out on the Via Gladiola.
More than 40,000 people are expected to cross the finish line today. Between 13:00 and 17:00, when most runners finish, a temperature of around 28 to 30 degrees is expected in Nijmegen. Walking on the asphalt, the perceived temperature can be even higher. Participants are allowed to finish until 18:00.
Suffering from the heat
The Red Cross has so far treated few walkers of the Four Days Marches because of the heat. Around 11:30, according to a spokesperson, it was not too bad and at the first medical post on the route, regarding fifty overheated people were cooled with ice. They get a bag of ice in the neck or on a spot on the leg.
The spokesperson expects that it will become increasingly busy at the aid stations, now that the temperature is starting to rise. The call to walkers remains to drink enough water, eat salty food and not to take breaks in the sun. It is also wise to wear a cap and seek shade if possible.
