From July 8 to 11, 2025, I took a break from work and social media, going offline for a bit.
That’s because I was walking the Four-Day Marches of Apeldoorn (NL), together with my wonderful and fearless sister-in-law. Our plan was to walk 40 kilometers (approximately 24.85 miles) every day for four days straight.
It was fun at first, but in the end, things turned out a little differently than expected. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to complete the march fully.
More on that in a bit. But first…
The Apeldoorn 4-day March versus the 4-day March of Nijmegen
You may remember from last year that I walked the 40 km Nijmegen Four-Day March alongside my sister, Mireille, and our friend, Chardonay.
If you're curious what this event is like, check out this cool travel vlog by the well-known Kara and Nate. They walked the very same Four Day March in 2024 as we did, which made it fun for me to watch their video because I recognized parts of the route and people.
This year, I felt like taking part in another organised walking event like this, but I decided to do it differently this time around.
Additionally, my sister-in-law was also interested in experiencing a four-day march. So, I suggested we do one together this year. As there are many different 4-day events like this in the Netherlands, we had plenty to choose from. I was especially curious about the one taking place in Apeldoorn, which also happens to be the town where I live. It made sense to choose this event. Staying close to home saved me money, time, and a lot of arrangements. My sister-in-law could conveniently stay over at our place during the week, and we could even ride our bicycles to the starting point!
Walking 40 km a day, straight through wonderful nature
The Apeldoorn Four-Day March, like the Nijmegen Four-Day March, is a well-known walking event in the Netherlands. But it's much smaller in scale. For instance, the Nijmegen event is huge. It has international fame, drawing around 47,000 participants each year, while the Apeldoorn Four-Day Marches counted 3,287 this year.
Instead of walking on asphalt through cities and towns, the trails here lead you through the beautiful forests and rolling hills of the Veluwe. And instead of crowds of cheering spectators, you're accompanied mainly by birdsong.
I loved it, although some of the routes were quite a challenge at times. The paths kept changing, from firm earth full of tree roots, to gravel, asphalt, and sometimes even a hill covered in loose sand, which meant an entirely different kind of walking. But at least we enjoyed the shade of the trees most of the way.
It was going well… until it suddenly wasn't
Unfortunately, I had to drop out halfway through the last day. I actually got ill on the second day of walking, but I tried my best to ignore it and kept going anyway. In the evening, I felt awful, but I decided to push through. I finished day three and then managed to finish half of day four.
But on Friday morning, I called my doctor just to be safe. Unfortunately, they urged me to come in that same afternoon. So I had to abandon the event after all. By then, we were already halfway through the route, having walked a total of 140km out of 160 (approximately 87 miles out of 99 in total).
We encouraged my sister-in-law to continue. Coen came to pick me up at a rest point for the doctor's appointment, and that was the end of my walking adventure. Luckily, after the appointment, we just managed to buy a bouquet of gladiolus flowers in time, and an hour later, we welcomed my sister-in-law at the finish.
It was her very first long-distance Four-Day March, so I'm super proud of her! 😁
I got a medal after all
Personally, I didn’t feel like I had earned it. After all, I hadn’t walked the whole 4 x 40 km. I was almost there, though not quite yet.
However, a kind woman from the organization insisted that I should still receive the medal, and she literally dragged me to the counter where they handed one to me. 😅
As you can probably imagine, I have mixed feelings about it. It doesn’t feel fully deserved. But I appreciated the gesture, and I’ve decided to keep it as a memory. And you know what? Despite the bit of bad luck, I truly enjoyed these special walks.
Below you’ll find a gallery with a small impression of the beautiful routes we took. We walked 1st, the Day of Beekbergen, 2nd, the Day of ‘Het Loo’, 3rd, the Day of Hoog Soeren, and 4th, the Day of Hoenderloo. On day three, we even came across the beautiful sheep herd of Hoog Buurloo, complete with their shepherd and his dogs. That was a highlight of my day.
Who knows, maybe one day I’ll walk the Four-Day Marches again. However, for now, I have plenty of other things to attend to first. For example, I still have a certain book to finish! 😁
With love!
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