Nijmegen March distances: which one do you have to walk?

Nijmegen March distances: three options, four days

The International Four Days Marches in Nijmegen offer three distances: 30, 40 and 50 kilometres. You walk them four days in a row, starting and finishing in Nijmegen each day. Which of the Nijmegen March distances you must walk at the very least depends on your year of birth and your gender.

The organiser calls this compulsory distance the “regulation distance”. The organiser’s distances page flags it with an “R”. Going shorter is ruled out, going longer is fine.

The 109th edition takes place from 20 to 23 July 2027. According to 4daagse.nl (as of 18 October 2026), registration for 2027 is not yet possible. What is already known about that edition is on the Nijmegen March 2027 page.

Regulation distance 2027 by year of birth and gender

The table works by year of birth. This is the 2027 age table according to 4daagse.nl:

* Men in the military in this group may walk 40 km instead, in which case at least 10 kilograms of marching kit is mandatory.

For women it is simple: 40 kilometres for those born from 1968 to 2011, otherwise 30 kilometres. Men born from 1978 to 2008 have the longest regulation distance at 50 kilometres.

The rules: shorter is ruled out, longer is allowed

Dropping below your regulation distance is not an option, the organiser says. A longer distance is open to you. With a regulation distance of 40 kilometres, you can enter for 50 instead.

Military participants: 40 instead of 50 kilometres with kit

For individual men in the military born from 1978 to 2008, the 2027 age table gives 50 kilometres. A footnote says 40 kilometres also counts as a regulation distance, in which case at least 10 kilograms of marching kit is mandatory. The individual military page gives a different range, 1977 to 2010. Both sources are listed below, and this page follows the age table. Spot checks are possible, and falling short of the weight can lead to disqualification. You start either at De Wedren or at Camp Heumensoord. If you start from Heumensoord, you must also stay at the camp.

In military detachments everyone takes the 40 km route out of Heumensoord. Only men born from 1978 to 2008 carry 10 kilograms of marching kit. Younger and older men, and all women, are exempt. The kit is weighed at several points on every walking day.

Start times depend on the distance

The longer the distance, the earlier you start. At the 108th Marches in 2026, the start windows for individual walkers were, according to 4daagse.nl: 50 km from 04:00 to 04:45, 40 km from 05:00 to 06:40 and 30 km from 07:00 to 08:00. These are 2026 times, and 4daagse.nl publishes the 2027 times. Choosing a longer distance therefore also means an earlier alarm.

Measured distances in 2025, per day and in total

The routes are never as long as their names. According to the organiser, the routes are never exactly 30, 40 or 50 kilometres. These are the walking distances measured in 2025, in kilometres:

“Over nominal” is our own calculation: the total minus four times the distance, in kilometres.

These are figures from the 2025 edition. 4daagse.nl publishes the distances and routes for 2027. How each day runs is covered on the Nijmegen March routes page.

How long is the Nijmegen March in total?

In 2025 it measured 127.1 kilometres on the 30 km route, 160.9 kilometres on the 40 km route and 200.9 kilometres on the 50 km route. For 2027 that is a guide only, as only the 2025 value is documented.

Single days can differ noticeably. On the 40 km route, day 4 was the longest at 42.5 kilometres, and on the 30 km route day 2 went over the mark at 33.6 kilometres.

What the distances mean for your training

You are training for four days in a row, not one. A single day is only part of the task. How to build up the weeks is shown in the Nijmegen March training plan.

For orientation, here are the calculated example plans from Etappe, generated on 18 October 2026 with a start on 1 February 2027 and 24 training weeks. Assumptions: plan start on 1 February 2027, longest walk at the start 12, 15 and 20 km (for 30, 40 and 50 km), weekly volume at the start 15, 20 and 30 km, pace 5 km/h, no logged walks. The longest single training walk in them is 31 kilometres for the 30 km goal, 39 kilometres for 40 km and 49 kilometres for 50 km. On top come back-to-back days of 30, 36 and 45 kilometres on two days in a row. The plan then adapts to the walks you actually do.

The example plans are a calculation result of the app, not a guarantee and not a substitute for medical advice. If you have pain or other symptoms, talk to your doctor.

How Etappe works out your regulation distance

Etappe is an independent training plan for the Four Days Marches and is not run by the organiser. The app knows the 2027 age table from 4daagse.nl. You enter your year of birth, your gender and whether you walk as a civilian or in the military, and the app derives your regulation distance from that. Men in the military born from 1978 to 2008 can choose 50 kilometres, or 40 kilometres with at least 10 kilograms of marching kit.

The app also shows the four days with the 2025 measured distances: Elst, Wijchen, Groesbeek and Cuijk. It is free, needs no account and is coming soon to the App Store. Whether you manage your distance and earn the 4Days Marches Cross depends on you and your training.