Nijmegen March route: the four days from Nijmegen

Nijmegen March route: a different direction every day

Every day you start and finish in Nijmegen and walk in a different direction, as 4daagse.nl explains on its routes page. Each of the four days has its own name:

The distance you walk depends on your age and gender. The guide to the Nijmegen March distances explains how. This page covers the routes themselves: where you walk each day, when you start and when you have to sign off.

Nijmegen March day 1: the Day of Elst (Blue Tuesday)

Day 1 leads north. After the Waal bridge you are in the Overbetuwe, and the organiser says Elst turns blue, which is why the day is also called Blue Tuesday.

Along the way you follow the dyke between Lent and Oosterhout and walk more than 20 kilometres through Park Lingezegen, as the organiser’s day 1 page describes.

Measured distances from the latest published table: 33.1 km (30 km), 39.7 km (40 km), 43.3 km (military 40 km) and 52.2 km (50 km).

Nijmegen March day 2: the Day of Wijchen (Pink Wednesday)

Day 2 takes you west into the Land van Maas en Waal: polders in the morning, then a decorated market square in Wijchen. The day is also called Pink Wednesday. The details are on the organiser’s day 2 page.

Measured distances: 33.6 km (30 km), 39.4 km (40 km), 37.5 km (military 40 km) and 48.4 km (50 km). On the 50 km it is the shortest day of the week.

Nijmegen March day 3: the Day of Groesbeek (seven hills)

Day 3 is the day of the seven hills. It heads east. Water and woodland come first, then the green hills around Groesbeek. The organiser’s day 3 page calls it the “queen stage” of the event.

Measured distances: 30.5 km (30 km), 39.3 km (40 km), 40 km (military 40 km) and 50.2 km (50 km).

Nijmegen March day 4: the Day of Cuijk and Via Gladiola

Day 4 heads south. In Cuijk a pontoon bridge laid out for the walkers carries you over the River Meuse, and then your entry follows along Via Gladiola. The organiser’s description is on the organiser’s day 4 page.

Measured distances: 29.9 km (30 km), 42.5 km (40 km), 44.9 km (military 40 km) and 50.1 km (50 km). On the 40 km, day 4 is the longest of the four days.

Distances per route and in total

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

Source: 4daagse.nl. According to the organiser the routes are never exactly 30, 40 or 50 kilometres. This is the latest published table. 4daagse.nl publishes the distances for 2027 later.

Nijmegen March start times 2026

When you start depends on your distance. These are the start times of the 108th edition (2026), from the Start/finish page:

Military participants starting from Heumensoord leave between 04:30 and 07:00 from Tuesday to Thursday and between 03:30 and 06:30 on Friday.

This is the situation as of 2026. 4daagse.nl publishes the times for the 109th edition (20 to 23 July 2027) later. For the date and the rest of the event, see the guide to the Nijmegen March 2027.

Sign-off times: when do you have to finish?

Individual participants sign off each day within a fixed window. In 2026 this applied to all distances (30, 40 and 50 km): from Tuesday to Thursday between 12:00 and 17:00, on Friday between 12:00 and 18:00.

For the military 40 km route the same window applied from Tuesday to Thursday and 11:00 to 16:30 on Friday. On that Friday you sign off at Charlemagne, not at Heumensoord. This too is the situation as of 2026.

Start gates and arrow colours

There are three start gates: two for regular participants, at the Wedren and Omroep Gelderlandplein, and one in the Julianapark for military groups and participants with special dispensation.

On the route you follow coloured arrows. The colour matches your wristband:

Via Gladiola: the finish with gladioli

Via Gladiola is the final stretch on day 4. You walk with gladioli in your hand, the symbol of a successful finish, between grandstands, music and crowds. According to the organiser around a hundred thousand spectators cheer on the last kilometres, see the page on the entry.

Heat and changed routes

Routes can change when the weather demands it. According to the history of the Four Days Marches, the first day of walking, the Day of Elst, was cancelled in 2022 because of extreme heat. In 2024 the board shortened the routes on Friday because of expected heat. How to prepare for this is covered in the guide to preparing for the Nijmegen March.

Where to find the organiser’s route maps

The routes are on 4daagse.nl, one page per day:

• Day 1: Elst
• Day 2: Wijchen
• Day 3: Groesbeek
• Day 4: Cuijk

Check the maps for the year you walk. 4daagse.nl publishes the distances for 2027 later.

How Etappe shows the four days

Etappe is an independent training app for iPhone and has no connection to the organiser of the Four Days Marches. When you pick the Nijmegen Four Days Marches as your goal, the app shows the four days: the Day of Elst, Wijchen, Groesbeek and Cuijk, with the measured distances and the start windows of the 108th edition. It also knows your regulation distance from your year of birth. On top of that Etappe calculates a Nijmegen March training plan that is recalculated after every walk. The app is free, needs no account and is coming soon to the App Store. See the home page for more.