Nijmegen March training plan for 30, 40 and 50 km

Nijmegen March training plan: when to start and how to build

Start in early February and build the long walk slowly, by no more than 10 per cent a week in Etappe’s plan. That gives you about 25 weeks until the start in July. The organiser’s page on 4daagse.nl is short on this: make sure you arrive at the start well trained. Sportzorg and Bever, both additional sources, advise February and about 20 weeks beforehand.

A Nijmegen March training plan, also called a Vierdaagse training plan, differs from a walking marathon plan. A walking marathon is one long day. The Four Days Marches ask for 30, 40 or 50 km a day, depending on age and sex, four days in a row. So the plan has three parts: a slow build, a block of several long days in a row, and a calm taper.

This plan is not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a medical condition or pain.

The example plan: 25 weeks for 30, 40 and 50 km

The table shows the long walk of each week in kilometres. It is an example that Etappe’s plan engine calculated with fixed assumptions. It is not a plan from the organiser, and it is not a plan made for you personally.

The assumptions:

• The plan starts on Monday 1 February 2027. In the example the Four Days Marches begin on 20 July 2027. That gives 24 training weeks plus the event week.
• Pace 5 km/h, no walks logged yet.
• Starting point for 30 km: longest walk 12 km, 15 km a week.
• Starting point for 40 km: longest walk 15 km, 20 km a week.
• Starting point for 50 km: longest walk 20 km, 30 km a week.

“Lighter” means a recovery week. “B2B” means back-to-back: two long days in a row (distance per day).

Source of the figures: output of Etappe’s plan engine, calculated on 18 October 2026. In the peak week the engine plans 83.5 km (30 km), 82.5 km (40 km) and 100.5 km (50 km) across all sessions.

Why the plan recalculates after every walk

The table is only the starting plan. In the app the plan is recalculated after every walk you log. Etappe re-estimates your fitness, and a hard or painful walk pauses the build. A fixed PDF cannot do that.

The core rules of the plan engine

The engine follows a few fixed rules. They are built into the app and apply to every goal.

1. No more than 10 per cent a week. The long walk grows by at most 10 per cent a week. From 95 kg body weight or under 15 km a week it is at most 8 per cent.
2. Never a jump of more than 6 km. Even if 10 per cent would be more, the distance never grows by more than 6 km at once.
3. Lighter weeks at regular intervals. In the example these recovery weeks are weeks 4, 8, 12, 18 and 21.
4. A hard or painful walk in the last ten days pauses the build. If you log that a long walk was hard or hurt, the distance stops growing.
5. Taper. With at least ten weeks to the start there are two weeks of reduced volume. With four to nine weeks it is one.

The phases

For multi-day goals such as the Four Days Marches the specific phase takes about 30 per cent of the training weeks, at least 3 and at most 8. It contains three special sessions:

• Back-to-back: two long days in a row (weeks 16 and 22).
• Multi-day block: several days on end, three days in the example (week 19).
• Dress rehearsal: a long walk as a test for the start (week 20).

The target for the longest training walk is 1.1 times the day’s distance for days under 35 km, and the day’s distance itself for 35 to 55 km. The engine builds in whole steps and in the example reaches 31, 39 and 49 km.

Training plan for 30 km a day

For 30 km the long walk grows from 10 km in week 1 to 31 km in week 17. This is the longest training walk. It returns as the dress rehearsal in week 20.

• Starting point: longest walk 12 km, 15 km a week.
• Back-to-back: 23 + 23 km in week 16 and 30 + 30 km in week 22.
• Multi-day block: 3 days of 26 km in week 19.
• Taper: 20 km in week 23, 9 km in week 24.

Weeks 1 to 17 hold the build curve. Your starting point decides where you join. The table holds for the stated assumptions, and the app calculates your own curve from your own level.

Training plan for 40 km a day

For 40 km the long walk grows from 13 km in week 1 to 39 km in week 17. The dress rehearsal in week 20 repeats that distance.

• Starting point: longest walk 15 km, 20 km a week.
• Back-to-back: 27 + 27 km in week 16 and 36 + 36 km in week 22.
• Multi-day block: 3 days of 24 km in week 19.
• Taper: 25 km in week 23, 12 km in week 24.

For days up to 55 km the engine uses 90 per cent of the day’s distance for back-to-back, for days up to 30 km the full distance. That is why 40 km shows two days of 36 km and 30 km shows two days of 30 km.

Training plan for 50 km a day

For 50 km the long walk grows from 17 km in week 1 to 49 km in week 17. This also shows how much volume sits behind 50 km a day.

• Starting point: longest walk 20 km, 30 km a week.
• Back-to-back: 34 + 34 km in week 16 and 45 + 45 km in week 22.
• Multi-day block: 3 days of 30 km in week 19.
• Taper: 32 km in week 23, 12 km in week 24.
• Peak week: 100.5 km across all sessions.

The 50 km plan has the largest weekly volume of the three. Respect the lighter weeks.

Which distance do you have to walk?

The distance you must walk depends on your year of birth and your sex, and is not a free choice. The year of birth decides. 4daagse.nl publishes the table for civilian participants. Our page on the Nijmegen March distances shows which regulation distance applies to you in 2027 and how long the days measured in 2025. How the four days run is covered in the Nijmegen March routes.

Information on distances partly dates from 2025 and 2026. 4daagse.nl publishes the details for 2027.

What the organiser and additional sources recommend

Here we separate statements from the organiser from additional sources.

Organiser: 4daagse.nl

• Arrive well trained. The organiser’s training page asks you to arrive at the start well trained.
• Train two days in a row. Maria Hopman of Radboudumc advises, as quoted on 4daagse.nl, to train two days in a row so you know how your body reacts.
• Breaks. Her advice: take 10 minutes’ rest every 2 hours, no longer, because you stiffen up and find it harder to get going again.
• Train in the heat too. Hopman recommends training in all weather. According to the text, regular training in warm weather teaches your body to cope more efficiently with high temperatures.
• Training routes. Park Lingezegen has several training routes of 20 to 47 km, according to 4daagse.nl.

Additional sources

• Sportzorg: start in good time, preferably in February, and begin gently with 10 to 20 km. Walk a long distance every other week. In May and June also walk two long days in a row. Sportzorg also advises seamless socks.
• Bever: start about 20 weeks beforehand, build your kilometres weekly and keep at least one rest day. Do not train only on forest paths but also on tarmac, because during the Four Days Marches you walk almost entirely on tarmac. Bever also recommends testing food and drink during training.

Both are additional sources, not requirements from the organiser. For shoes, socks and blisters see the guide to preparing for the Nijmegen March.

For perspective: good training beforehand reduces the risk of a lot of walking problems according to 4daagse.nl, but an injury is never ruled out (medical information).

Training in everyday life

A plan only works if it fits into your week. The sources give a few practical points:

• Keep at least one rest day a week (Bever).
• Avoid new shoes shortly before the start. According to Maria Hopman, shoes that are not broken in raise the risk of blisters and injuries.
• Carry your rucksack or waist bag in training too. 4daagse.nl warns that deciding on a rucksack at the last minute can cause back or shoulder problems.
• Skip long walks in the last week before the start (Bever).

For the date and the course of the event see the page on the Nijmegen March 2027.

How Etappe applies this

Etappe is a free iPhone app that does not hand you the plan above as a table but calculates it for you.

• Starting point from your own level. At onboarding you enter your longest walk, kilometres per week and pace. The app estimates where you stand today.
• Recalculated after every walk. The app imports walks from Apple Health, including from Apple Watch, Garmin, Oura or Strava via Health. Etappe only reads and writes nothing to Apple Health.
• Readiness from 0 to 100. The score has five components weighted 30, 20, 20, 15 and 15 per cent: long walk, two days in a row, volume, pace and consistency. It compares what you have walked with what your goal asks. It is a guide and not a forecast.
• Reminders. On every training day the app reminds you at the time you choose.
• Sessions with steps. Long walk, back-to-back, multi-day block, dress rehearsal and easy sessions have steps such as warm-up, main part, breaks and fuelling.
• Free, no account. No ads, no subscription. Your data stays on your iPhone and you can export it as a file at any time.

The app is coming soon to the App Store. More about the app is on the home page.