Retired Army Maj. Gerald Holodak rests his legs at a water stop during the first day of the 100-mile Four Days Marches in the Netherlands on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — Alarm clocks may ring around 3 a.m. to signal the start of the Four Days Marches, but for many military participants, the journey began months before they arrived in the country’s eastern flank.
The 108th annual “Walk of the World,” billed as the largest organized marching event on Earth, officially kicked off Tuesday. Hours before sunrise, nearly 6,500 service members from 77 nations stepped off from Camp Heumensoord, a temporary encampment set up specifically for the military members doing the 100-mile march.
Those early morning strides marked the first of many over four days for participants, whose trudging amounts to about a marathon each day.
“Normally, we march one day 40 kilometers and the second day 20 kilometers because we have to arrive back to our barracks,” Cindy-Kim Benz, a German soldier with a Eurocorps team, said Tuesday of her team’s training weekends.
Between them, Benz and fellow German soldier Sue Kraemer have participated in the Four Days Marches 11 times. The months of training that lead to Nijmegen have become a nearly continuous cycle as they return year after year.
A Dutch soldier marches into a rest stop with his team on the first day of the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A Canadian soldier waits to step out of Camp Heumensoord, a temporary encampment in Nijmegen, Netherlands, that houses military participants, on the first day of the 100-mile Four Days Marches. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
An international contingents team lines up to begin the first day of the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Service members from international militaries march past dignitaries during a pass-in-review ceremony before stepping off on the first day of the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
But Nijmegen is only one stop on their calendar. The pair spend much of the year participating in other International Marching League events across Europe, including events in Luxembourg and Switzerland, they said.
“Every time we ask ourselves, ‘Why do we do this march?’” Kraemer said. “Then the last day, we say, ‘Great. I am very, very happy to do this over again next year.’”
Kraemer joked that the “crazy family” she’s built through the march is what keeps her coming back for another year of suffering. Their small team includes marchers from the United States, Canada, France, Austria, Belgium, Poland and Spain.
That international mix was evident throughout the opening day.
Like the militaries of generations past, contingents from around the world marched in rhythmic step through the streets of Nijmegen to the sounds of drums, flutes and, in the case of some teams from the United Kingdom, bagpipes.
Residents packed sidewalks, bridges and roundabouts for miles, cheering on the nearly 47,000 participants as the columns passed by.
A Norwegian soldier happily marches with his team during day one of the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Hundreds of military and civilian walkers from across the globe participate in the first day of the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on July 21, 2026. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A group of German Bundeswehr march amongst civilian walkers on July 21, 2026, for the Netherlands' Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, which is a 100-mile multiday event. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Military contingents drew particular attention as they marched in formation, sang cadences and shouldered weighted packs while civilian participants walked alongside them.
The music, cheering and crowded streets gave the first day a celebratory feel, but the marchers knew the hardest miles were still ahead.
When they aren’t playing instruments or singing cadences, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines spend the miles and hours talking — with one another, with civilians lining the route and with marchers from other nations.
Even then, not everyone on the same team speaks the same language. But the shared experience of walking 100 miles together is often enough to forge lasting friendships.
“You are thinking, ‘I cannot abandon (the course) because I cannot fail my brother or my friends and the team, so I have to keep going,’” Spanish Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Bull said.
While Benz and Kraemer were all smiles after completing day one, their thoughts had already turned to what they called the “evil” third day, widely regarded by veteran marchers as the hilliest and most mentally demanding stage of the event.
As marchers filtered back into Camp Heumensoord on Tuesday afternoon, boots came off and recovery began. Before long, alarms would once again ring an early reveille, sending them back onto the road with roughly 75 miles still to go.
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