‘Like you’re a hero’: Gladness and gladiolas greet Nijmegen march finishers

NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — The Via Gladiola is far more than the route for the final miles of the four-day international Nijmegen marches.

It is the event’s grand finale, a victory parade where thousands crowded the streets on Friday to celebrate every marcher who endured the 100-mile crucible.

I know the pain of the march firsthand, having completed it myself last year. This time, I returned in a different capacity, serving as an orderly for my former team, ensuring they had food, hydration and medical supplies, while navigating an adjacent 100-mile route from the seat of a bicycle. 

Spectators spent the week lining roads through the city and surrounding villages to cheer on the military formations and civilian participants. But nowhere was the support more overwhelming than along the Via Gladiola.

Walkers of the international Nijmegen marches parade down the "Via Gladiola" near the finish line in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. The route serves as the event's grand finale, where crowds line the streets to celebrate every marcher who completed the four-day, 100-mile trek. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Norwegian military team walks beneath the "Via Gladiola" banner, the final three-mile stretch of the four-day, 100-mile international Nijmegen marches, in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. The route serves as the event's grand finale, where crowds shower finishers with flowers and celebrate their accomplishment. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Throngs packed the street shoulder to shoulder, showering marchers with the flowers that give the route its name and applauding the accomplishment of everyone who reached the finish.

“You have seen the people all around Nijmegen for the four days. They were amazing,” German sailor Ankur Chauhan said. “But the Via Gladiola, it’s like … you’re a hero.”

The atmosphere is difficult to describe without seeing yourself, Chauhan said. Even after completing the march nine times and participating in endurance events across Europe, nothing compares to the scale of the celebration in Nijmegen, he said.

I watched as confetti drifted through the air as spectators hugged marchers and handed them food and drinks, held homemade signs of encouragement and waved flags from balconies overlooking the street.

A Belgian-German Friendship Team celebrates completing the international Nijmegen marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. Marchers from across Europe and the U.S. take part in the four-day, 100-mile trek, which ends in a celebratory procession through the city. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

A spectator waves a flare while cheering on marchers along the "Via Gladiola" during the final stretch of the international Nijmegen marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. Crowds packed the route to celebrate marchers completing the four-day, 100-mile trek. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

The final miles were no longer about enduring the pain. They were about soaking in a celebration that made the journey feel complete.

“You don’t feel the blister on your foot or the pain in your back from the ruck,” U.S. Military Academy cadet Makenzie Brewer said. “You’re just focused on the fact that so many people are there to support you, even if it’s not you directly.”

But before stepping onto the Via Gladiola, military marchers filed onto the Field of Charlemagne, where those who completed the event received the Cross for the Four Days Marches, the medal awarded to finishers.

“When I walked in, I was with the other cadets from my school and my main thought was just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we just did that together,’” Brewer said. “You just have a shared bond over this event.”

A Spanish Civil Guardsman is pinned with a medal marking his 11th completion of the Cross of the Four Days Marches after finishing the international Nijmegen marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. The medal is awarded to every marcher who completes the four-day, 100-mile trek. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Coast Guard members walk the final miles of the international Nijmegen marches along the "Via Gladiola" in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. The four-day, 100-mile march ends with a celebratory procession where crowds greet finishers with flowers, food and applause. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Spectators watch from balconies decorated with banners and flags along the "Via Gladiola" in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 24, 2026. The route marks the finish of the four-day, 100-mile Nijmegen marches, where crowds line the streets to celebrate marchers completing the international endurance event. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Service members smiled and embraced teammates. Some wiped away tears as military teams and individual marchers had the medal pinned to their chests.

With the award proudly displayed, marchers left the field and made their way along the 3-mile stretch, celebrating with cheering onlookers until the green finish banner finally came into view.

But before reaching the end, we passed another sign that has become just as familiar to veterans of the march: “Hope to see you next year.”

After crossing that same finish line last year, I remember reading those words and thinking there was no chance I would ever return. But like so many marchers before me, I was wrong.