40 KM

In 2009 I walked the Vierdaagse van Nijmegen (The Walk of the World), 4 days 40 km each day. Afterwards I said 40 km is too far and too tiring, never again. I stayed with this thought till the beginning of 2019. In the meantime I did a lot of hiking, but even when hiking the Camino de Santiago in 2016 I never tapped the 40 km a day, but 35 km a number of times there. Although I didn’t count getting lost and visiting touristic things during the Camino Portuguese so it might have been 40 km sometimes.

Night Of The Refugee

A few years ago I saw De Nacht van de Vluchtelingen (night of the refugee) and thought about participating. I forgot about it until 2019. Someone I knew registered. I asked her about it, and she said walk with us. I registered and thought I am walking 40 km again?! 😊

40 Km Again

In 2009 I was 25 kg lighter and in shape. I played tennis at least twice a week on average and I walked long distance once a week. Yet I found the 4x 40 km in 2009 very tough.

Well Then What?

I said Yes to walking again 40 km and the first sponsor money came in. And I occasionally walked the Pieterpad, and NS-wandelingen (NS hikes) on average 20 km each time to get more in shape again. There were now 5 kg off again and I also made sure that the counter came to 6 km each day I wasn't hiking.

Oh, I'm Going For It

The date was approaching. The weather was bad beforehand. The person with whom I would walk canceled a few days before. Yet I decided to go for it. It is a short walk compared to what the refugees walk to get to safety.

The Night

On the day itself I tried to get some sleep in the afternoon. It didn't work except for an 1-hour nap. I did rest though. I am not a night person so how am I going to keep going through the night? I took another bottle of cola and a banana.

And Then It Was Time!

It was a nice trip. It was very nice to walk at night and very different from walking during the day. I was entertained with beautiful skies and the sound of frogs and of course the skyline of Rotterdam. What was also very beautiful was walking to the morning of the next day. The predicted rain did not come, and the pains stayed away too. I walked with breaks included from 0:00 to 10:30 the next day. I was a bit stiff, but it went well. I thought 40 km is a bit too far again. 

One Day Later

It was a super experience, nice route and a goal that I support. With finishing the hike, the sponsors who sponsored me donated their money to Stichting Vluchtelingen. Slowly the thought came to join again next year, because it is a beautiful goal and a spicy but beautiful challenge for my body. Next year I will walk one of the 3 other routes and hopefully then again 20 kg lighter.

COVID Happened

COVID happened and I had other hiking plans for the future. I finished the Pieterpad and have still a few NS-wandelingen to go before Hiking all. Maybe sometime in the future I will hike another hike with sponsors for a good cause. In 2009 I also hiked for a good cause, MYBODY (Rutger stichting).

Hiking Beyond Lockdowns

In 2023 I decided to walk ' De Nacht van de Vluchtelingen' again. This time between Amersfoort and Utrecht. Again 40 km through the night. I saw my own province Utrecht between Amersfoort and Utrecht. I went through Soest and De Bilt before entering Utrecht by morning. Again a beautiful experience greeting the sun and hearing the birds sing in the early morning. But also aware that hiking at night is not something that can be done easily. Most of the people I passed as a ‘Nacht van de Vluchtelingen’ hiker were friendly with an accent on most*. I guess this is what 'vluchtelingen' have to endure when hiking at night to safety. 

*The unfriendly ones were the drunk people and people who were on their way home from a night out, I guess.