What about a Dodentocht medal next year…?
Ambitious, veeerrryy ambitious.
that depends on how i do on Pathfinder and any 2X40s I can find
DoTo is easier than multiday marches. So if you’ve already done multiple mulitdayers then Dodentocht will be a walk in the park for you.
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Being pragmatic… and having walked with lots of friends - who are all very competent walkers - what I would say is that they are very “different” in terms of challenge.
Ultimately, if you can do Nijmegen (relatively comfortably), then from a level of fitness you should be able to complete the DM.
Without overstating the obvious, walking 40 or 50km at Nijmegen, is “just getting warmed up” for the DM (100km).
Biggest things you can do to make the DM “easier” - tape your feet; make sure you get plenty of sleep in the week running up to the DM; have an afternoon nap on the day of the DM (we start walking at 2100!); eat plenty of protein, carbs and healthy fats; if you haven’t discovered multivitamins such Berocca by now - you’re in for a shock at the difference it makes to your performance, along with soluble electrolytes!
There is plenty of food available along the route - just make sure you keep eating regularly, it is a really easy trap to fall into by running out of calories - and obviously keep drinking!
The struggle with NM is having to “get up and do it again…” (while having spent a fair chunk of the previous day, afternoon and evening also having to look after other people…)
The DM… is “just” ONE walk, on one/two days.
The tricky part, is doing it with a bit of a hangover from the massive party the night before at the campsite!
Think you need to be more specific here… especially to some members of our group 
or 
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In the interests of protecting the “innocent” I’m learning more about PerSec…
What happens at Bornem, stays in Bornem… apart from then being brought back up at Winter WARMA, Cosford, next year’s NM…
But no epic life affirming story ever started with “so, before we set off we met for a quiet night in, with a couple of alcohol free beverages “
(And yes - the idea of you know who, being described as “the innocent”, isn’t lost on me either)
Having done Doto twice now - once at the heat-wave shortened year and then this year at the full 100km, I found it more mentally challenging than physically.
at the 70km mark, my feet didn’t particularly hurt much or have many blisters but mentally thinking “I have another 6 hours of walking to go” when having been awake for nearly 24h already was a very large mental hurdle.
The temptation to sit down at the side of the road during the final 20km was incredibly high but as a team we agreed we’d only rest at the official checkpoints.
Really taught myself about my own mental resilience.
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One of our group had walked in ahead, to “keep moving - then rang to say that at 92km… they were done…
A rather brief “motivational chat” pointed out the error of their decision, to give their head a wobble and be ready to be scooped up with the rest of the group. In all, I think there were about 21 of us - and we got every single one around!
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FWIW
Black Friday offers with Irish Ferries and DFDS for
Crossings all the way up to next September!
About to book for next year’s DM (and NM)
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Date for the diary: 21st March 2026
Tickets go on sale!
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Giving Doto a miss next year but hope to do 2027.
We’re focussing on hilly terrain for this training programme (Oct25-Aug26) with the hope to do the Yorkshire and national three peaks.
We are planning to do WARMA again however next year. Probably another 1 x 40km though.
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Ferrys over to NL are ludicrously expensive, nearly £500 to get me, a mate, and a poopy little Hyundai over, might not even be worth taking the car
If you go by bicycle or on foot it’s only £25. And European trains are fairly cheap.
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I did Dodentocht once as a civilian, if you’re already comfortable at 25km you’re off to a solid start. The best prep is just steady, regular walks with the kit you’ll use on the day.
Get a couple of night-walks in, look after your feet early, and don’t rush the pace. Little snacks and drinks often.
Keep building up the distance like you’ve planned and you’ll be fine. The atmosphere really helps on the day too.
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