A ragtag group of individuals, mostly associated with RAFAC, but participating (shhhh don’t tell anyone) as civilians without the having to worry about cadets with wet bulbs, trench foot or any of the multitude of horrors they manage to get themselves into - putting staff in to PTSD….
Many of us will be participating at the Vierdaagse at Nijmegen - incidentally, some of you may know that 2016 was the 100th anniversary of the event as a whole… but, you may not have noticed that 2025 is the 100th anniversary of the Vierdaagse being held at Nijmegen…
Last year about 12 of us made it, not only to the Via Gladiola, but will still fit enough to make it to Matrixx at the Waalkade to “dance” the night away to The Vengaboys.
Last year, in preparation, many of us went to Cosford - where unlike our on-duty brethren, we were able to partake of a refreshing glass or two of hop-infused, fermented wheat based “sports drinks”, to restore our electrolyte balance…
Then on to the Waendel Weekend at Wellingborough (various distances available - I went for 42km on Sat, 25k on Sun); The RAF Pathfinder March 46 miles in under 20 hours; then after Nijmegen, a group of us went on to the Dodentocht - Deathmarch, a jolly 100km bimble through the night and much of the next day at Bornem, Belgium.
With numbers for RAFAC participants at Nijmegen still capped at 100 cadets and staff, if you want to add another medal to your tally - going civvy is your only option, if you’re not fortunate to get one of the teams!
The BDWF can help with a complete package of accommodation, meals, foot care, pre-event taping, 3 rest points with refreshments and blister treatment each walking day and even shuttle busses running to and from town on walking days.
Accommodation is in a sports hall - segregated by gender, with proper beds - that are genuinely quite comfortable! We’ve got our own showers, with plenty of hot water. There’s even two bars to satisfy your thirst at the end of the day. Food is plentiful and tasty!
The group is extremely friendly, supportive and welcoming!
The BDWF are also testing the water this year to see if there’s interest in first timers joining a team of members that have completed the Nijmegen March a number of times - if you have friends / mates that need to be certain of getting a ticket before they sell out!
Then… three weeks after Nijmegen, there’s a bunch of us already planning on going back to Bornem for the Deathmarch again - camping with the local scouts, dancing until late o’clock on the Thursday night, before sorting our admin out ready to start walking on Friday evening.
If you’re interested in joining us at the bar of any of the above events, for a libation or two, or better yet to join us in poor humour and worse singing and dancing, feel free to send me a message!
(Early registration has just opened for The RAF Pathfinder March in June - just £35 to include medal, certificate and commemorative t-shirt!)
