The Nijmegen Vierdaagse, a long distance walking event, was first held in 1909 with approximately 120 participants and in 1928 became international. This year is the 92nd 'Vierdaagse' - the Dutch word meaning 'four days' (there were several years when no walk was held during the World Wars). Today, over 45,000 participants from some 50 countries take part including an international military contingent of about 10,000.

The event is run by the KNBLO, or Koninklijke Nederlandse Bond voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (which roughly translates into Royal Dutch Organisation for Physical Culture), and takes place in and around the city of Nijmegen, an old Roman town which lies in the South of the Dutch province of Gelderland, approximately 7km from the German border. It has a Catholic university and, together with nearby Arnhem, is one of the two gateways to the Netherlands on the lower Rhine.

The event is about taking part and is not a race - running and race walking are against the rules. It is about meeting a personal challenge. The walk's motto, "willen is kunnen", translates into English along the lines of "if you want to, you can".

Walking participants are required to cover a distance of 50, 40 or 30 kilometers a day for four consecutive days over predefined routes on roads in order to earn the KNBLO Vierdaagse medal (the coveted Vierdaagsekruis). The distance walked is dependent on age and sex; although you can upgrade and walk a longer distance than your designated distance up to a maximum of 50km a day (this is dependent on how mad you are and how much pain you want!). The daily distance you are required to walk in order to achieve your Vierdaagsekruis is summarised in the table below.

Age (as at 31st December)	Female (km/day)	Male (km/day)
12-15	30	30
16-18	40	40
19-49	40	50
50-59	40	40
60-64	30	40
65+	30	30