Prepare for 4 days in Nijmegen

The 4Days March­es in Nijmegen, Nether­lands, is the world’s largest march­ing event with over 45,000 par­tic­i­pants walk­ing 30, 40, or 50 kilo­me­ters a day for four days. The Elfs­borg March is your per­fect prepa­ra­tion. Two days of 40 kilo­me­ters each will test your equip­ment, your pace, and your abil­i­ty under real­is­tic con­di­tions. Walk the Elfs­borgs­marschen in June – and be ready for 4Days March­es in July.

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Elfs­bo­grs­marschen

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Half of the 4Days Marches

Elfs­borgs­marschen is half of the 4Days March­es. It is the ide­al prepa­ra­tion and the ulti­mate test before par­tic­i­pat­ing in the world’s largest march­ing event. Is your equip­ment func­tion­ing prop­er­ly? Can your body han­dle the strain? It is bet­ter to dis­cov­er any issues in Gothen­burg than in Nijmegen.

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Day two reveals the truth

The last few miles of the sec­ond day sep­a­rate those who take chances from those who pre­pare. When your feet are swollen, your legs are tired, and only your willpow­er is keep­ing you from quit­ting, you will know if you are phys­i­cal­ly and men­tal­ly pre­pared enough to com­plete the 4Days March­es chal­lenge. You learn how hard you can push your­self and what the con­se­quences are. These are use­ful lessons before you go to the Netherlands.

Prepare for the military class

Of the 45,000 par­tic­i­pants in the 4Days March­es, 5,000–7,500 are mil­i­tary per­son­nel. Between 250 and 350 sol­diers from Swe­den have par­tic­i­pat­ed every year since 1967. Mil­i­tary par­tic­i­pants walk 40 km per day with at least 10 kg of gear. The Elfs­borg March offers the same con­di­tions and is per­fect prepa­ra­tion for those in the Home Guard, the Armed Forces, or any of the vol­un­tary defense orga­ni­za­tions aim­ing to par­tic­i­pate in the 4Days Marches.

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International meeting place

Elfs­borgs­marschen brings in folks from all over. Lots of peo­ple come back year after year. Besides see­ing both famous and less­er-known parts of Gothen­burg, they get some great train­ing for the 4Days March­es. It’s also a cool chance to make inter­na­tion­al connections.

Build the team for Nijmegen

Are you going to walk the 4Days March­es togeth­er as a team? Elfs­borgs­marschen is per­fect for prac­tic­ing team­work. You will learn to keep pace togeth­er and sup­port each oth­er when some­one is strug­gling. After two days in Gothen­burg, you will know what you can achieve togeth­er and what needs to be improved.

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The road to Nijmegen starts in Gothenburg

You’ve read the argu­ments: Elfs­borgs­marschen is half of the 4Days March­es.. It’s the ulti­mate test to see if your plan will work. Tak­ing a chance in the Nether­lands means risk­ing months of prepa­ra­tion and lot of mon­ey. Test­ing your­self in Gothen­burg means invest­ing in success.

Those who have walked the Inter­na­tion­al Four Day March­es Nijmegen know the truth: day three and four are no longer about phys­i­cal fit­ness. They are about men­tal endurance and flaw­less equipment.

A trial – not theory

You can’t read about how your body reacts after 60 kilo­me­ters in the same boots. You have to expe­ri­ence it. Elfs­borgs­marschen gives you exact­ly that expe­ri­ence. Our 40-kilo­me­ter course on asphalt, two days in a row, is specif­i­cal­ly designed to sim­u­late the con­di­tions in Nijmegen.

  • Do your shoes work? You won’t know until you’ve walked 40 km, slept, and then walked anoth­er 20 km in them.
  • Does your pack hold up? For those aim­ing for the mil­i­tary class, two days with a 10 kg pack is a must. This is where you find out if the straps chafe or if the weight is unbalanced.
  • Is your team hold­ing up? Walk­ing as a mil­i­tary or civil­ian group in Nijmegen requires syn­chro­niza­tion. Here you prac­tice keep­ing pace, man­ag­ing breaks, and sup­port­ing each oth­er when the going gets tough.

Fail here. Win there.

Elfs­borgs­marschen is your chance to iden­ti­fy prob­lems before they become cat­a­stroph­ic. Hav­ing to drop out in Par­tille is a cheap les­son. Being forced to drop out on the day of “de 7 heuve­len” (the sev­en hills) in Nijmegen is a bit­ter disappointment.

This is more than a march­ing event; it is your most impor­tant prepa­ra­tion. For those in the Armed Forces, the Home Guard, or the vol­un­tary defense orga­ni­za­tions, this is also an oppor­tu­ni­ty to com­plete a qual­i­fied sol­dier test as part of your training.

Be ready for the 4Days March­es. Prove to your­self that you are prepared.

Secure your place at the start­ing line in Nijmegen – by first fin­ish­ing Elfsborgsmarschen.

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