Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Peter Holt and Captain (Ret’d) Adwin “OJ” Gallant are preparing for the International Four Days Marches Nijmegen. This year, it will be held from July 15 to 18. (Submitted photo)
This summer, thousands of marchers from more than 70 countries will converge on the Netherlands for the world-renowned International Four Days Marches Nijmegen, a physically and emotionally charged event.
Held this year from July 15 to 18, the event draws over 40,000 participants annually. Marchers cover 30, 40, or 50 kilometres per day through the Dutch countryside under the gaze of more than a million spectators, cheered on by crowds waving flags and singing songs.
Nicknamed “The Walk of the World,” the march is considered one of the most demanding and celebrated walking events in the world.
Captain (ret’d) Adwin “OJ” Gallant and Brigadier-General (ret’d) Peter Holt, both longtime participants in the marches, will once again take on the challenge of walking 160 kilometres over four days through the Dutch countryside.
For Gallant, who has been walking for a decade and a half decked out in his ‘Canada Veteran’ gear, the event began as a personal challenge and evolved into something far more profound.
“It started as something to do, a physical challenge and a lifelong experience,” he said. “Every time I go, I learn something new, meet a new friend.”
For Holt, who first walked in the mid-1970s as a young Captain, the experience is layered with personal and historical significance. His father helped liberate the Netherlands during the Second World War.
“My father fought over those streets,” Holt said. “A lot of the graves that I visit are friends of my father, people who grew up on the same street.”
During the march, participants pass through areas deeply tied to wartime history – including Nijmegen, which hosted Canadian Army headquarters at the end of the war. Along the way, marchers stop at memorials and cemeteries such as the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, where 2,338 Canadian soldiers are buried. Each grave is marked with a Canadian flag, lovingly placed by Dutch schoolchildren as part of their education about the war.
“They have long memories,” said Holt. “… When Canadians walk down the street with a Canadian flag, you’re greeted as a liberator.”
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the physical demand is real. Heat, cobblestones, and foot injuries are constant challenges, requiring extensive preparation, teamwork, and mental resilience.
“It’s a physically demanding, difficult task,” Holt said. “It’s better done as a team. You learn lessons about fitness, cooperation, and helping others.”
Though now retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, both men continue to prepare rigorously, sometimes training through Ottawa’s hot summer days to simulate conditions in Nijmegen. The walk may be a test of endurance, but for Gallant and Holt, it’s also a pilgrimage and a chance to remember, to educate, and to connect across generations and continents.
“It’s important to stop and take it in,” Holt said. “The walk isn’t just about distance. It’s about understanding what happened and why we still show up.”