Sarah Roberts
Day 1
Today was the day that we had been training for since March. This morning started with an early breakfast as we started marching at 05:30.
We left Camp Heumensoord and made our way to the centre of Nijmegen before weaving our way through some small villages.
The support from the Dutch was amazing as they were everywhere and were constantly offering sweets and drinks, which was very much appreciated as the weather was really hot.
The atmosphere was brilliant as you went through villages with lots of live music - it felt like it was buzzing. The route was split into 4 legs; the BMC staff were fantastic at the rest stops with soup and bread at rest area 1, pasta at rest area 2 and snacks at rest area 3.
Everyone was feeling fine today and no one had any major problems. We finished the 43km route at 15:30, all of us then had tea and an early night for another days marching.
Day 2
Today we were in the last contingent to leave camp so had a lie in as we weren't marching out of camp until 06:00. From camp we once again marched into Nijmegen where we joined the civilian routes, once we joined up marching as a squad it was really hard as people were just everywhere!
Today went really quickly, this was due to singing lots of songs, which just makes the miles fly by. Everyone's sprit seemed high today and there were no major problems apart from sore feet. We got back to camp at 16:30 and then once again had an early night.
Day 3
Today everyone was going into new territory; we had all completed the Garelochead Marches so we all knew we could do 50 miles. This morning we were in the first contingent so we were up and marching by 04:30.
Today we were all starting to feel tired and our feet were starting to ache, our rest stops were getting longer and the pace was slightly slower. The route today seemed to last forever which was due to it being very rural so there were very long distances between villages.
Also day 3 is known for the hills, however the hills were more like slopes and it was actually nice to walk on something that wasn't flat! We finished at around 16:00 and marched into the international beer tent for a well-deserved drink. We then watched other teams finish before having another early night.
Day 4
Today was the last day, the end and the medal was in sight. We had an early start and were marching by 04:30 as we had to be at the finish by 15:00 to be in the march past into Nijmegen.
Today we really pulled together as a team as everyone was suffering at times, and Lottie was dishing out lots of her happy pills (painkillers).
The military finish was in a massive field, which was opposite a McDonalds, and once we all saw the McDonalds sign it was such an amazing feeling knowing that we had all finished the 100 mile march as a complete team.
We then all received our medals and joined the BMC march to the civilian finish which was an extra 5km. However this went really quickly as the streets were packed with supporters giving out flowers.
The past four days has been a mixture of highs and lows, but overall it has been a really good experience and a great achievement.
I would recommend this to anyone that wants both a physical and psychological challenge, as there are just lots of long straight roads that never seem to end.