Rewards

The 4Days Marches Cross – a medal – is the ‘cross for demonstrated marching skill’, as defined in the Royal Decree of 6 October 1909. On completing the 4Days Marches, a participant will often accept the medal or pin without realising it is an actual royal decoration, one that Dutch soldiers can display on their uniforms. The 4Days Marches Cross is therefore one of the officially recognised Dutch decorations.

There is an official code for wearing this medal. The cross must be worn on the left side of the chest, about a hand’s width below the shoulder. Only one medal may be worn at a time and only one number may be pinned on the ribbon.

The 4Days Marches Cross comes in bronze, silver and gold, with or without a crown depending on the number of times the participant has completed the event. There is also a pin with a number, with or without laurel leaves, again depending on the number of successful completions. After participating for the first time, the participant receives a bronze 4Days Marches Cross. The second time, they receive a bronze 4Days Marches Cross with a small crown on top. On successful completion of their 5th 4Days Marches, participants receive a silver 4Days Marches Cross, and a silver one bearing a crown after a 6th successful completion. On successful completion of their 10th 4Days Marches, participants receive a gold 4Days Marches Cross, and a Golden Cross bearing a crown for the 11th participation. In the intervening years, participants who complete the walk are given a pin to attach to the ribbon of the medal. Special, more valuable variations of the Golden Cross are presented on the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th successful completion. You can see a visual overview of all the numbers and their corresponding 4Days Marches Cross.

In the past, companions escorting young walkers were given an ‘orderly medal’ with ‘Uw toewijding deed anderen volharden’ [Your dedication made others persevere] embossed on the reverse side. This reward, along with the ribbons which can be worn on uniforms and the miniature medals, can now be ordered on the Praefero website at www.praefero.nl.

Thirteen participants have walked the 4Days Marches 60 times or more. For years, the record was held by Annie Berkhout, who completed the event an impressive 66 times, the last one in 2003. Presently, Bert van der Lans holds the record (71 times), followed closely by Dick Koopman (70 times).

When you want to reorder a medal, number or certificate, please contact our Service Desk. If we can confirm that you are eligible to order the indicated reward, we will inform you on the amount of money you should transfer into our bank account to order this reward. The amount differs for each reward. Ordering a certificate will cost €20. You can only order certificates of the 4Days Marches 2008 or later.

During the 4Days Marches, various walking organisations have stands at the start and finish grounds at De Wedren. Walkers can visit these stands for information and any products they may need. Participants who have a walker passport from one of these organisations can get a stamp in the appropriate passport or purchase that organisation’s walking reward as applicable. The location of these organisations’ stands are shown on the map of De Wedren.