Some 42,000 walkers started out on 99th edition of the Nijmegen four day march – Vierdaagse – in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The first group of walkers left the starting line at 04.00 hours, heading for the first day’s route around the Betuwe region.

The Nijmegen march is the biggest event of its kind in the world and has attracted walkers from 60 different countries this year.

The first Vierdaagse, or four-day march, was held in 1909 as a way of keeping the army fit after the introduction of motor vehicles. Now mostly civilians take part, walking 30, 40 or 50 km a day over a period of four days