During the Duinenmars weekend, do you have any free time? Do you want to be a part of something that has 15000 people attending it? Sign up to be a volunteer afterward. Sign up for the entire weekend, just one day or just part of a single day.

The Duinenmars is an annual walking event with options of 5, 10, 15, 25, or 40 km. Bring your family and enjoy this absolutely amazing event. I ran the 5K with my mother again this year, and we will certainly be back next year.

How was it this year?

We now walk the Duinenmars every year. I blogged about it in 2016 and 2017. We walked the 5 km then. We walked the dog twice. We decided to go together this time because he is older and has trouble walking.

The weather was perfect as usual. That’s always a blessing!

Always very well organized tour. The only issue is and will always be parking. Although there are plenty of parking spots… There are always more cars than they can handle. Taking public transportation is advised. This isn’t feasible for me because I’m already overstimulated. We finally found a parking spot.

We never pre-register at Duinenmars. However this is not really necessary, as they are so well organised and we managed to register and start on the spot, which was fun and convenient as we did not have to stand in long cues.

Then it was time to go! This year’s route was unique. The Kijkduin boulevard is being renovated, so the normal walking route is unavailable. So the route went through the construction site. I can’t wait to see it all next year, once all the renovations are done.

We were quickly in the dunes after passing the construction site/built-up area. That’s great! The path was well marked. You can’t go wrong if you pay attention. This year there was also a QR code to scan to save the route to your phone. You could also see your route. You could also see this if you walked off the path. Luckily, we just walk everywhere.

CARD CONTROL It was slashed twice. That’s still “official”.

The parts where you walk through the dunes are the most beautiful. It is an absolutely delightful experience and one that we will do every year.

A few Scottish Highlanders were on the course. Normally, I am not scared of them. It was thrilling again. Everyone “crossed” the group, and some even had their kids pose with the animals. That was unique… “One of them will suddenly think: and now I think I’ve had enough of this busyness,” I thought. I wouldn’t call it crazy. Animals all over and everyone friendly and enjoying the walk together.

before we knew it we were back! It seemed to go much faster/easier this year. “We’ll do the 10 km after,” I joked.

Of course the annual banner photo… then it’s time to go home…

To be able to pin a 4 on the medal! Next year will be the 5th year, so it will be empty. We will now run the 5 km on Saturday and the 10 km on Sunday.

This time I walked without panic, or stress, except for the Scottish Highlanders, my fear was minimal. hehehe

Physically, it was only slightly less at the start. At first, I felt out of it. Thankfully, this went away. Walking probably made my breathing “normal.”

Overall, I enjoyed this Duinenmars. I’m glad I could walk it, but I’m happier with the route. Instead of “fighting” to finish the trip, even if it was only 5 kilometers, this year it went smoothly. It’s nice to see that fear is less important, and that when I’m physically okay, I can enjoy what I do. Maybe even more than when I wasn’t sick. Things aren’t so small anymore, and I’m happy with what works.

Love

A number of photogenic spots along the route that I apparently photograph every year… 😉