Letter for the 4Daagse committee

To readers of the Gemcee blog. I wrote the mail below to 4daagse@knblo-nl.nl, with the headline: "For your serious consideration concerning 4Daagse 2006."

Dear Vierdaagse organisation,
There is still no further news on your website, but of course I am confident that you are working hard on deciding what will happen now. In the meantime, maybe you will have time to consider the following. Please do. I have two suggestions.

SUGGESTION 1

I strongly believe that the finishing participants of Day One should be awarded their medal. Because:

1. I claim that better organization and first aid posts would have prevented the problems - despite of the weather. It has been very hot before, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you.

2. It is not the finishing marchers' fault that you decided to cancel. I have trained for months.

3. I have planned my entire vacation around being able to go to Nijmegen this year, despite of family, girlfriend, and others trying to get me to do more "pleasant", laid-back activities.

4. The Danes in uniform (I am Army) only had a drop-out of six (6) persons, out of 437 participants. That's 1.4%. Why? Because we have trained for months, as already mentioned.

5. As far as I understand, Day One claimed as many drop-outs as would normally be the case of the entire Vier Daagse. Doesn't that indicate that completing Day One 2006 equals completing the entire march under "normal" circumstances? I would definately say so!

Summing up Suggestion 1All in all: I deserve my medal, and I shall be absolutely furious with you if you cheat me of it. If you do not award the marchers who completed, the Vier Daagse march will suffer an enormous blow its credibility. Do you think you can make people travel to you from all over the world if they cannot be sure you are able to organize things because of a bit of sun? I say again: mind your credibility!

SUGGESTION 2

There is an alternative to sending the Day One completers their medal now: grant the completers one year of seniority, but give us no medal this year. Meaning that for example I do not get my 5 times medal this year - but in 2007 I will be awarded my 6 times medal. I think this alternative is very reasonable.

Summing up Suggestion 2
Weel, the same as Suggestion 1.

Please, do not disappoint thousands of well-trained marchers.

I must underscore that I am writing to you as a private person, I am not representing any official opinion of the Danish Army delegation.

Sincerely,

Thorbjørn Hein, 1st LT
4 (5) times marcher - 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 (2006)
1 time orderly - 2001