Vox-employee and student Isabelle Geoffroy is going to walk the Four Days Marches this year. For the first time. During the week, she will keep a diary in which she will reflect on the 160-kilometer journey. Today, her second entry: the day that got canceled.

My alarm goes off at a quarter past seven. I decide to hit the snooze button and calculate how much I would have walked by now if the first day had not been cancelled: 12 kilometres approximately. Patience is key, as tomorrow I’ll finally be able to start. This morning, however, will be a slow one. I will drink my coffee in the shade, take a long, cold shower and, most importantly, try to stay cool during the heatwave. ‘ It’s the right decision’ is what I’m telling myself.

When I learned that the first day of the Four Day Marches had been cancelled, I was disappointed. After all this training, we’d ‘only’ walk 120 kilometers. Does that even count? For the last few days, I was searching for an answer. But I’m done doubting: three days of walking is still a huge achievement. It does count.

‘After all this training, we’d ‘only’ walk 120 kilometers. Does that even count?’

The cancellation of one walking day has actually added something to my Four Day Marches adventure: it has given me the opportunity of experiencing the partying side of the city, and I have made memories that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. But while partying the whole week could have been fun, it has also made me realize how much I’m looking forward to the walking.

I should be walking right now. Instead, I will be having the slowest day possible. I will prepare my food for the next few days, register for the march, drink plenty of water and try to figure out how to cool my attic room down. With less than 24 hours until the beginning of the Walk of the World, I’m not feeling nervous anymore. Instead, I am happy, excited – and sweaty.