Category: ENGLISH

Witte Stein

A remarkable mixture of languages (‘witte’ Dutch for ‘white’ and ‘Stein’ German for ‘stone’), which shows very nicely that people on both sides of the border, which is no longer visible today, have always lived on a common piece of land. Where does the name come from? Some say it comes from a white boundary stone, others from the former meeting place of an early jurisdiction in the sense of a ‘wise stone’. The first explanation is supported by the fact that the ‘Grijze Stein’, a grey boundary stone between the former duchies of Jülich and Geldern, can still be found just 200 metres away. Incidentally, a beautiful forest path leads there, which is great for a warm-up run.

A total of six paths branch off from the Witte Stein, including the Prinsendijk, which was a Roman road 2,000 years ago. There are still some machine gun nests from the Second World War not far from our starting point. And as if that wasn’t enough, an official route of the Way of St James also passes our event location. As you can see, this is a place steeped in history in many respects.

Brüggen & Beesel

Since 2019, the two neighbouring municipalities have been united by an official municipal partnership. Many people are working hard to ensure that there is more and more in common. Kennedymarch*EU is one of them. We embody Europe!

But this was not always the case. When Europe was redivided after Napoleon’s Waterloo in 1815, the Meuse was supposed to become the border between Prussia and the United Netherlands. However, to prevent mutual attacks, the border was drawn one cannon shot away from the river. The so-called ‘cannon shot line’ within which all the Dutch parts of our marches take place. It’s funny how the state border up today follows the course of the river in a distance.

But the border, which was visible until 1995, has also had a positive effect. Today, the vast natural scenery of the Rhine-Meuse region is both an excursion and holiday destination. One step takes you from heathland to a gnarled beech forest, past rivers and lakes, across open meadows and into tranquil villages and historic towns. From the ducal castle of Brüggen to the ‘Drakendörp’ Beesel, we include many highlights in our routes.

The list is continuously updated.

CAMPING – where is the nearest option for a tent or campervan?
There are two different options just 100 metres from the start/finish. Directly opposite is the official Natuurplezier campsite. For the normal parking of vehicles we use some meadows in the neighbourhood. A camper van without electricity and water connection may also be parked there – but the latest departure must be on Monday, 30-06-2025 at 08:00 a.m.!

EQUIPMENT – what do I have to and what should I take with me?
Reflective clothing is a must on the night route! Simple high-visibility waistcoats weigh barely more than 100 grams – that should be worth it for your own safety. We recommend a headlamp or hand torch for the night route. There is plenty of food available at the aid stations and you do not need to carry any. We recommend carrying a small water bottle for the distances between the supply posts.

DISQUALIFICATION – what are the reasons for exclusion during the event?
Deliberate short-cutting of the designated route. Changing the signposting. Dangerously obstructing other participants.

GETTING THERE – how do I get to the event?
The Witte Stein can be reached either from the Netherlands or from Germany. As it is not officially possible to drive through the border crossing, there are different destination addresses for the sat nav:
from Germany Keulseweg 202, 5953 HP Reuver, Niederlande
from the Netherlands Keulseweg 193, 5953 HJ Reuver, Niederlande
In fact, the border can be crossed, so that you can also drive to the other side – but the sat navs don’t understand this.
[See also PARKING]

MEDAL – is there a souvenir for finishers?

Yes, there is a souvenir for finishers. No, there is no medal. We work with our own timekeeping system. For this, we use control cards similar to those used for ‘clocking in’ at work. Our cards have an annual design for this year’s event. Your card accompanied you all the way, it crossed the finish line with you at the final timekeeping. Therefore, your card remains a memento and a display item. A stylish frame around the card and it will grace the wall of heroics in any living room.

NORDIC WALKING – are hiking-sticks allowed?
Hiking-sticks are permitted for the marathon and half marathon distances. However, both poles must be carried together in one hand as soon as other participants could trip over them. This applies in particular to the mass start.

OVERNIGHT STAYS – how and where can I get information about accommodation?
In Beesel, the tourist office (VVV) is attached to the Lommerbergen holiday park. There is also a multilingual website for guests. Telephone +31 (0)77 474 9595, opening hours daily 09:00 to 20:00. Brüggen has one large and one small hotel, around 50 holiday flats and a youth hostel. The central point of contact is the tourist information centre in Brüggen Castle on +49 (0)2163 5701-4711. Service hours are daily from 10:00 to 14:00. [See also CAMPING]

PARKING – where can I park my car/mobile home?
There are plenty of free car parks on the Dutch side, including a meadow suitable for motorhomes. Please note: The Keulse Weg on the Dutch side is a cycle route! Motorised vehicles are only allowed here as guests. Walking speed applies! You can also park on the asphalt of the road ‘Zum Weißen Stein’ on the German side, either in the marked parking spaces or in the sawtooth pattern on the northern or right-hand side of the road. But be careful! The environmental authority imposes rigorous fines if even one tyre is parked on an unsurfaced surface! The area is a nature reserve.

ROAD CROSSINGS – who has priority?
The traffic laws apply in all cases. Road crossings are clearly signposted for both motorists and hikers, but hikers must still wait at road crossings when vehicles are approaching.

RUNNING – do I have to walk or am I allowed to run?
The routes may only be walked. Running (both feet simultaneously without contact with the ground) is not permitted, nor is the use of means of transport.

SPEED – how fast should I walk?
The opening times of our supply posts are based on a minimum and maximum speed. On the Kennedymarch, you should walk at an average speed of at least 4.0 km/h to reach the finish after a maximum of 20 hours. The supply posts are open for a maximum speed of 8.0 km/h. The minimum speed for the marathon is 4.5 km/h and 3.5 km/h for the half marathon.

STAMP – can I have my participation certified?
Yes, we stamp hiking books and other receipts for all three distances. The Kennedy March is officially authorised by the KWBN. We use our own annual stamp to certify distances, times and participation for members of the armed forces and reservists.

TIME MEASUREMENT – what technology is used?
We are currently working on a simple and individualised method of time measurement using RFID, similar to time measurement in working time recording. The current plan is to use time recording cards. The time recording cards are both a souvenir and a collector’s item with an annual design.

WHEELCHAIR/HANDBIKE – are the routes barrier-free?
Some of the routes lead over unpaved surfaces. It is not possible to cover the routes with a wheelchair, handbike or similar aids.

If you have any questions, please contact orga@kennedymarch.eu – if they are of general interest, the answers will be published here for everyone.

The half marathon covers a distance of 21.1 km and begins with a mass start on 29-06-2025 at 09:00. The route is a circular course with start and finish at the Witte Stein. The half marathon runs exclusively on Dutch territory. In addition to the refreshments at the start and finish, there is an additional supply post on the border to Swalmen.

The participation fee is EUR 10.00. This is unusually favourable by European standards. In the Netherlands, however, it is a normal price. As we are aiming to have half participants from the Netherlands and half from Germany, we are orientating ourselves to the Dutch price structure.

Registration and payment are only possible online. The registration deadline is exactly one week before the starting shot, i.e. June 22nd, 09:00. The number of starting places is not limited for the time being.

We use the registration form of the Royal Dutch Walking Association (Koninklijke Wandel Bond Nederland, KWBN), which is only available in Dutch language. On our registration page we provide a translation aid that can be displayed when filling in the form.

The route of the half marathon is clearly signposted throughout and at short intervals. For this reason, and to ensure that nobody takes an unauthorised shortcut, the exact route will not be announced before the event.

Click here to sign up

The marathon over the Olympic distance of 42.2 km begins in the mass start on 29-06-2025 at 07:00 at the Witte Stein. Including the start and finish refreshments, there will be five official supply posts along the route. In addition to food and drink, there are also sanitary facilities at all intermediate stations, as well as some timekeeping and first aid posts. The marathon route is a circular course with the start and finish at the Witte Stein.

The participation fee is EUR 10.00*. Registration and payment are only possible online. The registration deadline is exactly one week before the starting shot, i.e. June 22st, 07:00. The number of starting places is not limited for the time being.

We use the registration form of the Royal Dutch Walking Association (Koninklijke Wandel Bond Nederland, KWBN), which is only available in Dutch language. On our registration page we provide a translation aid that can be displayed when filling in the form.

The marathon-route is clearly signposted throughout and at short intervals. For this reason, and to ensure that nobody takes an unauthorised shortcut, the exact route will not be announced before the event.

The marathon runs exclusively on Dutch territory. It is almost identical to the second half of the Kennedymarch. However, both groups are on the course at different times. At the end of the course there is a 1.5 kilometre finish loop to complete the distance of 42.2 kilometres.

Click here to sign up

* By European standards, an entry fee of EUR 10.00 is incredibly cheap. In the Netherlands, this is a normal price. As we aim to have half participants from the Netherlands and half from Germany, we are orientating ourselves on the Dutch price structure.

The Kennedymarch over 50 miles or 80 kilometres begins with a mass start on 28-06-2025 at 20:00 at the Witte Stein. Including the start and finish refreshments, there are nine official supply posts along the route. In addition to food and drink, there will also be sanitary facilities at all intermediate posts, as well as timekeeping and first aid posts in some places.

The route of the Kennedymarch is a circular course in the shape of an ‘8’. The stage area at the Witte Stein is therefore crossed three times, at the start, halfway and at the finish. The luggage depot is also located at the Witte Stein, so that it is possible to change clothes at the halfway point, for example.

The participation fee is EUR 25.00*. Registration and payment are only possible online. The registration deadline is exactly one week before the starting shot, i.e. June 21st, 20:00 or as soon as all 450 starting places have been allocated.

We use the registration form of the Royal Dutch Walking Association (Koninklijke Wandel Bond Nederland, KWBN), which is only available in Dutch language. On our registration page we provide a translation aid that can be displayed when filling in the form.

Speaking of which! The Kennedymarch*EU is an officially authorised Kennedymarch of the KWBN. Of course we will provide the popular participation stamp in the ‘Kennedywalker Stempelkaart’.

The route of the Kennedymarch is clearly signposted throughout and at short intervals. For this reason, and to ensure that nobody takes an unauthorised shortcut, the exact route will not be announced before the event.

The second half of the Kennedymarch runs through Dutch territory. The participants in the Kennedymarch share this route with the participants in the marathon distance. However, both groups are on the course at different times.

* By European standards, an entry fee of EUR 25.00 is incredibly cheap. In the Netherlands, this is a normal price. As we aim to have half participants from the Netherlands and half from Germany, we are orientating ourselves on the Dutch price structure.

Click here to sign up

Why Kennedy, actually?

Around 1920, US President Theodore Roosevelt issued an order that members of the military should be able to walk 50 miles in 20 hours. President John F. Kennedy renewed this order in 1962, and the first person to set off on the 80-kilometre walk from the White House to the weekend retreat at Camp David was Kennedy’s brother Robert F. Kennedy. Although he got lost in the icy winter temperatures, newspaper reports motivated scouts all over the country to do the same. Our sport was born.

An American press article soon spread to the Netherlands, where seven students in Sittard set off on the march and founded the largest popular sports movement in the Netherlands. Today, a Kennedymarch takes place somewhere in the Kingdom almost every weekend of the year. In Germany, however, the ‘Kennedymarch’ format is still virtually unknown. Until today!

Please read: As we use the official registration tool of the Royal Dutch Walking Association, the registration form is currently only available in Dutch. In case you do not understand the typical input fields, we have translated the most important terms below. The registration form opens in an additional window so that you can switch back and forth between the form and the translations if necessary.

Link to the sign in form

Translation aid

voornaam – given name
tussenvoegsel – abbreviation of other given names (Robert F. Kennedy)
achternaam – last name
email bevestiging – Confirmation of the e-mail address by re-entering it
geboortedatum – date of birth
geslacht – gender
KWBN lidnummer – KWBN membership number (only if available)

ga terug – go back
ga verder – go forward

reglement | Ga akkoord met het reglement van de Kennedymarch*EU, Marathon en Halve Marathon 2025. – regulations | Agree to the regulations of the Kennedymarch*EU, Marathon and Half Marathon 2025.

ticketvoorwaarden | Ga akkoord met de algemene ticketvoorwaarden en privacy voorwaarden van de KWbN.– Ticket conditions | Agree to the general ticket conditions and privacy terms of the KWbN.

Wandel.nl Nieuwsbrief | Ik schrijf mij in voor de Wandel.nl nieuwsbrief -.Wandel.nl Newsletter| I subscribe to the Wandel.nl newsletter

Kortingcode invoeren – Enter discount code (not relevant for us)

Voeg extra deelnemer/ticket toe – add another participant (to register several at the same time)

€12,34 afrekenen en afronden – 12.34 EUR settle and finalise

After clicking on the green button ‘afrekenen en afronden’, an additional window of the billing service provider ‘Mollie’ opens. Six payment methods are available here. We recommend ‘card’ (credit card) or PayPal. The following input forms are then automatically translated into English by Mollie or PayPal. You then return to the KWBN registration page.