THE ULTIMATE MEMORIAL RUN

270 KM, 6 STAGES, 3 COUNTRIES. FROM THE D-DAY BEACHES VIA THE ARDENNES TO ARNHEM

9-16 June 2024 – 3rd edition

LEST WE FORGET

Your running adventure of a lifetime and sporting challenge! The Liberation Trail is a multistage ultra running event. From the D-day beaches in Normandy in a prologue + 6 stages, via Bastogne in the Ardennes to the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem. Following the original route of the liberators on the beaches, paths and through the forests where there was severe fighting during World War II.

Also a tribute to the men, boys who fought for our freedom in 1944 and 1945. ‘Lest we forget’ where our freedom comes from. And to prevent this memory from disappearing after the last veterans die.

WHAT DO YOU NEED? MANDATORY KIT LIST

Trailrunning shoes
Running backpack
Waterproof rain jacket
Warm clothing
Headlamp with spare batteries
Plate, cutlery and cup for breakfast and dinner
Cup to take drinks during the stages

1.5 litres water in backpack
Emergency kit and spare clothes
GPS watch or handheld
Mobile telephone
Sleeping bag and pillow
Passport

COUNT ME IN!

WHAT DO YOU GET FOR THE €1.500 PARTICIPATION FEE?

Sleeping in an army tent
Transfers between stages
Breakfast (7x) and diner (7x)
Aid stations with drinks & food; also possible to hand off your own drop bags
Duffle bag with your name
Luggage transport
Medical team ready
GPS live tracker
Spectacular start

DUFFLE BAG WITH YOUR NAME

PROLOGUE + 6 STAGES, 3 COUNTRIES

Passes through iconic battle fields

* 9 June: travel to start location in Normandy (Fance)
* 10 June: visit several memorials (France)
* 11 June: ±49 km Omaha Beach (France)
* 12 June: ±45 km Pegasus Bridge (France)
* 13 June: ±15 km Trois-Ponts (Belgium)
* 14 June: ±29 km Trois-Ponts (Belgium)
* 15 June: ±81 km Eindhoven – Berg en Dal (Netherlands)
* 16 June: ±44 km Ginkel – Arnhem (Netherlands)
* 17 June: rest and relax day

LOCATIONS

The Liberation Trail has the same concept as for example the Tour de France. We will finish each stage at a different location then we start that same stage. In other words, we have stages from A to B.
Most of the time we will finish at the camp site or nearby the camp site. In this way we limit the transportation time after the finish. Sometimes we will have a transportation in army vehicles from the camp site to the start of the next stage.

Exact locations will be announced later, when we are able to travel again to do an inspection.

STAGES

The Liberation Trail consists of a prologue and six consecutive stages:

Monday 10th of June: Prologue
Tuesday 11th of June: ±49km in Normandy, France (80% trail)
Wednesday 12th of June: ±45km in France (30% trail)
Thursday 13th of June: ±15km in the Ardennes (95% trail) – Night Trail
Friday 14th of June: ±29km in the Ardennes (95% trail)
Saturday 15th of June: ±81km in the Netherlands (70% trail)
Sunday 16th of June: ±44km, around Arnhem in the Netherlands (95% trail)

More details about the stages will be announced later.

We only have a time limit for the stage of ±81km: 14 hours. For the other stages there is no time limit, because we run from the start to the next camp site. So, no transport is needed from the finish to the camp site.

CAMPSITES

We will use camp sites including showers and toilets. The showers can also be used for changing. The army tents are mixed. We will provide you with a bed in the army tent. You have to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow. We will transport your sleeping bag, pillow and other personal stuff to the next camping site.

RACE & ROAD RULES

The Liberation Trail is mainly a memorial run. A tribute to the men, boys who fought for our freedom in 1944 and 1945. ‘Lest we forget’ where our freedom comes from.

The general trail rules are applicable. The main rule is that you help a fellow participant when she/he needs help.
Although it’s mainly a memorial run, we still make up a result list after each stage. And we will have it published on DUV-statistik.

A simple rule about the road rules : You are during each stage a normal road user and must obey the traffic rules. We won’t block roads for our trails.

YOUR TRANSLPORT TO NORMANDY

You have to arrange your own transport to the start in Normandy, France.
We offer an extra service for participants from the Utrecht in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium to start location in Normandy. This extra bus ticket of € 75 can be booked at the subscription.

You also have to arrange your own transport from the finish in Arnhem in the Netherlands back home.

FOOD

Breakfast and diner are included.

When booking you can choose the next food preferences:

No restrictions
Vegan

We provide aid stations with basic trail food and drinks. Every participant can also hand in a small bag with their personal food and drinks for each aid station on the course of that day. The number of aid stations depends on the length of the stage:

Prologue: no aid station

- ±49 KM: at least 2 aid stations
- ±45 KM: at least 2 aid stations
- ±15 KM: at least 1 aid station
- ±29 KM: at least 1 aid station
- ±81 KM: at least 4 aid stations
- ±44 KM: at least 2 aid stations

KIT LIST

The mandatory kit list for the Liberation Trail consist of:

Closed trail running shoes with plenty of grip on the sole
Running backpack
Waterproof rain jacket
Warm clothing (top and trousers / running tights) as an insulating layer between the outer clothing and the skin
Working headlamp with spare batteries (only needed when starting in the dark and the 81 KM stage)
Plate, cutlery and cup for breakfast and dinner
Cup to take drinks at the refreshment stations
Water container or soft flasks with accumulating volume of at least 1.5 litres.
Emergency kit (1x compress 10x10cm, 2x bandages, 2x gloves, 1x triangular bandage, 4x plasters, emergency whistle, blister plasters, survival blanket)
Navigation watch loaded with the GPS track of the course you are running or, alternatively, a self printed route map or map stored on a mobile device.
Mobile telephone with emergency telephone number saved into the phone in order to make emergency calls and inform the race organisers if you have to pull out of the race before reaching the finish (mobile phone must work abroad)
Sleeping bag & pillow
Passport
Spare clothes for the five stages

SUPPORTERS

Your supporter can also be part of the Liberation Trail family. The supporter fee is € 500 and this is included:

Bed in one of the army tents (bring you own sleeping bag an pillow) for seven nights (9-16 June)
Breakfast and diner together with the participants, starting with diner at the 9th of June and ending with dinner/bbq at 16th of June
Tourist taxes

If your supporter doesn’t have a car to move to the next camp site, your supporters is more then welcome to drive with our crew to the next camp site via several checkpoints on the course.

MEMORIALS

The Liberation Trail is no race. We take the time at the start, during and after the finish of each stage to remember the where our freedom comes from. Lest we forget.

We also provide you with some memorial attributes like a poppy and/or memorial ribbon which you can put down at a memorial site.

FLEXIBILITY

As organizers we are flexible to give you the memorial trail experience of your live: Everything is allowed. Running, walking/hiking. Whole distance and half distance. A day back to half distance, skipping a day. Even dogs are allowed. And also participating in relay is possible.

PARTNERS

Our partners are:

2seconds – Your creative crew
WE-link – an organisation and consultancy agency in the field of sports events
Geo Tracks Benelux – GPS Live Tracking for sport events like trail runs. Increasing the safety of the participants and increasing the experience of the participants and their supporters at home
FysioHuis – Our medical partners
Forever Running – We make running shirts with bold, graphic designs. Design and production manually in our own workshop and workshop. Craftsmanship in textiles and design.

FINANCIAL POLICY

Payment schedule of the total participation fee (€ 1.500) or supporter fee (€ 500):

€ 150 (participant) and € 50 (supporter) at subscription
An extra € 350 (participant) and € 100 (supporter) before the 18th of February 2024
An extra € 500 (participant) and € 200 (supporter) before the 17th of March 2024
The final € 500 (participant) and € 150 (supporter) before the 21st of April 2024
Of course, you can pay your fee in one go

If a participant or supporter wants to cancel their participation, this is the policy we handle:

Cancelling up to and including 21st of April 2024. You must pay 25% of the total participation fee (€ 1.500) or supporter fee (€ 500). We will refund your paid fee by minus this 25%. So, if you paid € 1.000 as a participant when you decide to cancel, your refund will be € 1.000 minus 25% of € 1.500. So, € 625 will be your refund based on this calculation: € 1.000 -/- (25% of € 1.500 = € 375). Of course, you can also try to transfer for your participation or supporter ticket to someone else without extra costs involved. This is the most cost-effective option.
From the 22nd of April 2024 you can only transfer your ticket to someone else and you are obliged to pay the full participation or supporter fee.

Shifting the date of the event by the organisation in case of force majeure (like Covid-19 measures). You have two options:

Shifting your participation to the new date without any extra costs. This is the most cost-effective option.
A refund of the paid fee by you minus a percentage of the total participation fee (€1.500) or supporter
fee (€ 500) in accordance with this scheme:
- Announcement of the shifting up to and including the 21st of April 2024 (±2 months before the original start of the event): Paid fee minus 25% of the total participation or supporter fee. So, if you paid € 1.000 as a participant when the shift is announced, your refund will be € 1.000 minus 25% of € 1.500. So, € 625 will be your refund based on this calculation: € 1.000
  -/- (25% of € 1.500 = € 375).
- Announcement of the shifting from 22nd of April 2024 up to and including 12th of May 2024 (±1 month before the original start of the event): Paid fee minus 40% of the total participation or supporter fee. So, if you paid € 500 as a supporter when the shift is announced, your refund will be € 500 minus 40% of € 500. So, € 300 will be your refund based on this calculation: € 500 -/- (40% of € 500 = € 200).
- Announcement of the shifting from 13th of May 2024 up to and including 2nd of June 2024 (1 week before the original start of the event): Paid fee minus 50% of the total participation or supporter fee. So, if you paid € 1.500 as a participant when the shift is announced, your refund will be € 1.000 minus 50% of € 1.500. So, € 750 will be your refund based on this calculation: € 1.500 -/- (50% of € 1.500 = € 750).
- Announcement of the shifting from the 3rd of June 2024 up to and including 7th of June 2024 (2 days before the original start of the event): Paid fee minus 80% of the total participation or supporter fee. So, if you paid € 1.500 as a participant when the shift is announced, your refund will be € 1.000 minus 80% of € 1.500. So, € 300 will be your refund based on this calculation: € 1.500 -/- (80% of € 1.500 = € 1.200). In this last case the force majeure will be for example a big storm, a tsunami, new unexpected Covid-19 measures.
A refund is only applicable if the participant of the supporter has paid the fee.

GREAT THAT YOU PARTICIPATE!

COUNT ME IN

Participant fee: € 1.500 – Supporter fee: € 500

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