from 73 countries took part. In 1972 hot weather led to a shortening of the distances by each day. In 2006, the event was again affected by extreme heat, when it was cancelled after the first day after two participants died and many others required medical attention. Given the hot weather forecast for the following days, the organisers decided to cancel the final three days of the walk, with a special badge awarded to participants instead of the cross. On 17 July 2014, flight MH17 was shot down, with 192 people from the Netherlands onboard. In memory of the crash, no music was played on the last day of the marches, and the festivities were subdued. The 100th Four Days Marches took place in July 2016, celebrated by numerous side events, including an optional daily route—the maximum official distance until 1967. Both the 2020 and the 2021 events were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In both years, Alternatieve Vierdaagse was organised, with walkers completing the four days in their local area, thereby avoiding large groups. Even though the full Nijmegen March was organised in 2022, the Alternatieve Vierdaagse continued for those who did not take part in the main march. These walks did not count towards the Vierdaagse Cross, although participants could buy a souvenir medal. In 2022, due to extreme heat with predicted peaks of 39 degrees Celsius, the first day of the March was cancelled, with the 2022 march becoming a three-day event. Military participation Originally primarily a military training event for the Dutch infantry, since 1928 the Vierdaagse has attracted armed forces personnel from other countries, when Germany and Norway sent army teams. Forces teams increased greatly after 1945. The U.S. Army first took part in 1947, the United Kingdom in 1950 and Canada in 1952, with service contingents now also regularly travelling from Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland and others. In recent years military participants, including Dutch personnel, have numbered approximately five thousand, most marching in teams of between eleven and thirty members. They are required to carry at least 10 kilogrammes of dead weight (if they are over 18 years of age), although this requirement can be waived when temperatures get too high, as happened in 2006 and the last day of the 2014 march. Military teams have their own route, (40 km), as they do not start in Nijmegen but in the military camp Heumensoord,