On the morning of the Long Walk, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty arrives at the guarded starting area near the Canadian border with his mother. Mrs. Garraty is distraught and begs Ray to change his mind, but Ray reminds her that the deadline to withdraw has already passed and that refusing now would bring consequences from the Major and the State. After a strained goodbye, Ray watches his mother drive away and feels both briefly brave and suddenly lonely.

Ray turns toward the road and begins meeting other boys who will walk with him. He introduces himself to Peter McVries, then sits with McVries near Hank Olson and Art Baker as they wait for the start. Their talk reveals fear, bravado, and rumor about the contest, including the story of a boy from a previous year who froze at the starting line and was killed almost immediately. Ray watches the others closely, trying to judge who looks strong, who is pretending, and what kind of challenge lies ahead.

The Major arrives with soldiers, a jeep, and an armed halftrack, making the event feel fully real. He calls each boy forward to receive a numbered badge; Ray is assigned number 47, McVries gets 61, Olson 70, and the quiet, peculiar Stebbins receives 88. Afterward, soldiers distribute food belts and canteens, and the boys line up in rows of ten. At exactly nine o'clock, the Major gives the signal, and all one hundred boys begin walking, with the halftrack's radar equipment enforcing the minimum speed of four miles an hour.

Once the Walk is underway, the group begins to spread out as each boy finds his pace. Ray learns from Olson's comment on Stebbins's early warning that some boys may test the speed limit deliberately to understand how close they can come to danger. Gary Barkovitch soon stops to remove a stone from his shoe and, because he wastes too much time, burns through all three warnings before recovering and trotting back into the group. His claim that this was part of a careful plan unsettles the others, because it shows both how easily a walker can come close to death and how differently boys are trying to manage the ordeal.

The Major announces that they have completed the first mile, and Ray is shocked to hear that a full field of walkers has never made it even eight miles without a death. As the boys pass villages and scattered spectators, Ray remembers seeing a Long Walk as a child and realizes more vividly what lies ahead. When a local girl cheers for him by name, Ray impulsively runs to kiss her and earns his first warning, but the attention also fills him with confidence. McVries quickly reminds Ray that friendship will not override competition, and the chapter ends with Ray settling back into his pace, feeling strong while the reality of the contest continues to deepen.