Amsterdam Marathon
The Amsterdam Marathon is the second oldest marathon in The Netherlands (established in 1975) after just a couple of years older Enschede Marathon. It can be count as one of the lead marathons worldwide, and that’s an achievement where even the most optimists would not dare dream about 37 years ago.
Thousands participants
Records and ambitions belong to an international marathon. The last years records have been broken regularly in Amsterdam. The course record of Ethiopian Getsu Feleke in 2010 - 2:05.44 and for the ladies of Ethiopian Tiki Gelana - 2;22.08 (in 2011), the Dutch record of Kamiel Maase in 2007 - 2:08.21, the record number of participants - 16,000 (includes other events) and the record number of spectators - 185,000 in 2004, speak for themselves.
Each year more than 15 000 runners participate, among whom international top athletes, who take the challenge to improve Amsterdam’s fourth place on the rank of average fastest cities marathon ever. The international character of the marathon is evident again from the massive number of foreigners. For example, not less than 4,620 foreigners from almost 60 countries took part in the edition of 2004. Great Britain was the absolute frontrunner with 1,356 registrations, followed by France (1,079), Germany (561), Denmark (297) and 223 participants from Belgium.
More Runs
Several other running events are annually organized in a period of two weeks before the Amsterdam Marathon. Just to list a few: Mizuno Half Marathon – Dutch: Mizuno Halve Marathon, 8 km Run, Olympic Kids Run 1K - for children 7 -12 years old on a distance of 1 km, kids from age 4 may participate as a recreation, Echo Mini Marathon – open for kids from three specific areas of Amsterdam – thus living around the Olympic Stadion, from Amsterdam East living near Galileiplantsoen and Amsterdam Zuid near the Europaboulevard. These a runs for small kids are organized in several categories, on a distance of 1 kilometer, with the participation fee of only 1 euro. For adults there are two more group runs: Good Morning City Run - on a distance of 6,5 km combined with guided tour of Amsterdam and the Business Run on two distances – 21 km and 8 km where participants run in teams. Consult the TCS Marathon Website for the exact dates and more details.
Venue
The course of the marathon usually leads the participants from the start in the Olympic Stadium through the Vondelpark, along the scenic river Amstel, Rembrandt square and back to the Rijksmuseum. Every participant finishes inside the Olympic Stadium, built for the Amsterdam Olympic Games of 1928. Access to the Olympic Stadium is free, so cheer on the participants along the route, see them cross the finish line and enjoy the show. It’s the crowds that give the Amsterdam Marathon the atmosphere it deserves and that pushes runners to perform.
When
End of October each year, in 2017 - October the 15th