Amsterdam Marathon
"One of the Fastest Courses Around!"

Amsterdam Marathon is flat, flat, flat! This marathon course - in fact the city - is well known for its complete lack of hills and any real gradients, which makes it just about the fastest marathon course in the world.

If you consider a fall marathon (this one is held in October) keep an opening for Amsterdam. The fact that it has a flat course, doesn't make the Amsterdam Marathon course boring. Far from it.

The Amsterdam Marathon Course - A Historic Touch

The course is a circular route, true - but it begins and ends in the historic stadium which played host to the 1928 Olympic Games. That alone is worth seeing.

The Amsterdam Marathon dates back to the 1970s but its popularity only really grew in the last few years. Usually, it is a relatively small field of which gives the it aa feeling of friendly intimacy, although there is fierce competition for the fast times which can be gained pounding those flat streets. Its only real bump is when the runners are called upon to cross one of the many canals which the city boasts.

The whole course makes two loops of the city, starting and ending in the 1928 Olympic Stadium. Part of the course even follows in the historic footsteps of the 1928 Marathon course. You get to take in a lot of the old city and the world-renowned Vondelpark, but long stretches of the Marathon course are unfortunately unremarkable, taking as they do the residential suburbs of Amsterdam.

Fast times in Amsterdam - Consider it in Your Marathon Training

Just as well that, lacking in scenery as it is, the Amsterdam Marathon course us best known for its incredibly fast times. It enabled the very fastest Marathon run in 2007, for example, by almost 2 minutes, which is quite a slice in front of other marathons, when one is talking about the world's top athletes.

This flatness in the course is something to consider in your training. For a number of your longer runs (that is typically 30,20 and 10 days before a marathon) you want to aim for the most flat terrain possible. One challenge with such a flat marathon is the lack of muscular variation. So in order to get the fullest out of the flat course you have to take this into account in your marathon training schedule.

But those three runs at a dead-flat training path usually do the trick.

Amsterdam - More Than a Marathon

Amsterdam is quite the place for tourists, so anyone coming to view the Marathon will find plenty to occupy a few days. The museums like the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum and canals are famous, as is the Amsterdam nightlife.

There is so much history in this place you'll marvel at the variety of art and architecture. But the bright lights and bars where you can spend your evenings will bring you bang up to date in the 21st century. The road sin Amsterdam may be flat but you will definitely find plenty to interest you if you just take a look around you.

Finally, entry to the Amsterdam marathon can be done here.

Good luck with your marathon training !