The Amsterdam Marathon has grown so fast in recent years that no longer all runners can start in the Olympic stadium. A quarter of the total twenty thousand participants in the full marathon start on the Stadionweg. Everyone simply finishes in the Olympic stadium.
A total of 47,000 people have registered for all parts of the 47th edition of the Amsterdam Marathon. They run the 42.195 kilometers, the half marathon, the eight-kilometer run or the Kidsloop. Three hundred runners took part in the very first marathon in 1975.
The field of participants for the full marathon has grown by 2,500 people compared to last year. “We have two starting locations this year for the first time,” says race director René Wit. Five thousand runners start outside the stadium on Stadionweg. They go via the Marathonweg to the Haarlemmermeer circuit where they merge with the other runners after one kilometer. This gives us the opportunity to grow slightly.”
The first fifteen thousand registrations will simply start in the stadium. The five thousand who registered afterwards will start ‘outside’. According to Wit, hardly any complaints have been received from them. The organization will evaluate the new design to see whether further growth is possible in the future. That the marathon is popular became apparent earlier this week when it was announced that fraudulent is with star numbers.
The starting gun for the Amsterdam Marathon will sound at 9 a.m. on Sunday.