The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon arranged in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It is held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World magazine. [1] The event is the biggest marathon in the Netherlands, followed by the Amsterdam and Eindhoven Marathon.
The Rotterdam Marathon often produces very fast times, as the course is very flat and weather conditions are typically ideal. The course record is held by Felix Limo and was set in 2004. His time of 2:06:14 is the ninth fastest marathon ever run. [2]
The start of the first Rotterdam marathon organized by the Rotterdam Marathon Foundation with more than twohundred participants. The first winner, John Graham of the United Kingdom, gave the event an immediate international reputation with a time of 2:09:28. The Rotterdam Marathon has developed into the largest one-day event in the Netherlands.
Start and finish are, true to tradition, on the Coolsingel in the very heart of the city, where at 11.00 hour to the accompaniment of cannon fire all the participants will start. The next edition will take place on April 15, 2007.