The Amsterdam
Marathon is by far the most testing running event in the history of
Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is an extremely well-organized event and
is classified in the Golden League category by the International
Association of Athletics Federations, the highest level for road
racing competitions.
The History
The first ING
Amsterdam Marathon as we know it today happened on May 3, 1975.
Since that time, the start and finish lines were at the Olympic
Stadium. According to certain records, the first person who won the
first Amsterdam Marathon was Joergen Jensen from Denmark who ran the
distance in 2.16.51. A year later, a European champion and second at
the Munich Olympic Games named Karel Lismont came to Amsterdam. She
is still regarded in Belgium as the best marathon runner even born on
its soil, won in a tremendously hot weather condition. Another
legendary winner of the Amsterdam Marathon came to the city a year
later. He actually won the Boston marathon in 1975, being able to
finish first in an unbeatable 2.09.55.
With the
reconstructed arena, the Amsterdam Marathon finally was brought back
to its former venue – the Olympic Stadium. In that venue, another
memorable event took place and it was the 1996 Amsterdam Marathon
when the city saw a rise in the number of its runners, both in men
and women categories. The success of the marathon continues even
until now and many Amsterdammers have immortalized their names
through this event.
The Route
The route of the
Amsterdam Marathon is usually fast, free of traffic, and as flat.
During the event, digital clocks and refreshments stand line the
route, which typically passed through the Vondelpark, below the
Rijksmuseum and finishes back inside the Olympic Stadium.
Time Limit
Just like any
other sports events, the Amsterdam Marathon has its own time limit.
It has been maintained that the full marathon is subject to a
six-hour time limit. The participants who fail to run the scheduled
distances within the time limits set for the 25 km, 30 km, 35 km, or
40 km markers, as well as those who will exceed the overall time
limit will be asked by a member of the event jury to terminate their
race and to board the sag wagon for safety and health purposes.
However, if despite being approached by a jury and the participants
continue to run, they will be asked to do so at their own risk, as
the route will be released for road traffic once the sag wagon has
passed. And, it is a rule in the Amsterdam Marathon that if the
participants terminate their race prior to finishing, they will not
qualify for a medal.
