The TCS Amsterdam Marathon 2016 -taking place on October 16th- has already attracted over 27,500 runners and the registrations keep coming in. In case you’ve listed the Dutch capital on your marathon bucket list, here’s a few things you should know.
There’s three marathons; the full TCS Amsterdam 2016 marathon, the Mizuno half marathon and the TCS 8K run. Kids can also participate because there’s the Skylanders Kids Run.
Amsterdam might not quite be the Boston marathon, whose pedigree is unsurpassable as it is the world’s oldest marathon, but it has recently been awarded the IAAF gold label, and what’s more participants simply love the city for its lovely track and its fervent supporters. The course is lined with about the loudest supporters in the world, which really puts a spring in your step.
The main competition will be coming from Africa, as the marathon has been won for three consecutive years by the Kenyan runner Wilson Chebet, aka Mr Amsterdam. Last year, he put down a new all time record for the course, running the marathon in 2.05.36, which shaved 5 seconds off the previous record. Female runner Valentine Kipketer, also from Kenya, won last year’s race in two hours, 23 minutes and 2 seconds.
This year’s number of Brazilian participants is especially high, as 598 Brazilians have signed up for the race, according to the organisation’s Facebook page. By contrast, the number of Argentines is only 9. Perhaps in the wake of the defeat of the Netherlands by the Argentines in the World Cup, the organisers saw fit to take a few penalty shots of their own with the Argentine registrations… Of course I am kidding.
In total, 82 countries are represented thus far, with 3.619 Brits, 1.294 Germans, 1,189 French, 1,076 Belgians, 862 Italians, 482 Spaniards, 316 Swedish, 248 Russians, 214 Yanks, 119 Canadians, 91 Portuguese and 73 Indians having registered.
The registration deadline for the marathon is September 28th, or until all available spots have been filled. The main marathon has a limit of 16,000 runners, the Mizuno half marathon can take 18,000 runners and the TCS 8K only takes 7,000 runners. The Skylanders Kids Run has a 1,500 limit.
For the record, at the beginning of July, the total number of entrants to the main marathon was already 13,700, whereas the Mizuno Half Marathon had reached 12,600 registrations, and the TCS 8k 3,500. Kid registrations totalled 100 at the time. Hurry if you want to participate.
The day before the marathon, on October 15th, the organisers have scheduled something called the Good Morning City Run. In case you want to explore the track or want to train for another event, this is a great introduction to the city. Amsterdam is a runner’s delight at any given time of the year, and there are various marathon training programmes all year round. Check out the links at the bottom of this page.
In case you want to spend Flying Blue Miles on the Marathon and receive special VIP treatment, this is relatively good value for money; when you sign up for the TCT marathon using your Flying Blue Miles, will only need 30,000 miles for the full marathon, 20,000 for the Mizuno Half Marathon and 5,000 miles for the 8K run. (Details on the main registration page)
By contrast, the runners in the Berlin marathon, on September 28th, will need to spend 149,000 miles to receive VIP treatment, and the Chicago Marathon runners fork out even 339,000 miles for the privilege.
