Rotterdam Marathon

Rotterdam Marathon
Date	April (since 1983)
Location	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon (42.195 km)
Beneficiary	ABN AMRO
Established	23 May 1981
Course records	2:04:27 (men) 2:20:47 (women)
Official site	abnamromarathonrotterdam.com

The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been 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. The event is the most popular marathon in the Netherlands, followed by the marathons of Amsterdam and Eindhoven.

Joshua Chelanga receiving his prize after winning the 2007 edition of the Rotterdam Marathon

The Rotterdam Marathon often produces very fast times, as the course is very flat and weather conditions are typically ideal. The 2007 event was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. The KNMI meteorological institute described conditions as "unseasonal" and race day was the warmest ever recorded in the city for the month of April, with temperatures reaching a high of 34 °C. Some people still ran despite the warnings and cancellation.

William Kipsang's 2008 course record of 2:05:49 was broken the following year by Duncan Kibet who ran the third fastest time ever for the distance, clocking 2:04:27. As of April 2011 five of the ten fastest marathon runners ever ran their fastest time in the Rotterdam Marathon.

See also

• List of winners of the Rotterdam Marathon
• Rotterdam Half Marathon

External links

• Official website
• "Rotterdam Marathon winners". www.marathoninfo.free.fr. http://marathoninfo.free.fr/historique/rotterdam.htm.