Amsterdam Marathon 16th Oct 2022

Not doing it this year, but have done it twice already (2016, 2017 https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/1822706732). Rotterdam also (2019 https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2456614798). I must say I prefer Amsterdam over Rotterdam for route and organisation and race day vibe (both are awesome by the way, just Amsterdam I think pips Rotterdam)

The route (in my opinion) is lovely! Not boring at all! You run through Amsterdam, through Vondelpark (twice - my favourite parts of the route, right near the start and finish), the Rijksmuseum, along the canals, out and back along the Amstel River around halfway point (my second favourite part). And you start and finish at the stadium, which is great! I found the best way to get to the start was to hire a bicycle (my hotel had a bunch, super handy, and I was only a few km away so had a scenic pedal through Amsterdamse Bos) and the slow (and flat!) cycle to the start was a nice warm up. Same again cycling back after, good way to keep the muscles warm and helps a lot with post-race pains. There was loads of place to lock up my bike near the start.

All in all, definitely a fantastic event, well worth the trip over, you won't be disappointed!

Getting close now....who else is heading over to this?

Sounds like you're aiming for a similar time as myself. How's the training been going?

Yeah, I did half my training on a treadmill, all the signs pointed to a sub 3 being within the realms of possibility, and if not then certainly very close. Then I switched back to road running and found my calf muscles locking up and was unable to touch the times I was getting on the treadmill. So, took a couple of weeks of adjusting, few trips to the physio and an eventual realisation that the sub 3 was a dream. Currently targeting 3:10 but even then I'm not sure. If the weather gods shine on us then I would be hopeful of a 3:10. I still feel that maybe the first half of my training, where I was pushing much harder for a quicker time will stand by me on the day.

Really looking forward to this now but inevitably I've caught a (non-Covid) dose and now I'm stressing that it's going to turn into a chest infection etc. and ruin my plans. I'm sure I'll be fine. 🙄

Long term weather forecasts are looking promising enough alright, maybe a touch humid and there's always a chance of some wind.

I'm heading over on the Saturday morning and will prob head straight to the expo from the airport to collect my number. No sign of any info from the organisers yet?

Anyone know if there's an equivalent of Dublin Bikes in Amsterdam? Googling leads me to loads of bike rental places but I just want a hop on hop off type solution to get around the city easier.

Have done a bit more reading because I'm 3km away...I'm now thinking the Amsterdam Travel Ticket might be just the thing.

https://www.discoverholland.com/traveler-information/23/amsterdam-travel-ticket

Very slick app indeed.

It's looking like a wet and miserable marathon weekend judging by the long-term forecasts at the moment. Plenty of time for that to change though.

Anyone know if you need a medical / doctor's cert for this marathon? I didn't think you did but am watching a YouTube video series of a guy who is entering this years Amsterdam marathon and mentioned the requirement for a medical cert. I know when I entered Florence I needed one but I'm guessing we don't for this marathon?

Heard nothing about it. If it is a condition, it's very badly communicated. Going to assume it'll be grand and go back to worrying about the weather.

Yeah, rain seems likely but it's the fairly strong breeze being forecast that I'm more concerned about. There seems to be a spell of blustery weather forecast from Friday through Monday so chances of us getting a still day seem unlikely at this stage. Hopefully it'll just end up being a light breeze rather than anything too extreme.

Wind is a killer, if it's bad I'll be trying to stick with the pacer group and use them as a wind break.

Yeah, I was thinking the same looking at the course map. Running the final 10k of a a marathon into a significant headwind does not sound like fun. Still plenty of time for it to change though.

Strangely enough the weather forecast in the official race app has been consistently predicting fine, clear weather with only a gentle 5kph breeze. I'd take that!

Here's hoping there's some very large, extremely fit pacers who will block any headwind in the final 10k.

I'm the same. Can't help myself. I'm not even bothered about rain, just obsessing about wind speeds and directions. Probably falls under taper madness to be fair.

That does look better, hopefully it's more like that and less like some of the other sites

Yeah, wind speed dropping to acceptable levels and rain looking less likely. My two year old decided to sit on my back while I was strength conditioning ( in a plank)....I suppose technically that helped so they are sometimes a benefit :)

I'm now hesitant to check the weather for opposite reasoning, in case it changes back to being bad again! Fingers crossed it stays this good...and that I don't encounter any clumsy kids between now and the start.

Perfect practice for the first couple of kms on Sunday ! Great news about the lack of wind.