How to Train for the Amsterdam Marathon

Amsterdam is the marathon that starts and finishes in a stadium. You warm up on the field of the 1928 Olympic Stadium, run a flat course that partly follows the Olympic route along the Amstel, and finish in front of the grandstand. The course is known as flat and fast, and with 32,000 places it sells out.

Two details of this race catch runners out: the strict checkpoints for the slower waves, and the fuel rules. This page turns them into training decisions.

TL;DR: Registration for 2027 opens on 19 December 2026, so plan your autumn around that date. Amsterdam is flat, so train for even pacing. Carry every gel you need beyond the two at 18 and 30 km, because you cannot have your own bottles delivered to the stations. If you are in the last waves, know the checkpoint times: the finish closes at 17:00.

What makes Amsterdam different?

• The stadium start. Start area A is on the field inside the Olympic Stadium, with an athletes-only zone that opens at 07:00. Start area B is on Stadionweg. Each holds 16,000 runners. Once you leave the athletes-only zone, you cannot go back in.
• It is flat, so it is about pacing. There is no climb to manage and no descent to make up time. Your result depends on how evenly you run.
• The fuel rules are strict. Gels are handed out at two points only, and you cannot arrange for your own bottles at the stations. Everything else, you carry.

When should you start training?

Amsterdam is an October race, so the specific block runs through the summer.

1. Winter and spring: build the base. Easy volume, strength work and perhaps a spring half marathon as a fitness check.
2. Mid-June: start the specific block. Sixteen to eighteen weeks out, the training turns toward the race: longer long runs, goal-pace work, and fuel practice with the gels you will carry.
3. The last three weeks: taper. Volume drops, intensity stays.

Summer is warm, so plan long runs in the early morning and practise drinking more than you will need in October.

How do you pace a flat course?

Even, from the first kilometre.

• Start in your own wave. The waves run from 09:00 for the fastest runners to 09:43 for runners expecting 4:30 to 6:00. Pick your wave honestly; starting too far forward means being passed for kilometres.
• Use the pacers. The Dutch Pacing Team runs set target times, starting at 3:00, and stands in the start areas with flags. Joining a pacer is free.
• Hold back until 30 km. If you still feel controlled there, you can push to the stadium.

How do you plan your fuel?

Gels are available at 18 km and 30 km only. No energy gels or bars are handed out at the other stations, and the organisers do not deliver your own bottles. Maurten, the nutrition partner, advises one gel every 6 km.

• Count your gels. At one gel every 6 km, a marathon takes about seven. Two come from the course. Carry the rest, and practise carrying them on your long runs, in a belt or in your shorts.
• Use the course gels on purpose. If you plan to use the ones at 18 and 30 km, train with the same brand so your stomach knows it.
• Practise drinking from cups. The drink mix is served in cups.

Know the checkpoints if you are in the last waves

The time limit is 6 hours and the finish in the stadium closes at 17:00. Along the way, you need to pass:

Runners overtaken by the sweeper vehicle based on these times are taken off the course. If you start in the last wave at 09:43, you have less margin to 5 km than the first wave. Train your opening pace so that it is steady, not slow.

How does a coach help for a race like Amsterdam?

A good plan gets you to the start line. A coach adjusts it on the way: the heatwave in July, the long run that went wrong, the pace that turns out too ambitious in September. For Amsterdam, a coach also helps with the decisions on this page: how many gels to carry, which wave to choose, and how much margin you need on the checkpoints.

On Coachbox you can tell us exactly that. Choose “Help me find a coach” when you sign up, give the Amsterdam Marathon as your goal, and we introduce you to a coach who fits. Or read how to find a running coach who fits you first.

Every fact on this page has a source

Registration, fees, start times, checkpoints and fuel rules come from the organiser’s own pages, linked in the facts at the top. Some apply to the 2026 edition; the 2027 details follow once registration opens. If you spot something that no longer holds, let us know and we will update it.