Amsterdam Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures, Event Details
The Amsterdam Marathon is renowned for its fast course and flat route, and with a strong field for the 2015 edition, it could be the quickest ever.
Three-time winner Wilson Chebet returns for this year's race, but his course record of 2:05:36 could be in genuine danger as he will be competing against the likes of Abel Kirui, Tsegaye Mekonnen and defending champion Bernard Kipyego.
In the women's race, Ethiopia's London 2012 gold medallist Tiki Gelana will head the field in what is sure to be a high-quality contest.
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Read on for full scheduling information for the race, route details and more ahead of Sunday's proceedings.
| Distance | Starting time (local) | Finish until (local) | Starting Location |
| TCS Amsterdam Marathon | 9:30 a.m. | 5 p.m. | Olympic Stadium |
| Mizuno Half Marathon | 1:20 p.m. | 5 p.m. | Stadionweg |
| TCS 8 km | 10:10 a.m. | 11:15 a.m. | Stadionweg |
| Skylanders Kids Run | 10 a.m. | - | Olympic Stadium |
| Echo Mini Marathon | 9:45 a.m. | - | Stadsdeel Zuid, Europaboulevard |
| Echo Mini Marathon | 10:30 a.m. | - | Stadsdeel Oost, Galileiplantsoen |
| Echo Mini Marathon | 10:50 a.m. | - | Stadsdeel Zuid, Rijksmuseum |
| Echo Mini Marathon | 1 p.m. | - | Stadsdeel Zuid, Olympiaplein |
Route
As ever, the Amsterdam Marathon course begins and ends in the Olympic Stadium in front of a packed grandstand.
It is an historic site, with the stadium having been constructed for the 1928 Olympic Games. A significant portion of the 26.2-mile route is run alongside the Amstel river.
The race in the Dutch capital takes in a number of the city's most beautiful and significant areas.
Cutting straight through the centre of Amsterdam, competitors will be led through "the heart of the Rijksmuseum," which famously connects the centre and south of the city, per TCSAmsterdamMarathon.nl.
The runners will take in the Vondelpark both in the early stages of the race and as they close in to the finishing line. A full route map can be found here.
Kenya's Chebet is the holder of the course record, and he has broken it twice overall. He set a time of 2:05:41 in victory in 2012, before breaking his own record a year later.
His compatriot Kirui has his heart firmly set on bettering that mark this year despite recent struggles with form.
The two-time marathon world champion—in 2009 and 2011—failed to finish the Boston Marathon in April. But he insists his preparations ahead of Amsterdam have been impeccable, per IAAF:
"I’m so happy that my preparation is good. More than ever, I think I can challenge my personal best (2:05:04). I am going in the right direction. I am thinking I can go for the course record (in Amsterdam), I am preparing to fight for the course record. I think that this time my body is OK and I am preparing without any stress or any problem.
"
Per TCS Amsterdam Marathon, neither Chebet nor Kirui could keep up with the pace in last year's race and it was Kipyego—also Kenyan—who eventually came through to triumph:
The weather conditions can often have a major bearing on the outcome of the Amsterdam race with humidity, temperature and wind all needing to be taken into account.
An Ethiopian duo are the fastest pair in Sunday's field, with 20-year-old Mekonnen having won the 2014 Dubai Marathon on debut in 2:04:32, and Markos Geneti, 31, having posted a personal best of 2:04:54 at the same race two years earlier.
They will both surely be in contention come the business end of Sunday's race in one of the more competitive fields ever assembled in the Dutch capital.
It is sure to be a thrilling contest with the beautiful backdrop of Amsterdam to frame it, and the course record could be in genuine danger.
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