NN Rotterdam Marathon 2026: The 45th Edition — A Full Weekend of Running, Kids Races, and the Coolsingel Finish, April 10–12

There is a marathon that Dutch runners call "#demooiste" — the most beautiful. Not because the course takes you through mountain scenery or along a world-famous coastline, but because of what happens when more than 900,000 spectators line the streets of Rotterdam and turn an urban road race into something that feels genuinely historic.

The 45th NN Marathon Rotterdam — its full, formal name in this edition — takes place across Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12, 2026: three days that begin with the Marathon Sport Expo at the Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam on Friday and Saturday, continue with a packed Saturday programme of Kids Runs, the City Run, the Marathon Walk, and the Pasta Party, and culminate on Sunday morning with one of the fastest, most atmospherically charged marathon courses in the world starting at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge.

The marathon itself is sold out. But the weekend is not just about the marathon — and much of what makes the NN Rotterdam Marathon weekend extraordinary is free to attend and fully open to the city.

Forty-Five Years and 900,000 Spectators: The History Behind the Race

The NN Rotterdam Marathon has been one of the most significant marathons on the global calendar since its first edition in 1981 — a race built on the specific advantage of Rotterdam's flat, urban geography, which creates the conditions for fast times that mountain and coastal city courses can rarely match.

The course record tells the story clearly: Bashir Abdi, the Belgian-Somali long-distance runner, ran 2:03:36 at Rotterdam in 2021 — a European record that remains one of the fastest marathon performances in history. The women's course record, 2:18:58 by Kenya's Tiki Gelana in 2012, is equally indicative of what the Rotterdam course produces: a flat, efficiently designed circuit around Europe's largest port city that allows the world's best runners to operate at the top end of human possibility.

The race has been one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors aspirants and one of the IAAF Gold Label races — the highest certification for elite road racing internationally, awarded to events that meet the most demanding standards for course measurement, timing, athlete services, and international elite field quality.

In the 45th edition, the Dutch Marathon Championships are incorporated into the race — meaning that alongside the international elite field, the best Dutch marathon runners compete for their national title on the same course and the same day.

The Sport Expo: Friday April 10 and Saturday April 11

The marathon weekend officially begins at the Marathon Sport Expo — the central hub for bib collection, participant services, and the commercial and community event that surrounds the race.

Location: Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam

Opening hours:

• Friday, April 10: Sport Expo open; bib and shirt collection available
• Saturday, April 11: 10:00–19:00; bib and shirt collection available

The Marathon Sport Expo at the WTC is also the Pasta Party venue on Saturday evening (17:00–21:30) — the traditional pre-marathon carbohydrate event where marathon runners gather the night before their race, fuel up on pasta and bread, and experience the collective energy of 18,000 people who have been training for this day for months.

The Sport Expo also hosts running industry exhibitors and sponsors — the brands and products that supply the training equipment, nutrition, and gear that the marathon community uses — making it one of the most well-attended running industry events in the Netherlands each April.

Saturday, April 11: The People's Day of the Marathon Weekend

Saturday is the day when the marathon weekend belongs entirely to the city — to the children running their first kilometre in racing conditions, to the families walking the marathon route, to the recreational runners doing the City Run before the elite athletes take over on Sunday.

The Marathon Rotterdam Walk (5km, 10km, 15km)

The walking event uses part of the marathon course — starting and finishing at the Coolsingel / WTC area — and is open to all ages and fitness levels.

• 15km walk start: 08:00
• 10km walk start: 09:00
• 5km walk start: 10:00–10:30

All three distances follow clearly marked routes through Rotterdam's city centre and return to the Coolsingel finish area.

Your Marathon Challenge

A supported walking/running event that offers participants the experience of completing a half-marathon or marathon challenge on the course:

• Start: 12:30
• Finish: 13:00 (closing of the finish area)

NN Kids Runs: The Full Saturday Schedule

The NN Kids Runs are the most personally significant events of the entire marathon weekend for many Rotterdam families — the moment when a child runs their first race, on the same course as the adult marathon, cheered by spectators on the Coolsingel.

Distances: 1km (ages 6–10) and 2.5km (ages 7–15). Registration fee: €4 per child.

Each age group starts separately — ensuring that 6-year-olds are not mixed with teenagers, and that every child runs in a competitive group matched to their age.

Every child who completes an NN Kids Run receives a medal and t-shirt — the same finish-line ceremony, on the same Coolsingel, that the marathon runners will experience on Sunday morning.

City Run Rotterdam (4.2km)

The City Run Rotterdam at 4.2km offers adults a running event on Saturday for those who want to run but are not registered for Sunday's events:

• Start: 16:15
• Start and finish: Coolsingel / WTC area

The 4.2km distance is deliberately chosen as one-tenth of the marathon distance — a symbolic link to the full 42,195 metres.

Sunday, April 12: Race Day

10km Rotterdam (Start 09:15)

The 10km Rotterdam serves as both a standalone race event and the warm-up act for the morning — start wave 1 at 09:15 from the Burgemeester van Walsumweg. Start area opens at 08:15; the start area closes at 09:20 (sharp).

The Marathon: 42,195 km Starting at the Erasmus Bridge (SOLD OUT)

The NN Marathon Rotterdam — 42,195 kilometres, starting at 10:30 from the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) — is the main event. The marathon is sold out for 2026, with more than 18,000 marathon runners registered.

The 2026 Course (with new adjustments):

For the 45th edition, the course has been updated due to construction work at Hofplein: the finish line has been moved earlier on the Coolsingel, near the WTC Rotterdam. Additional minor route adjustments have been made at the affected section.

The confirmed course features:

• Start: Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) — the dramatic cable-stayed bridge completed in 1996, nicknamed "The Swan," whose towers rise 139 metres above the Nieuwe Maas
• Across to Rotterdam South: Runners cross the Erasmusbrug into the Feijenoord neighbourhood — home of Feyenoord's iconic De Kuip stadium (capacity 51,117), where the wall of sound from fans lining the route creates one of the most memorable sections of any urban marathon
• Past Rotterdam Ahoy — the 15,000-capacity arena that also hosts HYROX and the Premier League Darts
• Second crossing of the Erasmusbrug — runners return to the north bank, making the iconic bridge one of the most recognisable visual landmarks of the race
• Kralingse Plas — the lake in Rotterdam's eastern green belt; the course runs around the water, providing one of the few truly scenic sections on an otherwise urban circuit
• The Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen) — Piet Blom's extraordinary tilted cube architecture in Blaak, which runners pass in the final 5km
• The Markthal — the extraordinary arched market hall, opened 2014, visible as a landmark from the course
• Finish on the Coolsingel — Rotterdam's main boulevard, lined ten-deep with spectators, providing the finish-line atmosphere that has made #demooiste the most emotionally powerful marathon in the Netherlands

Elite field highlights 2026:

• Lameck Too (Kenya) — personal best in the sub-2:05 range; one of the men's contenders for the 2026 title
• Mike Kiptum Boit (Kenya) — targeting the title
• Women: Jackline Cherono (Kenya, 2:21:16 Rotterdam 2025 winner), Aminet Mohamed (Ethiopia, 2:22:15 runner-up in 2025)

The 2025 course records in Rotterdam: Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya) ran 2:04:34 to win the men's race; Jackline Cherono ran 2:21:16 to win the women's. The all-time course records remain Bashir Abdi 2:03:36 (men, European record, 2021) and Tiki Gelana 2:18:58 (women, 2012).

Spectator Tips: How to Watch Without a Bib

With 900,000 spectators expected along the course, watching the NN Rotterdam Marathon is itself one of the best sport-spectating experiences available in the Netherlands.

The best spectator positions for Sunday April 12:

• Erasmusbrug — start area; arrive early (09:30) to see the elite wave and the start of the 18,000 runners
• Feijenoord / De Kuip area — approximately 5km into the race; the atmosphere generated by fans lining the route near the Feyenoord stadium is consistently cited as the most electric section on the course
• Kralingse Bos — the lake loop at approximately 30–35km; a quieter, more personal section where individual runners can be seen and cheered
• The Coolsingel — the finish line; arrive from approximately 10:30 to watch the elite men finish (around 12:30–13:00 for the fastest), then stay through the afternoon as recreational runners continue to cross the finish

The entire course and all spectator areas are free to access.

Practical Information for the Marathon Weekend

Marathon Sport Expo:

• Friday, April 10: Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam; bib and shirt collection
• Saturday, April 11: 10:00–19:00; bib and shirt collection continues

Saturday, April 11 — full event programme: Coolsingel / WTC area; all events free for spectators; Kids Runs €4 per child

Sunday, April 12: Marathon starts 10:30 from Erasmusbrug; 10km starts 09:15 from Burgemeester van Walsumweg

Marathon entries: Sold out

10km and Saturday events: Check availability at nnmarathonrotterdam.nl

Official website: nnmarathonrotterdam.nl

Getting to Rotterdam for the marathon weekend:

• By train: Rotterdam Centraal is served by direct trains from Amsterdam (40 min), Utrecht (40 min), The Hague (25 min), Antwerp (1h 30min), Brussels (1h 45min)
• Public transport within Rotterdam: Metro, tram, and bus cover the entire course area; on marathon Sunday, several road closures are in effect across the city centre — check RET (Rotterdam public transport) route changes published in the week before the event
• Accommodation: Book early; the marathon weekend is one of Rotterdam's highest-occupancy weekends of the year

Forty-Five Years of Running Rotterdam

From the Marathon Sport Expo opening on April 10 through the Kids Runs on Saturday afternoon and the elite marathon finish on the Coolsingel on Sunday, the 45th NN Marathon Rotterdam is three days of sport that belongs to the city more completely than almost any other event in the Rotterdam calendar.

900,000 spectators, 18,000 marathon runners, and children crossing their first finish line at €4 a race. Rotterdam on April 11–12 is a city at its best.

Register and plan at nnmarathonrotterdam.nl.

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