Preparing for the 2026 Amsterdam Marathon: flat, cool and predictable

The course: the city, then the river

After the stadium and the Vondelpark, the course runs along the Amstel on a long out-and-back between the 15th and 30th kilometre. It is flat, but isolated and sometimes windy: the mental part of the race.

The return into the city from the 32nd is carried by the crowd. The finish in the Olympic Stadium, on the track, is one of the finest final 400 metres on the calendar.

A back-to-school preparation

Mid-October race: the plan starts between late June and early July for 16 weeks, or early August for 12. September's return to routine lands on the hardest block, the 2 h 30 long runs. Plan for it in your schedule.

The AI coach reads every week what you actually ran on Garmin. A lighter holiday week is not a disaster: it adjusts what follows without making you catch up on lost kilometres.

Pacing and fuelling along the Amstel

The stretch along the river is where an Amsterdam marathon is lost: alone, into the wind, you slow down or you force. The plan sets a simple instruction: target pace, easy feel until the 25th, then keep exactly the same pace until the 35th.

• — Km 1 to 5: target pace + 10 s/km, stadium and park.
• — Km 6 to 35: target pace, even into the wind on the Amstel.
• — Km 36 to 42: by feel, the crowd brings you back to the stadium.

Aid stations are every 5 km. The plan has you test on a long run the gel or drink you will take, at the same intervals.

Frequently asked questions