← All eventsNN Marathon Rotterdam
One of Europe's flattest and fastest marathons — a PB and national-record destination since 1981. Past the Erasmus Bridge, Nieuwe Maas quays and Cube Houses, finishing on the Coolsingel by city hall. Next 11 Apr 2027, 10:00 start.
One of Europe's flattest, fastest marathons, and a PB machine since 1981. 42.195km of closed, straight city and riverside roads with barely 15m of climbing all day.
It starts on the Coolsingel, crosses the Erasmus Bridge over the Nieuwe Maas, runs the quays past the Cube Houses, loops out to Kralingen and roars back to a stadium-atmosphere finish.
Flat means honest. There's no terrain to blame and nowhere to hide. Your time is a near-direct read of your fitness, your pacing discipline, and how you handle the wind off the river.
Who finishes, and how
Patterns like these, drawn straight from 2025 race data, are baked into how Beina coaches you for this event.
Is NN Marathon Rotterdam for you?
- Runners chasing a genuine PB or a Boston qualifier. On a course this flat and fast, a well-paced day converts fitness straight into time.
- Disciplined even-pacers. The flat profile punishes fast starts harder than any hill, so it rewards runners who lock into goal pace and hold it.
- Athletes who have done the long-run work. The race really starts at 30km, and only a proper base of 28km-plus runs carries you through it.
- Runners who can hold pace in the wind. The open quays and exposed bridge are the real variable, so sitting in a group when it blows is a weapon.
Training plan for NN Marathon Rotterdam
A training plan for NN Marathon Rotterdam isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- A flat, honest course where your finish time reflects fitness and pacing, with no terrain to hide behind
- The Erasmus Bridge crossed twice, the second at 35km on tired legs, where a fast first half comes due
- Exposed river quays and bridge crossings that catch coastal wind, the biggest variable on the day
- 2h30 to 5h-plus of even-pace running that demands fuelling 60 to 90g of carbs an hour
- Marathon-pace long run: up to 28 to 35km with 15 to 20km at goal pace, fuelled exactly as on race day
- Progressive long run: start easy and finish the last 8 to 10km at marathon pace, to run fast on tired legs
- Long tempo: 40 to 60 minutes continuous at marathon pace, your even-pace lock-in session
- Midweek medium-long run of 14 to 18km easy, the quiet volume builder that underpins the plan
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
