Rotterdam Marathon

The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World magazine. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050329030308/www.runnersworld.com/cda/article/0,5033,s6-51-0-0-2196-2-4-2,00.html] The event is the biggest marathon in the Netherlands, followed by the Amsterdam and Eindhoven Marathon.

The Rotterdam Marathon often produces very fast times, as the course is very flat and weather conditions are typically ideal, although the 2007 event witnessed extreme weather conditions. Conditions were reported as 'unseasonal' and the KNMI meteorological institute reports that Sunday was the warmest day ever recorded in the month of April and temperatures in Rotterdam reportedly reached as high as 34 degrees [ [http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=38751 Dutch news - Expatica ] ] . The event was officially cancelled at 14:30 hrs. [http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2007/04/heat_halts_rotterdam_marathon_.php] . Although many runners ignored warnings and continued to run.

The course record is held by William Kipsang and was set in April 2008. His time was 2:05:49. [cite web| url=http://www.iaaf.org/LRR08/news/newsid=44430.html| title=Kipsang sets 2:05:49 course record in Rotterdam| date=2008-04-13| publisher=IAAF]

The start of the first Rotterdam marathon organized by the Rotterdam Marathon Foundation with more than twohundred participants. The first winner, John Graham of the United Kingdom, gave the event an immediate international reputation with a time of 2:09:28. The Rotterdam Marathon has developed into the largest one-day event in the Netherlands.

Start and finish are, true to tradition, on the Coolsingel in the very heart of the city, where at 11:00 hrs to the accompaniment of cannon fire all the participants will start. The last edition took place on April 13, 2008. On April 15, 2007 the event was cancelled half-way because of the temperature, though the competitive runners already had finished by that time.

Men's Winners

Women's Winners

ee also

* Rotterdam Half Marathon
* Amsterdam Marathon
* Eindhoven Marathon
* Enschede Marathon

References

External links

* [http://www.fortismarathonrotterdam.nl/ Official Site]
* [http://marathoninfo.free.fr/historique/rotterdam.htm Marathon Info]
* [http://www.42k195.com/marathon/fortis_marathon_rotterdam www.42k195.com]