Last August, the 17,000 available start tickets for the marathon distance of the NN Marathon Rotterdam were sold out in just 2.5 hours. The organisers s ubsequently ubsequently expressed their ambition to grow the event to 30,000 marathon runners to meet the growing demand of runners. To the organisers’ disappointment, they now have to announce that the number of starting places cannot be increased in the coming edition.
Selling out the event in record time and the number of interested people on the reserve list show that running is very popular in the Netherlands. In particular, there is a lot of interest in participating in the NN Marathon Rotterdam. Recently, there have been talks between the organisers of the NN Marathon Rotterdam and the Municipality of Rotterdam with the aim of increasing the number of starting places to 30,000 participants at the marathon distance in 2025.
To the organisation’s disappointment, they have to announce that the talks did not lead to the desired growth for 2025. The number of starting places will remain 17,000 for next edition. Due to the NATO summit on 24 and 25 June 2025 in The Hague, there is insufficient capacity in the municipal services and police to facilitate the growth of the marathon.
‘It is a huge disappointment for us as an organisation, but especially for the many runners who had indicated on the reserve list that they wanted to run the finest,’ according to Wilbert Lek, director NN Marathon Rotterdam. ‘The limitation in 2025 is a setback, but our ambition remains. Our goal is to be able to grow to 30,000 participants in 2026, though. Organisationally, with the necessary adjustments, this is possible with guarantees of safety for runners and spectators, and the unique DNA of the event.’
Waiting list
Due to cancellations, a limited number of start tickets will still be made available to those interested on the reserve list. These available starting tickets will be randomly distributed to those interested, who will be notified by e-mail on Tuesday 5 November.
Runners who had registered on the reserve list and do not get the chance to complete their registration can convert the contribution for placement on the reserve list into a discount on another Golazo spring marathon in the Benelux. The discount can be used for the Sofico Gent Marathon, European Running Championships Brussels-Leuven or the Utrecht Marathon. If runners want to take over a starting ticket from another runner for the NN Marathon Rotterdam, the organisation advises to use the official supply and demand platform to do so.
‘We will also inform all participants on the reserve list first when registration opens for the 2026 edition,’ said Wilbert Lek. ‘We will keep fighting to give more enthusiastic runners the chance to run the marathon in Rotterdam and hope for your support!’
