On Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 April, the city will be busy because of the 44th NN Marathon Rotterdam. Several roads will also be closed. Both participants and spectators are advised to plan their journey to Rotterdam in advance of the marathon weekend and to prepare at which locations you will be cheering. These are the recommendations from the organisation.
Travel advice
The organisation advises participants and spectators to travel by public transport as much as possible. Central Station, Beurs and Blaak are easily accessible and are located near the start and finish location.
Are you coming by car? Then use a P+R and travel to the city centre by metro (RET).
Read the full travel advice at nnmarathonrotterdam.nl/bereikbaarheid/
Plan your journey by public transport with the RET travel planner (ret.nl/marathon) and NS travel planner (ns.nl).
Saturday 12 April
On Saturday 12 April, the Coolsingel will be the vibrant centre of the event. All distances will start here at the WTC. You can cross the course by using the passage of the Koopgoot. The finish is at the City Hall, where there are stands.
Cheering at the start
On Sunday 13 April, the starting boxes on the Schiedamsedijk are only accessible to participants in the marathon distance. The entrance to the starting boxes is via the Churchillplein. As a spectator, you can cheer on the participants on the Erasmus Bridge. From the Churchillplein, there are walking routes for spectators towards the Erasmus Bridge.
Plan where you will cheer
As a spectator, you can cheer on the participants along the course. Stay behind the fences and do not hinder the participants by standing on the course.
It is advised to make a plan in advance at which points you will cheer on the participants and to plan how you will move through the city as a spectator. When moving through the city, take into account extra waiting time in public transport. This year, waiting areas will be created at the busy metro stations (Beurs, Wilhelminaplein and Slinge) to allow for a gradual flow of passengers towards the platform. Please take extra travel time into account, which is why we recommend limiting the number of different places you want to look.
If you are travelling by bike, please note that many roads are closed and the route can only be crossed via tunnels and viaducts.
Around the 15 km point, at Slinge, the route has been changed compared to previous years. Here, participants now run through the Pendrecht district.
Around the Kralingse Plas, participants in both the 1/4 Marathon Rotterdam and the full marathon can be cheered on. Several partners of the NN Marathon Rotterdam have set up a cheer zone here. You can also find the popular NN Running Supporter here around the 34 km point, where participants are surprised with personal encouragement videos.
Cheering on the Coolsingel
On the Coolsingel, the participants run their last 500m of their race before they finish at the City Hall. Traditionally, the Coolsingel is a popular place to cheer on participants, but keep in mind that it can be busy. There are also several stands at the finish.
Crossing the course in the city centre?
Use the underpasses of the city centre, such as: Koopgoot, Stadhuis metro station (no metro stops here, but you can use the underpass), Kubuswoningen and Blaak metro station.
New: Meeting Points after the finish
Meeting Points are being introduced to make it easy for spectators and participants to find each other after the finish. After the finish, the participants first receive their well-deserved medal and care, but spectators cannot be present. Coloured flags have been used at the exit of the finish area on the Karel Doormanstraat. These are in the colours blue, green, red and yellow. It is advised to agree beforehand at which color Meeting Point the spectators and participants will meet again.
It promises to be a great day again with 51,000 participants in the entire marathon weekend. As a spectator, make a plan in advance so that you can cheer on your favorite participants!
