On the plus side this is a good marathon for runners who tend to go off too fast at the start or for runners whose ambition is to run a negative split. The course is far too narrow in the early stages; I finally got up to my own pace by the 10-mile mark. Having said that, I still managed a sub 3:30, the course is flat, and the bands and the crowd are good. Rotterdam itself was most impressive (check out the model railway) and the locals were friendly.

It is a flat course, but the start area is too narrow; it is difficult to get your pace, even more if you want to run fast. The clothing areas are awful, very far from the start corrals. AND DO NOT BELIEVE THE ORGANIZATION WHEN THEY RECOMMEND THE NOVOTEL BRAINPARK AS ONE "WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM START AND FINISH AREA." THAT IS NOT TRUE UNLESS 6 METRO STATIONS COUNT AS WALKING DISTANCE FOR YOU.

A very nice, flat course. It was lined with great crowds throughout. The course crosses the city in a figure-8 type route, so you start, run through, and finish in the city center. Lots of water stations. Free massages and reflexology straight afterward were very much appreciated. I enjoyed the buzz about the city over the weekend also.

I ran this race for the first time this past weekend and thought it was a very well organized event on a nicely laid out, fast and flat course. It's a great city in the Netherlands in which to spend a few days, and the 10K race for other members of my family was equally as enjoyable for them. I would highly recommend this race for the ease of entry, registration and race-day organization. The fantastic spectator and volunteer support only adds to the experience. They need some form of a "post-race" party in the future!

This is an incredibly fast course. Want a PR? Run Rotterdam. Want to qualify for Boston? Run Rotterdam. I could care less that the route itself is dull and uninteresting, simply because I'm too focused on my run. Only negative for me was that there could've been more water stations. Personally at least every 2-3 miles. I got dehydrated rather quickly so water every 5K was not enough. But I still managed to run a 3:27, which was a PR.

If you want to run around a picturesque and interesting city, then this isn't the marathon for you. However, if you want a fast, flat marathon, with few sights to distract you, then this has to be the one for you. The park was probably nice, but I was too tired to notice by then.

Not many slow runners (5:15 maximum meant that the average time was under four hours). Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing though!

Water and energy drink stops every 5KM. Good number of spectators to cheer you on. Perfect weather.

Far fewer runners that I had expected (about 8,000 in the marathon) but this meant that I was over the start line in under 2 minutes.

Unlike (what I read of) the previous year, the weather was perfect. No problems at any of the water stops; in fact, no real problems at all.

I finished on 4:25 and came near the back with only 1,000 or so runners behind me, and I had hoped to come in in the middle somewhere! Perhaps because it is flat, it brings out the faster runners looking for a PB?

The big mistake with this race is that the organizers started it at 11 a.m. knowing that it was going to be insanely hot. Everything else was fine, as marathons go. Water stations were OK, although busy. Course was flat and fast. Baggage area and showers were good and secure.

The organizers knew they had goofed when they stopped the race, but that was chaotic - although I had gone past that point and only knew about it to the end.

For those people moaning: you need to get out more.

I will put this one down to experience and will be back for revenge!

Stockholm Marathon - 29 degrees - no cancellation.
Rotterdam Marathon - 28 degrees - panic!
Get a new race director!

The organization would have rated 5 stars but for the decision to stop the race. By then I was just running a schedule to get home under 4 hours (down from pre-race target of 3:35 to allow for the heat). Despite other comments, I found copious supplies of water and other fluids on the course supplied by both organizers and householders. Marathons are often run in these temperatures - Leiden 2006 for example - without cancellation. And if you want to stop a race, you stop the course clocks to avoid confusion!