This course is flat in every sense of the word. Not much atmosphere compared to the other marathons I have run. And the course. Soooooo dull. There's a 10-15K stretch along a canal where you wind back and forth watching other runners... which is its own sort of torture. There are not enough drink stations and the instructions for the baggage are sketchy at best: Bring your own bag. Transport on the day of is a complete pickle, so sort out a taxi and be prepared to argue with your hotel if they refuse to get one for you. I did run a PB though.

This was a good marathon but having the half marathoners finish when some of us older, slower runners were trying to finish was chaos. The finish arena was very crowded.

The marathon course avoids the center of Amsterdam and a large chunk of the course is concentrated alongside the Amstel river. It's very fast & flat and the conditions in 2007 for a PB were excellent.

Not too many crowds along the course except around the Olympic Stadium & Museumplein.

Amsterdam is a great city to visit and I would recommend this marathon if you are looking for a well-organized marathon with a fast time.

I got back from Amsterdam earlier this week after running the marathon on Sunday. This was only my second marathon (first was Paris in April 2007) and I have to say that the weather conditions on Sunday (12 degrees, overcast, little wind) and a flat course allowed me to knock 25 minutes off my Paris time, so I was very pleased.

The expo was well organized and easy to find. I only found out on the morning of the marathon that there were no trams running (and as we were staying south of the city center there was no metro to catch). Had to walk 1.5 miles to the start but did get there 1.5 hours early and was delighted to find plenty of toilets and no queues (great after having to queue for 1.25 hours to go once at Paris!). The start in the stadium was a wonderful experience although I was a little puzzled by being carefully shepherded into the pen for my predicted finishing time, and then the barriers between the pens were removed anyway prior to the start so wasn't quite sure of the point of that.

The route itself is not scenic considering what the center of Amsterdam has to offer, but I enjoyed the long stretch along the Amstel and I think for me it did not matter that miles 18-24 were not very attractive ones as I had reached the point of completely tuning out and trying to focus on keeping moving. The drinks stations every 5 km were frequent enough although the cups made things interesting (it was like running the egg and spoon race). There was banana on route. Not many spectators but the ones that were on route were very supportive. The Vondelpark was my favorite part of the route - lovely autumn colors.

There was no family/friends meeting area so I was glad I had made arrangements to meet my husband prior to the race, as it would have been a bit of a nightmare otherwise. Didn't stick around for too long afterwards as had to walk 1.5 miles back to the hotel.

I thought the online certificate, race results, and photos and video clips were great although not sure about the visual representation of where you finished in relation to other runners (bit deflating if you do it 4 hours plus).

Enjoyed three days of sightseeing in Amsterdam. Loved the city and found people very friendly. Hope to return, even if not for the marathon again.

This marathon seems to get some mixed reviews. I do not understand why - in my opinion it is close to perfect.

I have run it 4 times - and achieved 4 PBs. The course is extremely flat (check out the elevation map on marathonguide.com) and the weather in the last 4 years has been excellent for running.

Organization is also first class, with excellent chip collection, plenty of food and drink en route and also lots of extras, like free downloadable photos, a quality running shirt, DVD clips, instant availability of results and photos.

The marathon has around 7,000 finishers which means it feels reasonably big, yet you have guaranteed race entry and get space to run at the right pace within only a couple of minutes.

You also get the fantastic feeling of finishing inside the Olympic Stadium and then sampling the Amsterdam nightlife to celebrate.

Sore knee right now from latest PB, but I will be back in Amsterdam again !

Course could have been SO much more interesting! I understand the city powers don't want to cripple the entire city, but seeing the park once is enough and the out-and-back along the Amstel was a few miles too long. Good to see the windmills and polders, but it went on for a LONG time! Would liked to have seen more of the sights! Spectators were very friendly.

Flat course, but so dull!! Not many sights and a few grotty industrial areas. You run parallel to cars at times, so it's not totally traffic-free. A bit pricey for what you get; pasta party was good though. Thin on ground for spectators until finish in the old Olympic stadium, which isn`t that iconic. Bag deposit was an absolute nightmare and they had cups (not bottles) for water. Even the city I found dirty and not terribly exciting (though a canal boat trip is really nice).

This was my first marathon, and I had a great time. The course is terrific - flat, as advertised, and a nice mix of city and countryside, including a long stretch along the Amstel River - and I agree that starting and especially ending in Olympic Stadium is pretty amazing.

I do not understand the complaints about water stations. They had them just about every 5K (which in my mind is perfectly sufficient), and all were clearly marked on the course map available online and at the expo so runners could plan accordingly. (And I am certain there was a water station at 35K.)

The crowds, while not enormous, were enthusiastic, including lots of kids and, further out of town, people who were just hanging out in front of their homes to cheer racers on.

While my experience overall was definitely positive, I do have a few small complaints:
- Trying to figure out how to get to the start on race day was difficult. Many tram lines were not running on marathon day, which was announced on signs in tram stations - in Dutch only. No one at the marathon expo could answer our questions about what public transit options would be running to bring us to the start, and it took us forever (and a trip to the transit board info center) to actually confirm what lines would be in service.

- The t-shirt was sort of awful. It was rather unattractive, and also only available in men's sizes, which is especially a drag when it's a nice breathable athletic shirt, great for training if only it fit better. I'm not petite, but I am a woman in marathon shape, and rather than treasuring my shirt, I don't even want to wear it largely because a men's small is so big on me.

- Chip return was a drag. You had to lace the chip into your shoe, then stop afterwards to unlace it. I'm used to New York Road Runners and their plastic zip ties, which can just be quickly snipped after the race.

- More food and more variety of food available post-race would have been great - all they really had was fruit.

All this aside, it's a great race and I would recommend it, especially if you're prepared for the above.

This is a decent marathon, no doubt. But it's not cheap and I feel that a lot of the money went into non-race frills, such as a wicking race t-shirt, online video clips and stats, a ridiculously fancy course map and a website translated into five languages.

I would have preferred more drinks stations, post-race massages, free nibbles, and shuttle buses to/from the stadium. As an example, I did the Brussels Marathon (also an ING event) and it was half the price. You got double the amount of drinks stations, a protein bar at the end, a cap in case of warm weather and a disposable waterproof to wear before the race began. But none of the fancy Amsterdam extras that don't really help you during the race.

The course is very dull for such a vibrant city, which really surprised me. The out-and-back along the river was particularly soul-destroying.

I set a personal best by 14 minutes on this course but I felt quite let down by the race overall. I will say that the medal is really nice though.

Amsterdam was my first international marathon and I enjoyed it very much. Course as well as the climate suited me well and I finished with a new PB. It is true that the course did not pass through the most interesting city areas, but there is always time before and after the race. Start and finish at the Olympic Stadium were memorable. Personal race pictures and video clips on the internet are also very nice. Picking up the number and info package before the race was well organized.

Post-race procedures are something to improve for the organization.

Of course the city itself was very nice to visit.