Eindhoven Marathon - Race Reviews

Flat but exciting course. Music and fantastic fans that created a good atmosphere all the way. Well-organized. Short distance between Central station - Race office - Start area. This was my 5th marathon, and I am happy recommend Eindhoven.

The start was a little low key, plenty of space for the ~2000 entrants but little music & only family to cheer the start. There are plenty of pacers at the start. Race course is well laid out - wide smooth roads, few slight grades, no issues with footing, sharp turns or bottlenecks. There was water and energy drink every 5 km but then for some reason they started having separate water and energy drink stations which were 2.5 km apart beginning around km 25 which was a minor annoyance. There were a decent number of spectators, DJs or bands on course to keep things interesting. Last 2km to the finish was fantastic with music, crowds etc. Weather was a bit cool around 5 deg C with slight wind. Thanks to the clocks around the course and pacers I was able to beat my goal time and get a 3 hr 15 min time. The entrants in this marathon were plenty fast so that did not place me as high as I would normally expect. After the finish there wasn't much - like most Dutch races they had water and energy drink and that's it. No food or fruit.

This is still a well organised race with a fast flat course and music (bands, PAs etc) all round. However, they now only let the elite runners put out their own drinks. Also the course has been changed - it used to go bang through the town centre at half way and you got a tremendous lift from the support. Now it skirts the town centre half way, and has several miles with no real support... the bit through the building site with a headwind was new and hard to love. The upside of the course change is that 4h+ runners get to see the leaders come through, which is fab. Runners from outside the eurozone should note that now they only take bank transfers for payment, no credit cards. But you can usually sign up at the expo for cash.

VERY flat. Cool. No congestion because the marathon itself is fairly small (about 1,500 runners). You can have your own drinks put out, and if you give them a shout coming up to the drink tables, they'll grab your bottle and hand it to you. You're never out of earshot of music - as the salsa band fades you can hear the disco stall cranking up in the distance, and so on. Two-loop course, so you go through the town center - where the support is intense. (Slower runners can time it to see the winner finish!) Your name is printed below the race number (and the back number has a space to write nicknames on.) Support keen - not the slack-jawed undead! There were pacers for every 15 minutes from RW. Accommodations are reasonable and the town has an airport - but the train line it's on makes it awkward to get there by train. Not desperately scenic. No space blankets at end or directions to shelter, which would have been nice (as when I did it, the heavens opened for the last hour and I was wet, cold and didn't know where I could get changed)! Spectators were generous with their umbrellas though. :) Knocked 13 minutes off the PB when I'd been looking for maybe half that, so it would definitely be on my list for any future PB attempts - you get all the advantages of the elite runner however slow you are.

A splendid marathon. The new course is even better than last year I think. It is flat (except a few bridges) with many wide and straight roads. Plenty of drinking stations. A lot of people cheering you up. Very well organized, except the start/finish area is a little bit messy. Many people walking around there. But still, I love it!

Brilliant organization, super fast course, lots of spectator support, plenty of feed stations, live music most of the way - what more do you need? Try Eindhoven in 2007.

Icy winds, but nice course. No certificates but a nice medal. Spectators only for some of the miles. I wouldn't run it again. There a lots of nicer marathons like Hamburg, Stockholm, Medoc, and Wachau.

The marathon is well organized, but the winds are terribly cold - that means no chance for a personal record. Many music bands on the first round but then ...

I've run over 100 marathons and this was one of my favorites.

The only problem is its twice-around course. The rest is nearly perfect for beginners as well as for professionals.

My first marathon and it was terrific. Seemed like the whole town turned out. Several bands along the way. The townspeople were still clapping and cheering as all us back of the packers came around. I'll definitely return!! Thanks Eindhoven.