TCS Amsterdam Marathon Review - 10th Marathon Ever And Most Enjoyable

WOW!

The 10th Marathon came and was conquered.

I thought I would write a short review of my experience.

Arrival at the airport was hassle-free save the massive queues at the airport. Thankfully, we managed to use an alternative exit but folks were coming down the escalator towards the passport desks and things were backing up. Fortunately, doors were opened and we sailed through. After that, it was onto the train and into the city centre.

Nicole, Al and myself in Amsterdam City Centre

Nicole and I met with my brother, Al and we chowed down a tasty burger at the Burger Meester and awaited the arrival of my running partner, Alex and his wife, Yaz. It had started to drizzle but the forecast for the following day was "clear skies and warm". Things were looking up.

One tasty burger - ideal marathon prep :P

Checking my pesky number worked

We headed off to the Expo which was a good half an hour by tram from Central Station. Processing was quick and efficient and we were out of the registration area within a couple of minutes and into the hubub of the expo. A good selection for a BIG CITY marathon but not on the scale of Paris or London.

Back we went and commenced carb loading (and a glass or two of wine to help with sleep) before retiring for the night.

Race day started at 6:45 and I was off to breakfast (always a challenge) before meeting up with Alex to re-trace our steps from the previous day.

The approach to the stadium was closed off due to the (understandable) traffic diversions so we had a 10 minute walk to the stadium. It was here where we peeled off from the main group to use the toilet facilities of a nearby garage/ service station before getting into the queue for the entry into the stadium.

Once in the stadium the tannoy sounded out with various instructions and we assembled in our pen (3:30-4 hours). Everyone was very pleasant and we started the warm up process as well as ramming some last minute power bars down our gullets.

BOOM! The starter gun went off and we began the slow shuffle to the start. The shuffle became a job that then turned into a run...and we were off. Out of the stadium and into the city streets taking care to hold back on the pace.

My overwhelming sense at the start was that there were so many people you needed to take care not to trip over people...nevertheless we emerged from the initial section unscathed and entered the Vondelpark (making a mental note that we would return in the closing phase of the race).

The weather was perfect and crowds of runners began to thin. The good news is that there was a fairly good spread of spectators. It was at the 4k mark when we came out of Vondelpark when we saw our gang of 3, already holding a glass of champagne aloft.

We were feeling strong and powered onwards down to the outskirts of the city where we picked up the loop down the side of the Amstel river. This was quite narrow and if you were in the mood to overtake you were often pushed onto the uneven grass area. But it was not too bad. The sun was shining and the crazy aero water gymnasts were flying around and doing somersaults which was a pleasant distraction.

Sun was shining and things were heating up as we crossed the bridge onto the other side of the Amstel river and began the run back into the outskirts of the city.

We crossed the half way point and were feeling strong.

At 25k the course took you into the less scenic part of the race, through industrial estates which could have been anywhere in the world. It was here when Alex hit the wall so I did my best to keep him upbeat and "happy"...At one point he did ask me to stop talking ;)

But before we knew it we were into our last 10k and we picked up the pace before finally approaching Vondelpark again..knowing that we had a mere 4k to go.

We were passing people continuously through the park and I felt great, holding myself back to ensure I didn't have a "moment" after finishing.





Then I saw the 500m to go and could contain myself no more. I dropped the gears and sprinted into the stadium with a massive grin on my face. I had done it... no injuries.

I stopped 50m short of the finish line and waited for Alex to come round the corner before joining him and crossing the finish line together.



Triumph! Definitely not my fastest (in fact second slowest!) but my most enjoyable.

Overall course was a 7/10 but what a great weekend.