Amstelveen Spring Marathon

The Race

History

The Amstelveen Spring Marathon grew out of a local athletics club. AV Startbaan, whose track sits on the course, organises it with SPINN Sports, and the lap of the club’s track is one of the points the organiser’s spectator guide asks supporters to watch. The weekend now carries a marathon, a half, a 10 km, a night 5 km and a four-person marathon relay, all based at the Stadshart shopping centre.

The race is separate from the TCS Amsterdam Marathon in October. Its link to Amsterdam is the map: the route leaves Amstelveen’s centre for the Amsterdamse Bos, returns through the town, then runs south to the polders and back north along the Amstel. The organiser counts the next edition as its eighth. The 2025 edition, the sixth, was held on 16 March 2025 with 8,500 participants across all distances and about 1,100 in the marathon. The 2026 edition ran on 15 March, and a local newspaper put the whole weekend above 10,000 people.

The organiser’s page lists marathon records of 2:28:41 for men and 2:49:14 for women without naming the athletes, the years or the course. They are listed times, not verified course records.

The course

The marathon starts and finishes on Stadsplein in the Amstelveen Stadshart. The first 9 km run north-west to the Amsterdamse Bos and back, over residential streets, forest roads and the broad lawns of the Grote Speelweide. From km 9 the course goes back through Amstelveen and runs south past the AV Startbaan sports park at km 17, then out into the Bovenkerk polder to the village of Nes aan de Amstel at km 22.

The longest straight is the Middenweg through the polder, km 24 to 28, with the southern turn at about km 30, 6.9 km from the start, the furthest point. The course then returns north along the Amsteldijk, the dyke road beside the Amstel, from km 30 to km 35, and crosses the east of Amstelveen on Meijslootpad, Langs de Akker and Beneluxbaan before reaching Stadsplein. The organiser says the route is paved throughout.

The ground is as flat as the Netherlands gets. Elevation estimates from the Dutch plain place the whole course within a 14 m band around sea level, and no kilometre changes by more than 4 m. No total ascent is published, and the finishing street is not described.

Kilometre by kilometre

Km 0 to 9: the Bos. The start is on a town-centre square, so the opening kilometres are urban and the field is bunched. The course heads north-west along Rodenburghlaan, Nieuwe Karselaan and Bleekerskade, reaches the edge of the Amsterdamse Bos at Drogebrug around km 5, and spends km 6 to 8 on the Duizendmeterweg and the Grote Speelweide, the parkland where trees break the wind. One 2026 participant described small hills in the first 10 km; the elevation data shows none above 4 m, so expect bridges and ramps, not climbs. Hold back until the field spreads.

Km 9 to 20: back through the town and south. The course returns on Burgemeester van Sonweg at km 9, Bleekerskade at km 10 and Amsterdamseweg at km 11, then turns south through the residential streets of Handweg, Ziederij and Touwslagerij at km 12 to 14. It passes the AV Startbaan sports park at about km 17, where the organiser describes a lap of the athletics track, and runs on past Beneluxbaan at km 18. Crowds thin away from the centre; the organiser’s spectator guide names Stadshart, Oude Karselaan, the Oude Dorp and AV Startbaan as the support points.

Km 20 to 30: the polders. The built-up area ends around km 20 and the course reaches Nes aan de Amstel by km 22. From there the Middenweg runs south through open polder for about 5 km, the part of the day where wind decides the pace. The organiser warns that some roads here are not completely car-free and that narrow or poor-surface sections are marked with ground arrows and banners. The southern turn is at about km 30, in open ground with few spectators.

Km 30 to 42.2: the Amstel and home. The final 12 km run north along the Amsteldijk beside the Amstel, with the river on one side and polder on the other, from km 30 to km 35. The course then swings east on Meijslootpad and crosses the east of Amstelveen on Langs de Akker at km 38 and Laan van Langerhuize at km 40, before Beneluxbaan and the finish at the Stadshart. One participant called the river section the best of the course and the second half the hardest mentally. The organiser’s aid table puts stations at 32, 36, 39 and 41 km, so carry what you need between them.

Run the blue line where one is painted; the shortest legal line saves a measurable distance over 42.195 km. The chip is in the bib.

Course Map

A forest loop to the north-west, a run south through the town to the polders and a return along the Amstel to the Stadshart. Tap a marker for the start and finish, the landmarks, the 2026 number-collection shop and the tram and bus stops, and scrub the slider or press play to move the orange marker along the course with the elevation profile beneath it.

Pacers

The organiser lists pacers for 3:00, 3:30, 3:45, 3:50, 4:00, 4:10 and 4:15, in recognisable shirts with a backpack flag showing the time. There is no 3:15 group, so do not assume 15-minute steps. No wave allocation is published.

Entry

Entry is open and handled online through the organiser’s Atleta registration, first come, first served, with rising price bands and no ballot. The advertised marathon fee is €57 through 30 November or until that band sells out, with the next band at €64. Check the checkout total, because later tranches and service charges are not shown on the information pages.

The registration page gives a deadline of Thursday 18 March at 23:59, subject to places. Distance changes close after 1 February, and an older page describing on-the-day downgrades no longer applies. Entries can be transferred through the dashboard. Refund, deferral, insurance and tour-operator options are not published.

Start pens depend on the expected finish time entered at registration, which can be edited until 1 February. Entries made later, or without an expected time, go in the last wave. A separate competition area exists for licensed club athletes with a proven time under 2:30 for men or under 2:45 for women. That is a pen rule and not an age-graded entry. A Team Alzheimer business challenge is named on the organiser’s site, but no guaranteed charity entry allocation is published.

Fast runner standards

There is no age-graded, good-for-age or qualifying entry. Elite club athletes use a separate competition area.

Race Weekend

Expo

There is no large expo. Runners receive a QR code by email or in the Atleta dashboard. In 2026 numbers were collected at DailyRun Amsterdamse Bos, Amsterdamseweg 507, on weekdays from 10:00 to 18:30 in the week before the race, and the shop held numbers until Saturday at 16:00.

Marathon runners could also collect on Sunday at Stadsplein from 08:30, which leaves little margin before a 09:30 start. Collect earlier if you can. A Haarlem pickup point needed advance selection, business teams used a separate contact, and the partner ibis hotel could deliver a bib to the room. None of these arrangements is confirmed for 2027, so check the collection article when it is updated. Bring the QR code or confirmation email.

Getting to the start

The provisional programme opens the race village at Stadsplein at 08:00 and asks marathon runners to be in their pen by 09:20 for the 09:30 start. Arriving at 09:20 is a deadline, not a plan: bag drop, toilets and pen entry each take time, so aim to reach Stadsplein by about 08:30. The half marathon starts at 11:00 and the 10 km at 14:00.

Getting there. GVB tram line 5 serves Amstelveen Stadshart, and Amsterdam Zuid is the nearest main rail and metro hub, with the tram continuing south. From Schiphol, one hotel’s directions describe bus 300 to Amstelveen Busstation; check the current planner. No free race-day transport entitlement exists. Ordinary fares apply.

Bag drop and toilets. The race page confirms a city-centre bag drop and toilets. A third-party listing gives bag drop and changing rooms as 08:30 to 16:00; confirm the hours with the organiser. Older bag-size limits and locker prices belong to a 2025 page and are not repeated here.

Pens. Wave allocation follows the expected time entered at registration. Competition-area runners enter a separate pen.

Nutrition on course

The organiser publishes an aid table and says it may change. Every station has water; sports drink, fruit and sponges vary. The table lists 11 points plus the finish.

Gels are not listed, so bring tested gels. An older participant page named Powerbar as partner, so confirm the current drink brand and mix. The organiser does not deliver personal nutrition to stations. A runner who needs more than water in the first 14 km must carry it, and the gap from 21.5 km to 27 km is the longest on the course.

Spectating

The Stadshart is the safest single place for a supporter: it holds the start, the finish and the services. The organiser’s spectator guide names three other points, Oude Karselaan, the Oude Dorp and the AV Startbaan sports park. The track lap at AV Startbaan gives a long viewing window but is not a second pass. Walking times between points and the 2027 tracking app are not published, so treat the plans below as proposals.

Post-race food

The nearest options are at the event hub. DAY foodbar, a tapas bar at Stadsplein 52, serves sandwiches during the day, so lunch is easier than a full tapas meal. Fluffy Cafe Restaurant at Stadsplein 95 is beside the village.

Lucia’s Restaurant & Bar, in the Stadshart at Van Heuven Goedhartlaan 17, suits runners staying at Cityden. Order a familiar plate of pasta or rice with a protein choice while the legs still ache. Sunday opening hours and race-day capacity are not confirmed, so reserve or call ahead.

Where to Stay

Stay near the finish. In Amstelveen that is also the start, the Stadshart, so the choice is simpler than in most cities: a room close to Stadsplein keeps the walk back after 42.195 km short.

Central Amsterdam is not near the start, even though the race is described as near it. For a longer stay, a self-catering room can be more useful than a star rating. Confirm lifts, late checkout and breakfast times independently.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

Entry is open and the first fee band ends on 30 November, so secure the entry first and book a cancellable room next. No evidence quantifies a marathon hotel premium or a sell-out month, and none of the partner discounts is confirmed for the next edition: the official accommodation page still quotes 2026 offers, so do not enter old promotional codes.

Check room-only and breakfast rates, the cancellation deadline, early breakfast, bag storage and late checkout directly with the hotel. Book flights and rail once the date is confirmed.

See & Do

The finish is on Stadsplein, with a modern-art museum 0.2 km away and the old village a short walk west. All of the places below are close enough for tired legs.

After the Race

Mid-March is quiet and cool, and Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden and Utrecht are all within an hour or so of the Stadshart by tram and train. The bulb fields start to colour late in the season, so a trip to Leiden may catch the first flowers.