Rotterdam Marathon 2027 : the course km by km, race week and travel

Rotterdam is as flat as a marathon gets, and still not quite a flat road. From its highest point to its lowest is only 10.5 m, and about 61% of the course runs below Dutch sea level. The only climbs are bridges, and the one that matters is the Erasmus Bridge, which the race crosses twice: once in the first kilometre, when everyone is fresh and packed together, and again at km 26.6, when its deck rises 11.8 m in half a kilometre and every runner is past the point where pace comes free. The first half stays south of the river, in Rotterdam-Zuid. The second half brings the race back over the bridge, out round the Kralingse Plas and home along the Blaak.

The course is one loop, starting at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge on the Schiedamsedijk and finishing on the Coolsingel. The kilometres and heights below are measured along the organiser’s 2026 course, on the Netherlands’ national lidar elevation model. The organiser has not published the 2027 course map, so check its course page before you plan your pacing.

Km 0 to 3: the bridge and the Kop van Zuid

The start, at 5.6 m above NAP, is the highest ground of the whole race. Beside it stands Henk Visch’s Marathonbeeld (2001), whose plinth carries the name of every winner. The course runs straight onto Ben van Berkel’s Erasmus Bridge, opened in 1996, and over the Nieuwe Maas between about km 0.1 and km 0.8, the deck rising 10.1 m to its crown. On the south bank it runs along the Wilhelminakade and then east on the Laan op Zuid, past the towers of the Kop van Zuid. The Varkenoordse viaduct over the railway, from about km 2.6 to km 2.9, adds a 6 m rise. With the first waves packed onto the bridge, the opening kilometre is rarely the place to bank time.

Km 3 to 11: De Kuip, twice

The Stadionweg takes the course past the north side of De Kuip, Feyenoord’s stadium, at about km 3.6. From there it runs through Rotterdam-Zuid on the John F. Kennedyweg, the Adriaan Volkerlaan and the Olympiaweg. Since 2026 the course turns back toward the stadium between about km 7 and km 11, with a wide bend in front of it at about km 8. The course drops below sea level at about km 5.7, and from km 8.3 it stays there for 13.5 km without a break.

Km 11 to 21: the Havenspoorpad and the Oldegaarde

The Smeetslandseweg, Spinozaweg and Pascalweg lead to the Havenspoorpad, which carries the race west for about 4.4 km, from about km 11.6 to km 16. The Krabbendijkestraat, the Slinge and the Kerkwervesingel then bring it to the Oldegaarde, run out and back since 2026: east from about km 17.3, a turn at about km 18.8, and back past the 20 km marker. This double pass replaced a loop round the Zuiderpark, which had few spectators. Halfway falls on the Groene Kruisweg. This is the quietest, flattest part of the race, just below sea level from end to end, and the place to settle into an even rhythm.

Km 21 to 27.3: north to the river and back over the bridge

The Dorpsweg leads north to the Maastunnelplein at about km 22.2, the square over the southern approach of the Maastunnel. The course is back above sea level from about km 21.8, for the first time since km 8.3. The Brielselaan, Putselaan, Hilledijk and Laan op Zuid bring it west along the river, and at about km 26.6 it climbs back onto the Erasmus Bridge. The deck rises from 4.4 m above NAP to 16.2 m at its crown at about km 27.1, 11.8 m in about half a kilometre, the biggest single climb on the course, and it comes down to 5.7 m by about km 27.5. In 2026 every runner had to be over the bridge toward the centre by 2.15pm.

Km 27.3 to 31.6: the centre and the cube houses

Off the bridge, the course runs north along the Schiedamsedijk, makes a short out-and-back on the Westblaak, and turns east along the Blaak. At about km 29.2 it passes under Piet Blom’s cube houses, which stand on a viaduct over the road, with the Markthal just off the course. The Mariniersweg, Vondelweg and Warande and the Boezem streets then lead it north-east, dipping below sea level again at about km 29.9.

Km 31.6 to 38.5: round the Kralingse Plas

The course loops the Kralingse Plas and the Kralingse Bos, a lake and its woods, on the Bosdreef, the Boszoom, the Kralingseweg and the Kralingse Plaslaan. The organiser places km 34, which it calls the man with the hammer, on the far side on the Boszoom, and the lowest point of the race, 4.9 m below sea level, comes at about km 34.6. This is the longest stretch away from the city centre and its crowds. The organiser’s gel zone is here too, at km 34 on its event page and km 35 in its 2026 press kit.

Km 38.5 to the finish: back along the Blaak

The Boezemlaan and the Boezem streets bring the course back the way it came, down the Mariniersweg, and at about km 41.2 it passes under the cube houses a second time on the Blaak, heading west. The road rises gently above sea level for the run-in, and the course turns past the Churchillplein onto the Coolsingel. In 2026 the finish line moved from in front of the city hall south to the Beursplein, beside the World Trade Center, because of works on the Hofplein. The finish is 1.7 m above NAP, nearly 4 m below the start.

The organiser had published the 2027 expo but little else of race week by the end of October 2026. Below is how race day ran in 2026, from the organiser’s event information, with the 2027 details where they exist. Check the page again in the weeks before the race.

The expo and your bib

Bibs are handed out at the Marathon Sport Expo at the Postillion Hotel and Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam: on Friday 9 April 2027 from 10am to 8pm, on Saturday 10 April from 10am to 7pm, and on race morning from 7am to 10am. The Sunday window closes at 10am, the time the first wave started in 2026, so collect on the Friday or Saturday if you can. You need your personal e-ticket, which in 2026 was sent a week before the race, and a physical form of photo ID. Copies, photos and other reproductions of ID are not accepted. Someone else can collect your bib if they bring your physical ID. The organiser says the expo is within walking distance of both Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak stations.

The start and the waves

In 2026 the marathon started on the Schiedamsedijk in five waves, at 10:00, 10:07, 10:14, 10:21 and 10:28. The start area for wave 1 closed at 9.35am, and runners were allowed to start in a later wave than their own. The organiser told marathon runners to take the metro to Beurs, the closest station to the start.

The time limit was 5 hours 30 minutes, counted from the moment the last runner crossed the start line, with halfway to be reached within 2 hours 45 minutes and the Erasmus Bridge crossed toward the centre by 2.15pm.

Bag drop and changing

In 2026 the bag drop was in tents on the Schouwburgplein, open from 8am to 5pm, and only for runners who had chosen it when they registered. Runners could change in De Doelen, entered from the Kruisplein, from 8am to 5pm, but there were no showers.

Pacers and aid

The pacing team runs at target times from 3:00 to 5:00, two pacers per time, in white NN kit with the target time on a sign: 3:00 and 3:10 in wave 1, 3:20 to 3:40 in wave 2, 3:50 in wave 3, 4:00 to 4:20 in wave 4, and 4:30 to 5:00 in wave 5. The organiser says pacers will be back for the coming edition.

Water and an isotonic drink are handed out every 5 km from km 5 to km 40, with tea at km 25 and bananas at km 20. Sponges are at km 12.5, 17.5, 22.5, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5.