Amsterdam Marathon growing bigger by the year

The 2011 Amsterdam Marathon looks set to break all its own records, the organisers announced in a press release on Monday.

The International Marathon takes place on Sunday, 16 October and currently 10,000 runners have entered for the various distances to be contested on the day.

Organisers Le Champion expect a final figure of around 33,000 participants this year, making it one of Europe’s biggest running events.

Last year, Le Champion spoke of its ambition to have 37,000 participants on the start line of the various distances on the day by 2014. It now appears that this is a realistic goal. In 2009 25,700 runners took part and last year that number increased to 31,555 last year.

The growth in the number of foreign participants taking part is also striking, particularly from across Europe.

At the beginning of May 2010, 3,300 overseas runners had entered for last year’s races. At this moment almost 5,000 entries have arrived and as many as 12,500 foreigners from 75 countries will come to Amsterdam on 16 October.

The organisers expect 11,000 to start the classic marathon distance, which will incorporate the Dutch championships, making it by far the largest marathon in the Netherlands. In addition, there are five other events over a variety of distances.