Five Fit Girl Reasons to Run Rotterdam

The cat’s out of the bag: Rotterdam, the second largest city in tiny Netherlands, surpassed Amsterdam in terms of coolness. The Rough Guide, New York Times and the Guardian have mentioned my raw and rough hometown as uber cool and must-visit city. Almost all rave about its architecture, its new neighborhoods and its fresh bars and restaurants. Oh, and did you know Rotterdam is the base of #FITGIRLCODE HQ too? All that should be enough to give my hometown a visit. But wait. There’s more.

Rotterdam is a runner friendly city, with broad sidewalks to run on, asphalted bike roads to share and marks for popular running routes. Several bridges crossing the river can be used for an urban hill challenge. So even when you’re just training, there are many routes available. The city has a pretty packed race calendar, too. Here are my 5 favorite running events which would help any running loving Fit Girl to run this hip town...

1. April –Marathon Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Marathon is a racing weekend with the Full Monty event on Sunday. The course is known as one of the fastest in Europe. If you don’t want to run the 26.2 on your own, you can know run the official event as a team of four. The perfect BFFF event, right?

2. June – Ladies Run Rotterdam

Release your inner pink lady with this female exclusive running event! Last year, they added 7.5k to the event, so whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced runner, there’s sure to be a fitting racing distance for you! Ladies Run caters to us female runners with loads of shopping, a stylish event t-shirt and goodie bag and more practically: lots of toilets on the event site. Even if pink isn’t your favorite color, you will love the happy vibe of this running event. (source: Ladies Run)

3. July – Rotterdam Ekiden

If you love your BFFF running crew, you’ll go ballistic about this marathon in team relay. Ekiden is the 26.2 mile distance divided in stints of 3, 6, 3, 6, 3 and 5.2 miles. Set in Kralingse Bos, the little brother of New York’s Central Park, your support crew only need to cover a small distance to cheer you on. And while you and the others are running, your friends and family can prep the post-run BBQ in the park. And to throw in a bonus: the best dressed crew is up for a prize. Costume-running, yay! I honestly don’t think running a marathon could get any better than this.

4. October – Electric Run

I really hope that this event will return to Rotterdam, because I couldn’t think of any other Dutch town where this fun run would be more at home. With a course laid out next to the river bank, every mile had been marked with a special lighting and musical stage. And with no time registration, it’s all about this late night (running) experience. If you want more of a challenge, try the Harbour Run in this same month. This obstacle course of 6k is set in an old harbor disctrict between containers, warehouses and cranes. (source: fjuze.com)

5. December – Bruggenloop (Bridge Run)

There are many bridges crossing the river Maas in Rotterdam, and this 15k run crosses many of them. The race starts late afternoon, so you’ll be finishing in the dark. The race organization hand out lights and it’s a wonderful sight seeing all those dancing lights crossing the river and bouncing alongside the river bank. With 15k, it’s a perfect challenging distance to keep you on your healthy track during the holiday season. Or the perfect excuse for the Dutch ‘oliebol’  or two (a cousin of the doughnut) after having finished.

So, no matter when you want to go and visit Rotterdam, there ‘s surely a running event with which you could run this town!