Photo by Andrés Barrios via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Netherlands › Amsterdam › Races
Dam tot Damloop
10 English miles, 5K in Amsterdam, normally held in September. A mixed 5K and shorter course — Amsterdam to Zaandam through the IJ tunnel; one of the largest road races in Europe.
De Dam tot Damloop in het kort
| Afstanden | 10 English miles, 5K |
|---|---|
| Hoofdafstand | 5 km (5K and shorter) |
| Vindt plaats in | September |
| Parcours | Gemengd |
| Stad | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Typische omstandigheden | 19.3°C high / 12.1°C low, rain on ~43% of days |
Amsterdam to Zaandam through the IJ tunnel; one of the largest road races in Europe.
Inschrijven voor de Dam tot Damloop
Entry fees, closing dates and start times are set by the organiser and change every year, so they are not reproduced here — a stale deadline is worse than none. The organiser’s own site and its social channels are the authoritative source for the current year, and are where entry opens.
What is stable, and what this page covers: the month the race is held, what the course is like, the conditions you should expect, and how long a build-up the distance needs.
Het weer bij eerdere edities van de Dam tot Damloop
Across the last ten years, Amsterdam in September has averaged a daily high of 19.3°C and a low of 12.1°C, with at least a millimetre of rain on about 43% of days.
These are recorded observations for the race month averaged over ten years, not a forecast and not a single past race day — race dates move, so one day’s figures would mislead. Source: Open-Meteo historical archive.
Zo bereid je je voor op de Dam tot Damloop
How long to train
Build for 6 to 8 weeks from a base you already hold rather than from nothing. For 5K and shorter the block should peak at a longest run of 8–10 km, reached at least two weeks before race day so there is time to taper. Ten days of reduced volume is enough of a taper at this distance; keep one short session at race pace in the final week.
Training for this course
The course mixes surfaces and gradients, so build a training block that does the same rather than repeating one flat loop. Vary where you run week to week so nothing on race day is unfamiliar.
Conditions in September
Conditions are usually good for racing: highs average 19.3°C and lows 12.1°C in September, which is close to ideal for 5K and shorter running. Dress for the temperature about ten degrees warmer than it actually is, since you will warm up within two kilometres. Rain is common — around 43% of days that month see at least a millimetre — so do some training runs wet and know which kit does not chafe.
Race week
Sleep matters most two nights before, not the night before, so protect that one. Keep eating normally with a modest tilt toward carbohydrate, lay out kit the night before, and do nothing new: no new shoes, no new breakfast, no new socks. Plan to arrive at the start with time to spare — 5K and shorter fields move slowly through bag drop and security.
Afstanden en waar de wedstrijd loopt
- 10 English miles
- 5K — 5 km
The pin marks Amsterdam city centre, the area the Dam tot Damloop starts and finishes in. This is not the course line: the route is set by the organiser and changes between editions, so the official course map for the current year is theirs to publish. The routes below are for training on the same roads.
Train on these roads: 10K routes in Amsterdam · long runs in Amsterdam · GPS art routes
Andere wedstrijden in Amsterdam
- TCS Amsterdam Marathon — Marathon, Half marathon, 8K, October