Dam tot Damloop on 20 September: see your runner off in Amsterdam, then a 12-minute train gets you to the Zaandam finish in time

On Sunday 20 September the 40th NN Dam tot Damloop sends 46,000 runners from Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam through the IJtunnel, which opens to runners only for this race, and 16.1 kilometres on to Zaandam. The organiser counts more than 250,000 supporters along the route every year; watching costs nothing, and the NN Dam tot Dam Park beside the finish is free for everyone. Both the 5 and the 10 English Mile races are sold out, so for friends and family the real question is whether you can wave someone off at the start and still be at the finish when they arrive. The organiser answers it itself: the train from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandam takes 12 minutes, and from the station it is an 800-metre walk to the course, close to the finish. Below are the times, the travel advice and the limits that can spoil the day, plus a sum you can fill in.

• What you see: the route dives straight into the IJtunnel, the link between the centre and Amsterdam-Noord that opens to runners only during this race. It then passes Buiksloterdijk, Landsmeerderdijk and Kadoelenweg, where residents cheer from their doorsteps every year, follows the bus lane beside the A8 into Zaandam and runs along the Zuiddijk to the river Zaan. For the 40th edition the organiser has split the course into five decades. (source 1)
• When: on Saturday evening 19 September the 8-kilometre Damloop by night runs from 19:30 to 22:30, starting in Zaandam; on Sunday 20 September the main race starts in waves from 09:19, the whole event runs until 16:30, and the start window on Prins Hendrikkade closes at 14:05. (source 3, source 2)
• Who it suits: anyone cheering on a colleague, friend or relative, and families who want to watch with children; on Sunday morning there is also a children's race at Molenwijk in Amsterdam-Noord, starting between 09:00 and 09:15. People living near the route should check the road closures and temporary no-parking streets the organiser publishes. (source 2, source 6)
• Before you go: the organiser advises the train, and NS runs longer trains that day with extra stops at Zaandam; do not take a bike on these trains, as there is barely any room for one. If you travel home late, check your last train first, because not every station is still served late at night. (source 4)

The sum worth doing is whether you can make the finish. Your runner reaches it at their start time + 16.1 × their pace in minutes per kilometre. You reach it at the same start time + your walk from the start to Amsterdam Centraal + the wait + 12 minutes on the train + the 800-metre walk from the station. An example: at 6 minutes per kilometre, 16.1 × 6 = 96.6 minutes, about 1 hour 37; as long as you are on a train within an hour of the start, you will be there first. The faster your runner, the less time you have, so put in your own numbers before deciding how long to stay at the start.

This is not a discount; watching is free anyway, and the only thing you pay for is your own train ticket. If Sunday does not work, the Damloop by night starts on Vermiljoenweg in Zaandam on Saturday, in nine waves between 19:30 and 20:58, and can be watched too. (source 7)

Where

Start Prins Hendrikkade, Amsterdam・finish Peperstraat, Zaandam

When

Sunday 20 September, 09:19–16:30

Price

Free along the route and in the finish park

Note

Race entries sold out・No dogs in the finish park・Cars in no-parking streets are towed

Hokimi field note: to see the same runner twice, ask for their start time and usual pace, then agree to meet on the stretch of course you reach walking from Zaandam station rather than just saying "see you at the finish".