The Rotterdam Marathon often produces very fast times, as the course is flat and weather conditions are typically favorable.

Between April 1985 and September 1998 the world best time had been set at Rotterdam, by Carlos Lopes and Belayneh Dinsamo respectively.

The 2007 event was stopped after three and a half hours because of extreme weather conditions; the KNMI meteorological institute described conditions as "unseasonal" and race day was the warmest ever recorded in the city for the month of April, with temperatures reaching a high of 34 °C.

[2][3] William Kipsang's 2008 course record of 2:05:49 was broken the following year by Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai who both ran the third fastest time ever for the distance, clocking 2:04:27.

[4][5] In 2012, the IAAF Gold Label was awarded to the event, after satisfying the last condition in April that year: the requirement that the race could be followed live on television in at least five countries.