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In 2023 I have been running a half marathon every month in a new country. Why I set this goal remains a mystery (even to me), but the outcome has been one of the most amazing years I have ever lived. Read on for my review of my third race this year: The CPC Den Haag Half Marathon.

Despite running so many half marathons this year, the CPC Den Haag stood out. With a relatively flat course, large crowds along the entire route, and frequent water stops I highly enjoyed this race. 

If you’re looking for someone to plan a vacation around the CPC Den Haag Half Marathon for you, look no further. I offer trip consultations, tailored travel itineraries, and end-to-end trip planning. I even support running clubs traveling in large groups.

I do have one disclaimer for new runners looking to do the CPC half marathon. This race has one of the fastest time limits I have seen. Runners only have two hours and thirty minutes to complete the entire course, a typical race gives 3 hours to 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete the course.

Overview of the CPC Half Marathon

Den Haag is one of the less talked about cities in the Netherlands, and as such I was prepared for the race itself to be smaller. But it wasn’t! This race had better crowds than some of the largest races I have done this year (looking at you Edinburgh Half Marathon). 

The start time for this race was also unusual. Instead of an early morning start, it began at 2:30 PM. My other complaint would lie with the starting waves. Most races have small waves every 3-5 minutes, this race did four large waves every 15 minutes. As such I felt the first section through the city was very congested with runners. But this would not stop me from doing this race again.

Course Breakdown

This race is called the City, Pier, City race to represent the route the runners take, but I felt a more accurate name would be Embassies, Apartments, Pier, Embassies. You don’t venture very far into the city center, staying in smaller neighborhoods. There are still beautiful sights to see during the entire race. Runners pass many embassies, the Court of Justice, the beach, and then more embassies. 

The only hill on the course is located on the beach. This comes near the end of the race, so save a bit of energy for that, it did catch me off guard.

Crowds at the CPC Den Haag Half Marathon

Den Haag has one of the best running cultures I have ever seen. The crowds along this entire course were highly enthusiastic and never let the energy drop. People were cheering, children were asking for high fives, and there were great signs (I think – I can’t read Dutch). 

They also had lots of families set up outside with additional water, snacks, and music for the runners. This was my fastest race so far this year, and while part of it was certainly a fear of not meeting the time limit, I think a larger part of my success had to do with the amazing vibes. The people in Den Haag showed up for this race in such a beautiful way that I was feeding off their energy for 13.1 miles.

Weather in Den Haag

March in the Netherlands is a bit of a mixed bag. With lots of rainy days, this year’s race was lucky. It was a bit chilly and a little windy along the water, but it was dry. If I was in charge of this half marathon I would honestly push it just a few weeks further into the spring. 

Where to Stay in Den Haag

While staying in the race city is always a good idea, the benefit of the Netherlands is that it’s such a small country and you can easily stay in a different city and travel back and forth to the race. That being said, I split my trip between a few cities and did spend the night in Den Haag before the race.

If you want to sign up for the CPC Half marathon, please click here, or if you haven’t decided on a half marathon read some of my other race reviews in Portugal and Italy.