Antwerp 10 miles 2027 fueling guide: water stations, waves, and how much fuel 10 miles really needs

The Antwerp 10 Miles is Belgium’s biggest running party. You start on the left bank of the Scheldt, run under the river through the Kennedytunnel, loop through the city centre, and come back under the river through the Waaslandtunnel to finish between the trees and the grandstands. It is 16.09 km, with tunnels instead of hills, and with waves that start from mid-morning to early afternoon.

A 10 mile race sits in an odd place for fueling. It is longer than a 10K, so breakfast matters, but for most runners it is too short for a marathon-style gel plan. This guide gives you the facts the organizer has published, when you will reach each station at your pace, and an honest answer to how much fuel you need. Check the official site again in race week; details for 2027 are not out yet.

Antwerp 10 miles 2027: the confirmed race facts

One thing to watch for 2027: works on the Antwerp premetro will not be finished before the race. The race uses extra trams between the left and right banks, and runners use the Kennedy and Waasland tunnels. Golazo told VRT News there will be a 10 Miles, but that a lot of discussion is still needed. Expect changes to transport and possibly other details, and read the official runners’ guide when it is published.

What is on the Antwerp 10 miles course

The stations use tap water poured into reusable hard cups by volunteers. The organizer asks you to take your time to drink and to throw the cups in the containers right after each station, not on the road. Hard cups are easier to drink from than thin paper ones, but they still spill at pace. Slow down for three or four steps, drink, and move on.

When you will reach each station at your pace

Elapsed times at an even pace, using the 2026 positions. The table shows why a 10 mile plan depends so much on pace: the 1:05 runner reaches the last station after 52 minutes, while the 2:05 runner reaches it after 1:40.

GPS watches lose signal in the tunnels, so distance and pace on your watch can jump. Use elapsed time, not your watch’s kilometre count, to decide when to fuel.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

Here is the honest part. Jeukendrup’s review of carbohydrate during exercise suggests that efforts of about 30 to 75 minutes need only very small amounts of carbohydrate or a mouth rinse, and efforts of one to two hours need up to about 30 g per hour. So for most 10 mile runners the answer is a good breakfast, maybe one gel before the start, and one more only if you will be out for well over an hour.

Racing it: under 70 minutes, your body has enough stored carbohydrate if you ate well the day before and on race morning. A gel 10 to 15 minutes before your wave is a small insurance policy, not a requirement. Some fast runners like a mouthful of sports drink or a mouth rinse late in the race; research suggests the mouth can sense carbohydrate and lift effort even when little is swallowed. What matters more is not starting too fast in the excitement before the first tunnel.

Steady: between 70 and 100 minutes, one gel during the race is enough for most people. Take it at about 40 to 50 minutes with water at 7.1 or 9.5 km, depending on your pace. Add a pre-start gel if your wave is late and breakfast was long ago. Two gels during the race is more than most runners at this pace need, and it raises the risk of a sloshing stomach on the climb out of the last tunnel.

Long day: if you will be out for close to two hours or more, treat it like a short half marathon. Take a gel before the start, then half a gel or a few chews every 25 to 30 minutes, with water at each station. A few mouthfuls of AA Drink at 12.9 km add a little sugar for the last 3 km if you have tried it before. Walking ten steps through a station is fine; it is how you actually drink.

Caffeine, sodium, and the things runners forget

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg about 60 minutes before exercise. For a 70 kg runner, 3 mg per kg is 210 mg. In a 10 mile race, caffeine may help more than carbohydrate does. Use the low end, rehearse it, and count coffee and caffeinated gels together. The organizer also asks runners to keep caffeine within recommended limits.
• Sodium: in a race of an hour or so, most runners do not need extra salt. Heavy, salty sweaters in a warm afternoon wave can add a tested salt product or rely on the sports drink at 12.9 km.
• Your own bottle: the stations refill your bottle or hydration bladder, so a small handheld bottle is a good option for late waves on a warm day.
• Gels: there are none on the course, so bring what you plan to use and tear the top before a station.

Hydration by weather

Mid-April in Antwerp averages a high near 14 to 15 °C (about 58 °F) and a low near 6 °C (about 43 °F), with a wet day about one time in four. The early waves run in cool morning air. The late waves start between 12:20 and 14:00 and run in the warmest part of the day. The organizer’s own guide warns runners to watch out for the first spring warmth. World Athletics warns against drinking beyond sweat losses; in a race this short, overdrinking is a bigger risk than running dry.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one warm run before race week.
• Do not drink a full bottle in the start area just because you are waiting.
• Seek help for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast for a 10:30 to 14:00 wave

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework in the World Athletics consensus. With ten waves spread over three and a half hours, your wave decides the plan. Early waves eat a normal breakfast. Late waves eat breakfast and then a light, familiar early lunch.

• Waves at 10:30 to 11:30: breakfast at about 7:00 to 8:00, such as toast with jam, a bread roll with honey, porridge, or a bagel, about 1 to 2 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• Waves at 11:55 to 14:00: a normal breakfast, then a light, low-fibre snack or early lunch two to three hours before your wave, such as white bread, rice cakes, or a banana.
• Ten to fifteen minutes before your wave: an optional gel, only if used in training.
• Keep caffeine at the dose and timing you know; race morning is not the day to double it.
• Plan the trip to the left bank early. Transport will be busy, and the 2027 plans may change because of the premetro works.

Course tactics: where Antwerp tempts you

• The start on the left bank: a view of the Antwerp skyline across the Scheldt and a big, excited crowd. Do not race the first kilometre. Skip the station at 2.1 km unless the day is warm.
• The Kennedytunnel: you run down under the river and climb out the other side. The climb out is the closest thing this course has to a hill. Keep the effort even, not the pace.
• The right bank: through the Bolivartunnel, the Zuidpark, past the KMSKA museum, and around Marnixplaats. Crowds and music everywhere. This is where steady runners take their one gel, with water at 7.1 or 9.5 km.
• Kloosterstraat, the river quays, and the MAS: the last stretch on the right bank, with sports drink at 12.9 km.
• The Waaslandtunnel back to the left bank: the last climb out of a tunnel, then the finish between the trees and the grandstands. Your fuel should already be in.

The rehearsal that makes the plan real

Use one long run and one race-pace session as rehearsals. Run the long one at the time of day of your wave, with the same breakfast or early lunch and the same gel, if you plan to use one. In the race-pace session, run 8 to 12 km at goal pace and practise taking a gel and a few sips from a cup without stopping. If you are in a late wave, rehearse eating a light lunch and running two to three hours later, because that is the part most runners never test.

Keep it simple. If a gel at race pace makes you feel sick, drop it; for a race this short, a good meal before is enough for most runners. If you get hungry in late waves, move your snack a little later. The best plan is the one you can follow while climbing out of the Waaslandtunnel.

Race-week Antwerp checklist

• Check the official site for the 2027 runners’ guide, the course, and any transport changes.
• Confirm your wave and work out breakfast or lunch backward from it.
• Decide: no gel, a pre-start gel, or one gel during the race, and pack only that plus one spare.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out; late waves on a sunny day need more water, not more gels.
• Do not try a new drink or gel because it is handed out in the village.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Baloise Antwerp 10 Miles: Runners’ Guide (2026 edition)GolazoAccessed October 2, 2026; station kilometres, AA Drink at 12.9 km, reusable cups, bottle refills, ten waves from 10:30 to 14:00, last finishers at 16:30, finish refreshments
2. 2Baloise Antwerp 10 Miles: CourseGolazoRoute through the Kennedytunnel, Bolivartunnel, Zuidpark, KMSKA, Marnixplaats, the quays, the MAS, and the Waaslandtunnel
3. 3Baloise Antwerp 10 Miles: HomeGolazoRace-day schedule of the 2026 edition; the 2027 schedule is not yet published
4. 4Kopzorgen voor handelaars en Antwerp 10 Miles nu premetrotunnel 3 maanden langer dicht blijftVRT NWSPlanned 2027 date of April 17 and 18; Golazo confirms the race will happen while premetro works continue
5. 5A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup), PMID 24791914Carbohydrate needs by event length, mouth rinse for short efforts
6. 6Nutrition for Athletics: IAAF Consensus StatementWorld AthleticsPre-race meal, race fueling by event length, and hydration guidance
7. 7International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN, PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg dosing guidance
8. 8Average Weather in April in AntwerpenWeather SparkMid-April temperature and wet-day averages