Always further, always away. Austria’s big hit in running is making history again. The Vienna City Marathon (VCM) At the weekend, a record number of runners were once again moving at Austria’s largest running event to date. The event is scheduled for various competitions on Saturday and Sunday 49,000 registrations. In the previous year there were an unprecedented 46,000.
For the full marathon distance on Sunday they are 13.000. Again Half marathon (14,000) and the relay race (10,800) it’s been sold out for half a year now. The Saturday competitions with the 5 km, children’s and youth runs and the Inclusion Run continue to be very popular with a total of 8,700 registrations. In order to give even more runners than usual a marathon feeling on Sunday, there will be a 10 km run from the Reichsbrücke to the finish of all competitions at the Burgtheater for the first time. 2,500 registered for the premiere. Late registrations are only possible for the 5 km and the inclusion run.
38,000 as a logistical challenge The new 10 km competition will start at 8 a.m., one hour before the marathon. More participants in the main event than the current 38,000 are hardly possible for logistical reasons. In order to guide the masses of runners safely through the city with some critical points in the initial phase, the start is staggered in six blocks. The last one will be let off at 9:33 a.m., when the fastest have already covered 11 km.
It remains to be seen whether sporting records will also be achieved at the VCM. Keeping the course records Samwel Mailu (2:05:08 hours/2023) and Vibian Chepkurui (2:20:59/2022). The man who lives in the USA wants to beat his own ÖLV record of 2:09:53 on his Vienna debut Aaron Gruen.