The Vienna City Marathon is an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

race over the classic distance of 42.195 km held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

since 1984.

History

The first edition was held on with a total of 794 competitors. It is Austria's largest

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

event and the 2010 edition had record participation with 32,940 runners from 108 nations taking part in the day's races. The race has been organised by Wolfgang Konrad since 1989. The race day's events also include a marathon team relay event, a 4.2 km

fun run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pro ...

and a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

. In 2011,

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

ran the fastest ever time on Austrian soil for the half marathon distance. The 2012 edition saw Haile and

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...

engage in a novel half marathon race, with Radcliffe receiving a head start 7:52 minutes (the difference between the two athletes personal bests). Gebrselassie crossed the finish line 3 minutes and 19 seconds ahead of Radcliffe. Due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the 2020 edition of the race was cancelled and the 2021 edition was postponed to .

Course

Vienna City Marathon 2015 - Reichsbrücke (3)

The route starts at the

Vienna International Centre The Vienna International Centre (VIC) is the campus and building complex hosting the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV; in de-AT, Büro der Vereinten Nationen in Wien). It is colloquially also known as UNO City. Overview The VIC, designed ...

, traverses the

Reichsbrücke The Reichsbrücke (German for ''Imperial Bridge'') is a major bridge in Vienna, linking Mexikoplatz in Leopoldstadt with the Donauinsel in Donaustadt across the Danube. The bridge is used by 50,000 vehicles per day and carries six lanes of tra ...

and the traffic junction

Praterstern Praterstern is a major square in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria . The square features the column to Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. Located and named after it are the Wien Praterstern railway station, and the connecting Prater ...

on the left side of the

Donaukanal The Donaukanal ("Danube Canal") is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel (since 1598), within the city of Vienna, Austria. It is long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere Stadt, ...

, then runs alongside the

Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where ...

until reaching the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

. After crossing the left bank of the

Wien river The Wien is a river that flows through Austria's capital Vienna. Geography The river Wien is long, of which are within the city. Its drainage basin covers an area of , both in the city and in the neighbouring Vienna Woods. Its source lies in ...

Wienzeile The Wienzeile ('Vienna Row') is a street in Vienna, which originated in the course of the regulation of the Vienna River between 1899 and 1905 along the river's banks. It is divided into the Rechte Wienzeile (Right Vienna Row) and the Linke Wienzei ...

to the

Schönbrunn Palace Schönbrunn Palace (german: Schloss Schönbrunn ; Central Bavarian: ''Schloss Scheenbrunn'') was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning “beautiful spring”) has its root ...

, the route goes back to the

Heldenplatz Heldenplatz (german: Heroes' Square) is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adj ...

(via the Mariahilferstraße) where the half-marathon finishes. The full-marathon runners, however, are continuing past the Rathaus to the

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. ...

and to Friedensbrücke. The track continues via the left side of the

and the

to reach the Prater again. After having passed the

Ernst-Happel-Stadion Ernst-Happel-Stadion (), known as Praterstadion until 1992, sometimes also called Wiener-Stadion, is a football stadium in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. With 50,865 seats, it is the largest stadium in Austria. It wa ...

and the Lusthaus, the route leads over the Franzensbrücke to the Ringstraße where the runners reach the finish at the Heldenplatz.

Winners

Key: : Course record : Austrian championship race

Marathon

Half marathon

Notes

References

;List of winners
Vienna Spring Marathon

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

(2009-04-20). Retrieved on 2010-02-17.

External links

Official website

Every participant in a video {{IAAF Gold Label Marathons in Austria

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Recurring sporting events established in 1984 1984 establishments in Austria