After a three-year break, the Salzburg Marathon returns today, on Sunday 15th May. Known as a worldwide centre for classic music, the event is known as the ‘running festival of Mozart’s hometown’, and it is a colourful programme of ten different events.
The Austrian National Marathon Championships take centre stage. National record holder Eva Wutti hopes to qualify for the European Championships in Munich. She needs to break the time of 2:32:00 hours. In the men‘s race, Mario Bauernfeind, Isaac Kosgei and Georg Schrank are among the contenders for victory and the championship title. While the elite field consists of Austrian runners, the event as a whole is a huge international get-together, with runners from 60 countries toeing the start line.
The comeback of the Salzburg Marathon for its 19th edition has special significance for race director Johannes Langer, who says, “Running brings people together. Finally we can garnish the desire to run with the special experience factor again – and all this at an atmospheric, international running event.”
The Salzburg Marathon course records stand at 2:14:16, set by Eliud Kiplagat in 2013, and 2:35:05 by Risper Kimayo in 2011. While the men’s record looks safe this year, the women’s record could come under threat, as Austrian favourite Eva Wutti has a personal best of 2:30:43 from 2020.
The route leads through Salzburg’s historic old town, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for 25 years, and touches the green surroundings outside of town. It is a flat and AIMS certified course that is officially recognized as a qualification event for international championships. The finish area is located in front of the world-famous Grosses Festspielhaus (Large
Festival Hall) with a breathtaking view on Fortress Hohensalzburg.
In addition to the marathon, the Sparkasse Half Marathon, the Hervis-10K Salzburg CityRun and the Hyundai Relay Marathon are also part of the weekend. Among the participants in the relay is Olympic athlete Peter Herzog. The Austrian marathon record holder (2:10:06) is preparing for a start at the 10,000 m European Cup at the end of May. The Salzburg Women’s Run (5.5 km) which took place on Friday as well as the CUP&CINO breakfast run, children‘s runs and the Inclusion Run on Saturday are also part of the running festival.
