Saturday events provide a fantastic start to VCM weekend

A record total of over 7,000 runners participated in various events on Vienna’s central Ring Roads on the afternoon and the evening before the 41st edition of Sunday’s Vienna City Marathon. All these events, which have the same finish as the marathon, had a charity aspect as well.

5k road races are establishing themselves more and more in international road running. With the introduction of official records at this distance the event has gained significance. Accordingly Vienna’s 5k race on the eve of the marathon classic is flourishing as well. With 3,300 entries organisers registered almost double the number of runners than for the first edition a year ago. 

Youngster Marcel Tobler won the race with a 14:22 course record from fellow-Austrian Raphael Siebenhofer who crossed the line in 14:27. Australia’s Sam Blake was third with 14:51. Lili Anna Vindics-Tóth of Hungary took the women’s race in 15:57. Austrian athletes Julia Millonig and Sandra Schauer were second and third with personal bests of 15:58 and 16:31 respectively.

The two children’s races - The Daily Mile 800 und 1,600 - also recorded high entry figures. Around 3,500 young runners took the opportunity to run through the city centre and into the impressive finish of one of the world’s major marathons. The Coca-Cola Inclusion Run was organised in Vienna for the seventh time. It had a couple of hundred participants.

Including all events the final entry figure for the 41st edition of the Vienna City Marathon is 42,625 from 143 nations. Among them are 10,024 marathon runners. It is the third highest entry figure in the history of the race.