Covid Update Vienna City Marathon 2021
#TogetherWeRun2021
Health comes first
Do we want to hold the Vienna City Marathon 2021? Yes.
We are preparing the Vienna City Marathon (VCM) on 11 and 12 September 2021 with full energy. From the organiser team's point of view, all signs are "green" and ready for #TogetherWeRun. The organisational planning and the coordination with the authorities are very far along or already completed in many areas. All our sponsors are behind the event. The large team of our staff and helpers is ready. The interest and anticipation among you, the runners, is great - thank you very much!
Has the official approval process already been completed? Not yet.
The decision on whether the Vienna City Marathon will be approved will be made by the Viennese health authorities in the light of the overall pandemic situation. Our tailor-made Covid prevention concept, which is accompanied by specialist physicians, is in final coordination and will be submitted to MA 15 (Vienna health authority) in the next few weeks.
Are we confident that the VCM will take place? Yes.
Running is basically low-risk. It is our conviction that a major marathon can be run responsibly and with low risk. As a professional organiser we are aware that every event needs a specific and differentiated approach that takes into account possible future developments and does not operate exclusively with the minimum standards. To this end, we are constantly in direct contact with the responsible authorities, with experts and with other major international marathon organisers. Our prevention concept is in final coordination. We will of course provide clear and timely information about concrete measures.
Why you can come to the start with a good feeling
Health comes first
- The Vienna City Marathon is a sports event whose central effect is to promote and bring out health and well-being. Participants take care of their health on their own initiative and prepare for weeks and months to be fit and healthy for the race.
- The participants in the Vienna City Marathon are on average 41.5 years old (analysis of registration figures). 63.2 percent have a university/college degree (Bässler 2018). Based on this structural data, we can assume a high vaccination rate.
- The VCM team has strong expertise in organising events under Covid rules. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have held eight officially approved running events in popular and elite sports. The experience from this shows that the runners are comprehensively prepared to support and implement specific regulations in a responsible manner.
- A healthy lifestyle and preventive health care have been very important at VCM for years. We actively raise awareness and provide information for a responsible approach to one's own body. Services such as the VCM Medical Center, the VCM Training Zone for health-oriented running and our free VCM Training Runs underline this.
We have space
- The Vienna City Marathon will again motivate many runners to participate in 2021. However, the field will be significantly smaller than in previous years. Capacity utilisation is expected to be 60% compared to previous years. In addition, the space available will be significantly increased in many places - at the start, the food stations, the relay handover points and the cloakroom drop-off and return.
- The participants in the Vienna City Marathon are never all together in one place and are always on the move. Before the start on Sunday morning, a maximum of 6 x 3,000 people will be spread over an area of 120,000 m². More than 6 m² of space is available for each person at this stage. The start is organised with allocated time slots according to a "keep in flow" principle, where participants keep sufficient distance from each other. The event does not produce situations with high mixing, fluctuation and physical proximity as at festivals or in clubs. Likewise, it does not produce static large crowds like in stadiums or at concerts, where people are close to each other for long periods of time.
In principle low-risk
- The sport of running is contactless and orderly in one direction only. A distance of one metre to other people is only undercut by seconds, even during the run (easurements with Community Distance Marker at a test event of the Austrian Women's Run, September 2020).
- The event takes place outdoors. Infections through aerosol transmission are extremely rare in this setting.
- All participants are registered personally with their contact details and are regularly informed about the event and the organisational process by direct mailings. At the race itself, all participants will have a personalised bib number including an integrated RFID chip for timekeeping. Contact tracing is possible.
- Running events do not produce uncontrollable situations caused by the influence of alcohol or rioting. They are characterised by togetherness, respect, consideration and positive attitudes.
- As a matter of principle, running events take place according to clear rules. Runners are also used to following Covid-19 rules, as several running events have taken place in Austria since summer 2020, where the rules were followed with great sensitivity.
Facts: Almost "No Covid"
- In Austria, there has been no known case of Covid-19 transmission at running events run according to Covid-19 rules since the pandemic began.
- A test event of the London Marathon in May 2021 without distance rules and masks but with spectators did not produce a case of Covid infection in over 1,000 participating amateur runners.
- A compilation by the Japanese Athletics Federation of 74 running events with 25,936 participants and 8,240 officials held between May 2020 and April 2021 recorded exactly one case of Covid-19 transmission.
We work for
- an inspiring and safe Vienna City Marathon
- based on health promotion, scientific evidence and legal regulations
- for all people involved.
