Some appear in the TipsArena already perfectly equipped in running shoes and sportswear and fill up their carbohydrate stores with pasta dishes. The others use the start number handout as a family outing: Preparations for the marathon weekend are in full swing. “The biggest challenge for me is the coordination on the day of the marathon. After the runners have started at 9.30 a.m., they go straight to the finish line to organize everything there for the winner to finish. We hope for a record,” says OK- Team leader Julia Kitzmüller.

While in the background numerous boxes are being filled with bananas, drinks and marathon rolls for the runners and are being distributed to the nine refreshment stations along the 42.195-kilometre route, a few spontaneous people are still busy filling out the registration forms in the TipsArena. The exhibitors at the Marathon Expo will also be consulted. Whether for the quarter marathon, the half marathon, as a relay race or the full distance – the euphoria for the running spectacle on Sunday is clearly noticeable at the exhibition.

Around 10,000 runners are registered for the weekend competitions – including the more than 1,100 participants in the Junior Marathon, which takes place today, Saturday, on the Lissfeld in Linz. “We are pleased that more participants have registered for the marathon again this year – especially the little ones. Overall, there are around 20 percent more registrations than for the marathon last year,” says Kitzmüller.

finish line in sight

“Good luck on Sunday,” says a lady from the marathon team and hands Valerie Lampalzer and Raphaela Hettegger the participant bags. “We recently completed a mountain run together and are now starting the half marathon. But we haven’t set a specific time,” says Hettegger. “And we both just bought new running shoes, we still have to break them in – but we’d better do that after this half marathon,” says Lampalzer.

Yesterday, Sabrina and Jürgen Wolfinger used the bib numbers for a family outing. The couple from Engerwitzdorf has taken part in every running show in Linz so far. Sabrina starts at the quarter marathon, which she wants to complete within an hour. Her husband Jürgen has set himself the goal of running the half marathon in one hour and 30 minutes on Sunday. The two will be supported by their daughters Julia and Lisa, who will be standing on the running track and loudly cheering on their parents.

• Linz Marathon: New course record as a big goal

While the last runners can still register spontaneously for this year’s marathon today, preparations for the next one, which will take place in April 2023, are already underway in the background. “We are currently working in parallel, because after the marathon is before the marathon,” says Kitzmüller.