The Linz marathon is targeting the women’s record

After the men’s track record last year, the women’s track and field event is the focus this time. He must fall at the running event on April 6th, was the tenor at a press conference on Wednesday in Linz.

Last year, six runners broke the course record – which had been in place since 2007. The fastest among them was Ethiopian Fikre Bekele with 2:06:13 hours.

This year “we will do everything to break the women’s record”, announced organizer Günther Weidlinger. The aim is to beat the mark of 2:30:27 hours set by Kenyan Brenda Cherotich Kiprono in 2021. According to Weidlinger, the goal is “2:27 or 2:28” hours. It is still unclear which top runners will start, “we are just recruiting”.

Registrations are higher than last year

Last year, the organizers counted a good 10,000 participants. With 4,500 registrations so far, it is currently 20 percent ahead of the last two years. The athletes are happy that the competition is taking place again as usual at the start of the season in spring, says Weidlinger. The marathon team also prefers this date, because an autumn marathon means a lot of organizational work in summer, which is often more difficult due to vacations.

The start of the marathon on April 6th is again on the Voestbrücke – albeit on the other track than last year due to construction – and staggered according to competitions. The handbikers start at 8:00 a.m., followed by the inline skaters, the quarter marathon and finally at 9:30 a.m. the half, relay and actual marathon over the full distance of 42.195 km.

The junior marathon for young runners takes place the day before in the Lissfeld sports park, where distances of between 60 meters and 2.1 km are run, depending on age. Since last year, people have been working on making the Linz marathon more sustainable. From 2024 it should then take place as a certified green event, according to the plan.

Video: European champion wrestler as a star guest at the marathon kickoff in Linz