Keep moving: Linz will once again become the capital of running

More than 11,000 athletes are already lacing up their running shoes, the organizers are preparing everything for the forthcoming bib number issue: the city of Linz will be hosting a “Festival of Joy of Movement” for the 21st time this weekend, as Wolfgang Scheibner from LIVA describes the Oberbank Linz Donau Marathon , before.

After the marathon took place in autumn two years in a row due to corona-related postponements, there is now a return to the spring date. “And it will again be a running festival that extends far beyond the borders of Upper Austria. The marathon has now become a must for us,” says Mayor Klaus Luger, who will not start in a marathon relay this year due to injury.

What makes the Linz marathon a fixed point in the running calendar? “From the youngest to the top athletes: Everyone can show their enthusiasm for running in Linz,” says Deputy Mayor Karin Hörzing. Marie-Louise Schnurpfeil from the management of the Linz Tourist Association adds: “The many years of tradition speak clearly for the quality that the marathon in Linz brings with it. That’s why we have resumed the cooperation.”

Freeway closure from 4 a.m

Four miles of music, DJs, four speed zones and several music groups and ensembles await on the 42.195-kilometer route in Linz and support the marathon participants. The emergency services – such as the Red Cross and the police – are on duty around the clock in the state capital on Sunday to get the runners safely to the finish line.

From 4 a.m. on Sunday, the Mühlkreisautobahn (A7) will be closed in both directions between the Prinz-Eugen-Straße and Dornach junctions, large-scale detour routes around the Linz city area are already planned. The organizers advise participants arriving by car to use the “Plasser & Theurer” car park in the Industriezeile and to take the shuttle bus to the starting area. This runs every 7.5 minutes. “We make sure that we keep the obstructions in road traffic as low as possible,” says organizer Scheibner.

Checking the weather forecast for the day of the marathon is now at the top of Günther Weidlinger’s daily agenda: “But we are very confident that despite the current forecast there will be ideal running conditions at the weekend.”