Championship decision at the Salzburg Marathon – salzburg.ORF.at
Sports
The city of Salzburg is now all about the marathon. After a two-year break, the running event is taking place again. The Austrian national marathon championship title is also awarded.
In the absence of the Olympic starters, a three-way battle with favorite Isaac Kosgei is emerging for the men. Eva Wutti will win the women’s title and European Championship limit. Salzburg’s Peter Herzog is supposed to support the Carinthian as a pacemaker: “That’s incredibly important,” Wutti said before the race. “As a hobby runner, you can’t imagine that. Because I know that Peter WILL keep his pace very consistently, I can concentrate on myself in the first half – on cooling and nutrition – just follow him and suppress the pain as best I can.” With a time of less than 2:32 hours, she was “absolutely satisfied”, added Wutti.
A quarter fewer participants than in 2019
A total of around 6,000 runners registered with the organizers – a good 1,000 of them for the marathon distance. The rest complete the half marathon, the 10 km or the relay race. At the last marathon in 2019 there were 8,500 starters. The field has also shrunk by a good quarter in the two-year coronavirus break.
The pandemic and the reduced number of participants make the event a big tightrope act, says marathon organizer Hannes Langer. That’s another reason why savings were made on expenses for top African runners this year. The focus is on the Austrian state championship.
Extensive traffic delays
The start of the ten-kilometer run was at 8.45 a.m. in Griesgasse. The marathon and half marathon started at 9:00 a.m. Because of the run, there are extensive traffic obstructions in the city of Salzburg – more on this in Traffic obstructions due to the marathon (salzburg.ORF.at; May 13, 2022).