Thousands of helping hands for the country’s largest active sports event
Vienna (OTS) – 42 kilometers between Reichsbrücke and Burgtheater on Sunday, April 21st. Five kilometers on the ring road around the city center on Saturday, April 20th. Plus the large finish area between the Burgtheater and the town hall: If around 42,000 registered participants give their best at the Vienna City Marathon in a week, Vienna will be perfectly prepared. Preparations begin directly along the big running circuit just before the competitions. Drink stations, relay handover points, stages, video screens and more route activities than ever before: The marathon will transform Vienna this coming weekend into a unifying sports and party zone for young and old.
Tomorrow, Monday, April 15th, at 7 a.m., construction work will begin on Rathausplatz – so that world-class runners, recreational athletes and fans will have the infrastructure for an exciting experience in the finish area.
Austria’s largest active sports event takes place through public spaces and is based on the conditions of the city. No major construction work or soil sealing is necessary. The event is prepared using resources sparingly.
A technology and construction marathon for thousands of sports enthusiasts and their guests
Around 42,000 runners have registered for the coming weekend. Ranging in age from five to 85, they run more than 640,000 kilometers together, which is 16 times around the world. They start near the UNO City with its modern appearance and pass the Prater Hauptallee athletics world heritage site and the historical highlights such as Schönbrunn Palace and the Ringstrasse with the finish in front of the Burgtheater.
But the preparations themselves are also like a marathon. 115 authorities and institutions are negotiating the success of Austria’s largest running event in the best possible cooperation. “Over 900 people from around 100 different suppliers are busy setting up and dismantling 150 tonnes of material during the marathon week. Over 20 kilometers of barriers will be erected to protect participants and spectators,” reports Head of Production Florian Holecek.
Around 80 pagoda tents and tent halls are ready for a party atmosphere on the town hall square. Starting tomorrow, Monday, April 15th, Austria’s largest sports and leisure trade fair will be taking place on 6,000 square meters in the Marx Hall, the location of the “Vienna Sports World” with the start number distribution, and from Friday, April 19th, with innovations from the leisure industry – a total of 100 different ones Brands to delight visitors of all ages with free entry.
17 truck trains with wardrobe, traffic signs, bars, apples and drinks
Participants have access to 10 supervised refreshment stations along the route. Here you can get bananas, apples, oranges, water and isotonic drinks. The sports drink Powerade powder is mixed with water and served in paper cups, which contributes to a significant reduction in plastic waste. The organizers have also purchased an electric cargo tricycle powered by green electricity, which will also be used at all other VCM Group events.
There are thirteen other stations where you can cool down and refresh yourself with Viennese water. More and more participants are taking their own food with them, for example in hydration backpacks.
The official VCM logistics partner Müller-Transporte uses a total of 20 truck trains to not only transfer hundreds of traffic signs, but also materials such as covers, grilles, stones and vests for the refreshment points to the Marx Hall, where the materials are prepared centrally. He is also responsible for transporting the participants’ wardrobe bags from the start to the finish on weekends. These bags are made from biodegradable corn starch (ECOPRO corn starch film TÜV Austria certified) and can be used many times.
Logistics for the 110,000m2 finisher area
For Austria’s largest running event, everything is going according to plan and within the scheduled time frame.
From Monday, April 15th, basic elements such as around 80 pagoda tents will first be measured around the 110,000 m2 target area between the town hall and the Burgtheater, some of which will already be set up and equipped with power connections.
The first tranche of containers, which will be used on the marathon weekend for event management, ORF, the organization office, catering, various depots and photo services, will be available from Tuesday, April 16th.
On Wednesday, April 17th, more centerpieces will gradually be added. This includes, for example, the platforms and the construction of the technical infrastructure. In addition, hundreds of wine tavern sets, the interior furnishings for the VCM hospitality areas and numerous containers will be delivered. This year, the two new container towers for Coca Cola and BMW will also be built on this day. The Coca Cola Tower offers a unique view over the area with its viewing platform and the BMW Tower offers an LED wall with a 3D effect.
On Thursday, April 18th, another construction focus will be on the area around the town hall square: among other things, the shower containers and plants for the MA42 will be delivered and water connection work for the toilet containers and catering, etc. will be carried out.
Until the finish tower is positioned exactly on the finish line at night on Friday, April 19th, hundreds of employees will be busy delivering and fine-tuning Austria’s largest running event. The BMW advance and support vehicles required for safety, all of which are electric and emission-free, are taken over by their drivers. Briefings for them and the steward services take place in the operations offices, the stands are festively decorated, the floral decorations are arranged, everyone’s workstations in the target area are equipped with office infrastructure, show trucks are brought into position, sound samples are taken and huge LEDs are installed.
Everything will be in place on Saturday April 20th. The sporting events of the Vienna City Marathon start at 3 p.m. The Coca-Cola Inclusion Run begins on the Ringstrasse in front of the Burgtheater. This is immediately followed by the two children’s races The Daily Mile 800 and The Daily Mile 1600 at 3:45 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. The 5 km competition Vienna 5K is the finale of the first day of running at 6:15 p.m. The participants run, walk or walk on the Ringstrasse around the city center. Sunday, April 21st is dedicated to the marathon, the Vienna City Half Marathon and the Powerade Relay Marathon. These runs start at 9:00 a.m. on Wagramer Straße in front of the Reichsbrücke.
Further information:
Facts about VCM: https://www.vienna-marathon.com/?go=media
Sustainability at VCM: https://www.vienna-marathon.com/?go=sustainability
Questions & Contact:
Vienna City Marathon
Mag.(FH) Katharina Kula +43 676 38 59 455 katharina@vienna-marathon.com
Mag. Andreas Maier +43 650 350 14 88 andreas@vienna-marathon.com
www.vienna-marathon.com