Local hero Herzog wins Salzburg Marathon

Herzog celebrated his first ever marathon victory and enjoyed the great atmosphere at his home race in Salzburg. In 2:21:46 hours, he crossed the finish line in front of the Großes Festspielhaus festival hall in the city center with a breathtaking view of the Fortress “Hohensalzburg“. He relegated Kenyan Peter Wahome Murithi to second place with an attack shortly before kilometer 40. Wahome, who had dropped out of the Vienna City Marathon three weeks ago, finished in 2:22:32. Third place went to Mahdi Sareban in 2:36:17, the current Austrian 100 km champion.

Peter Herzog, whose national record stands at 2:10:06 from London 2020, was in bliss: “It was exactly what I had imagined and wished for. It is something special to win a marathon for the first time, and even more so in Salzburg with this fantastic atmosphere. I bow down to the crowd, I have goose bumps,” he said.

Runners and fans experienced a fantastic marathon day in sunny spring weather with temperatures of 14°C at the start and 19°C at the finish for the elite runners. Herzog and Murithi ran together for almost 40 kilometers. “Then the adrenalin kicked in and I attacked. That marathon feeling hit me again,” said Herzog. Murithi commented: “We worked together for a long time. I’m delighted to finally have achieved a result this spring.”

Herzog, who competed in the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Marathon, made a pleasing comeback just three weeks ago at the Vienna City Marathon with 2:15:29 hours after long injury problems. The start in Salzburg after only a short gap was a “decision of desire”. His run came as a bold and unusual stepping stone on the way to the European Half Marathon Championships in Rome on 9 June. Herzog said: “Now it‘s time to regenerate, before I get back into final preparations. I‘m focussing on the European Championships.”

The women‘s race was won by Eva Kovacs from Hungary in 3:06:06 hours. “I knew I was in the lead, but you never know what will happen. The course, the city and the surrounding mountains were beautiful. I came here to run a personal best, and I managed to do that,” said the 38-year-old athlete from Budapest.

Austrian Sabrina Exenberger took second place in 3:11:15. She was in front up to kilometer 33, but then had to drop back: “Luckily no-one overtook me.” Third place went to Eva Kiggen from Germany and Irena Abrozova from the Czech Republic, both in 3:12:36.

The flair of Salzburg, world-famous for classical music and the historic city centre, attracted participants from 85 nationalities. The runners were sent off at a new starting area on the “Staatsbrücke” bridge with a great view of the historic city centre and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Salzburg.