Move over Mozart

Besides the marathon itself, Salzburg Marathon also offers the Sparkasse Half Marathon (which has the most participants, at 2500), the Hervis 10km Salzburg CityRun (1000) and the “Get active” Junior Marathon (1500). In total there are around 6500–7000 participants from 70–80 countries in the eight competitions embedded in the “Get active days”.

Salzburg Marathon is a running festival with the highlight races run on the last of three days of activity. Also known as the “Runner’s Festival in Mozart’s hometown“ it is a rolling programme of activity and entertainment. Every kind of runner and walker can easily find the distance which is best for them from among the eight-event festival. The sporting programme is accompanied by an attractive series of side events. For the past three years, Salzburg Marathon has organised an international sports-expo, the SportMall@Salzburg Marathon.

For the 2017 race the start and finish area was moved from Residenzplatz to Mirabellplatz. Thanks to its proximity to the Salzburg Congress hall, where the SportMall takes place, this makes the event much more compact. Participants can move around with maximum convenience. All races end at the same place and it is only the start of the Hervis 10km Salzburg CityRun which is outside of Mirabellplatz or Kurgarten. The Kurgarten is an attractive park lying between Mirabelplatz and the Salzburg Congress Hall. So the event has been given a new atmospheric touch this year which participants appreciated.

The half-marathon – which is one lap of the two-lap Marathon course – is the fastest in Austria (taking the average time of all finishers). Its layout respects the technical criteria concerning ‘drop‘ (gravitational assistance) and ‘separation‘ (possible wind assistance) and is classified as a flat course. The race route is a unique combination of city streets – passing by the best-known and most popular sights of Mozart’s hometown – and quiet and relaxing passages through a forest lying just outside the city. Sections along the “Hellbrunner Allee“, through Hellbrunn Palace, or around the small lake near the Palace of Leopoldskron – one of the main locations at which “The Sound of Music“ was filmed – are inimitable.

As hometown of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the city of Salzburg is one of the most famous destinations in Central Europe and, because of the richness of its architectural, cultural, musical and artistic treasures, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Salzburg Marathon participants additionally enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery to the south and the magnificient lakeside to the north.

Salzburg Marathon tries its very best to optimise this attractive combination of sport and culture. Spread along the course 12 bands or musicians offer a colourful mix of all genres, motivating the runners with their rhythms.

The race organistion follows strict sustainability criteria. The race has received the official bio-certification for the past eight years. All food offered during the event are prepared by excellent cooks using only those ingredients in season and supplied by local organic producers. Regular race nutrients such as bananas or oranges are procured exclusively through high-quality organic fair trade suppliers).

In collaboration with its partners Salzburg Marathon has reduced waste production and reliance upon motorised transport journey, has banned all aluminium cans and uses small plastic bottles and only organic degradable cups at the refreshment points. The starter packages are produced with corn starch instead of plastics.

Thanks of the proximity of the event venue to Salzburg‘s main station and the official Salzburg Marathon hotel, which is directly beside the station, participants are encouraged to arrive in Salzburg by public transport. Their bib numbers are used as a laissez-passer for public transport on marathon day.