The world's best marathon runner inspired on the Prater Hauptallee
Eliud Kipchoge, the world's greatest marathon runner, returned to Vienna's Prater Hauptallee on the initiative of the Vienna City Marathon in cooperation with INEOS. Exactly at the place where he thrilled the sports world four years ago with his groundbreaking performance of the first and so far only marathon run under two hours.
School classes participating in the exercise initiative "The Daily Mile", 159 registered amateur runners, guests of honour, media representatives and numerous fans came to Prater Hauptallee in bright late summer weather.
"Together we made history four years ago. It's great to be back in this place. It brings everything fresh to mind. And the history continues. I call for all of us to get moving," he said. Young sports and children's health are especially close to his heart as an ambassador for the running initiative The Daily Mile: "Our children are great. They need exercise and they have all the skills to make our lives better."
Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig emphasised the outstanding opportunities for running in the "World Athletics Heritage Site" Prater Hauptallee and awarded the marathon star with the "Golden City Hall Man": "Like many others, I was on the spot four years ago. As a sign of special appreciation for your achievements and for your commitment to children's sport, I present this award, which is rarely given by the City of Vienna."
Eliud Kipchoge expressed his gratitude and in his replica invited Mayor Ludwig to participate in the next Vienna City Marathon.
In his laudation, Wolfgang Konrad highlighted the unique personality of the record-breaking runner. His impact reaches far beyond sport: "The entire Austrian running community bows down to your successes. We would like to thank you for helping to make the city of Vienna and the Prater Hauptallee with its 200-year history world-famous as a place for running, and we would like to thank you for the inspiration you give to our society and especially to our youth."
Kipchoge opened the world's first INEOS 1:59 Pace Challenge on Prater Hauptallee - a distance of 352.6 metres permanently marked with posts. He covered this distance in every minute of his marathon run in 1:59:40.2 hours. Anyone interested can try to come close to this time or even beat it.
Together with Mary Mugwanja, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to Austria, Mayor Michael Ludwig and VCM organiser Wolfgang Konrad, Kipchoge presented the first pillar of this challenge in the Hauptallee and placed it there. This was the starting signal for a worldwide campaign for this action in Vienna. Further locations in Great Britain and Kenya as well as in the home countries of the team members of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge are to become part of this sprint action, which can also be carried out virtually at any location.
In Vienna, starting places were allocated for 159 runners for the world premiere of this Challenge. First to run over the 352.6-metre course were schoolchildren from the all-day primary schools Aspernallee. As participants in the exercise initiative "The Daily Mile", they had the opportunity to ask the wonder runner questions beforehand.
- Were you also fast as a child? - I wasn't that fast. I was like all of you. You get faster as you grow."
- Are you always motivated to train? - "I always feel like running, but once I don't, I still run."
- How many pairs of running shoes do you need per year? - "20 pairs."
- Can you play football as well? - "Not well, but I'm good at watching."
- What do you eat the most? - "I eat ugali every day." (East African maize porridge)
Afterwards, the marathon star cheered them on as they ran their "daily mile". Kipchoge is an ambassador for this worldwide running initiative. In Austria, the VCM Group sponsors this free campaign. The idea is to go outside and run or exercise for 15 minutes a day during school hours. This makes the children fitter, healthier and more concentrated in class. 92 schools all over Austria are already taking part.
Among the active participants of the INEOS 1:59 Pace Challenge were some of the best Austrian runners - marathon record holder Peter Herzog, Andreas Vojta, Lemawork Ketema and junior ace Timo Hinterndorfer. 128 were timed, 45 of them finished under one minute.
>> RESULTS
The visit of the two-time Olympic champion and marathon world record holder to Vienna radiated boundless running enthusiasm. His credo of overcoming limits - "No human is limited" - spilled over to everyone involved.
"We are proud that we managed to bring Eliud Kipchoge back to Vienna. His message is a great motivation for everyone. "No human is limited", which means for us as organisers: We have to look ahead, offer emotional and connecting events and above all ensure movement in our society and for the youth," said Kathrin Widu, Managing Director of the Vienna City Marathon.
