Popular competition: The inline race is highly attractive for professionals and amateur athletes.
Sweeping across main roads that are closed to car traffic, and at the end of the day also mastering an officially measured half marathon. The inline skater competition has long been an integral part of the Linz Marathon program and an enrichment for the race Sunday. At the 21st edition, the inline skaters will once again be rolling out. And even before the runners.
The course is identical to the half marathon course except for the last kilometer. Due to the road conditions of the Landstraße, the finish line is located at the Wienerstraße/Union crossing.
The sponsor of the race, Fischer Brot, is also eager to take part, not only supplying the marathon buns of proven quality on this day, but also sending many of its own employees into the race. Even Managing Director Hubert Fischer will be taking part on April 16. "The Linz Danube Marathon is a project close to our hearts, and we are very happy to take part year after year. Under the motto 'Fit like a Fisherman', our team also actively runs and rides. This year we have colleagues at the start in almost every event. The focus is on having fun together and exercising," says Fischer.
"Linz is not a circuit, but a one-way course, so lapping is impossible. That's a huge advantage," says Manfred Sommer, chairman of ISC-Linz and also coordinator of the inline competitions in Linz, about one of the many benefits. He adds that the course is also easy to master for athletes who are not as trained. "With a little practice on the rollers and a certain basic endurance, participation is easily possible," says Sommer. But in addition to many amateur athletes, top people from Germany and abroad, such as speed skating Olympians Vanessa Herzog and Anna Rokita, are on the starting line every year. "A hammer track that leaves nothing to be desired," was Herzog's verdict at her start in 2010.
By the way: Several studies have proven that the joints are stressed 50 percent less during inline skating compared to running.
This year, for the first time, the LISC-2010 will hold its own free skater meetings in preparation for the race. They will take place on March 17 and 31 from 4 to 6 p.m., with the meeting point at the fairgrounds in Linz. They go up in all weathers. Helmets are compulsory, and further protective equipment such as hand, knee and elbow pads is also recommended by Sommer.
Source: nachrichten.at
Photo: Klaus Mitterhauser
