The Junior Marathon in the Sportpark Lissfeld was made up for
On Saturday, May 13, the ÖGK Junior Marathon powered by ORF Radio OÖ was finally on the agenda for the young athletes, after it had to be postponed due to weather conditions. The LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld was the venue for this special event for the third time. In bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures around 17 degrees Celsius, the young participants showed their enthusiasm for physical activity. The "minis" visibly enjoyed the exercise and were fully committed to the cause.
1200 running enthusiastic children and young people could live out their urge to move in sunshine and temperatures around 17 degrees at the fully booked ÖGK Junior Marathon - powered by ORF Radio OÖ at the LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld on Saturday. After the weather-related postponement in April, this time the weather god showed himself from the friendly side and the location at the event area of the LVIA Sportpark Lissfeld was again the center of running for the youth.
Since 2017, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund has been a sponsor of the Junior Marathon powered by ORF Radio Upper Austria. "Countless experts explain how important sufficient exercise is for health. As ÖGK, we go one step further: children who exercise a lot lay the foundation for a later active and healthy lifestyle at an early age. We want to actively support this and will continue to do so in the coming years," says Albert Maringer, Chairman of the ÖGK Regional Committee for Upper Austria, who is pleased with the high turnout at the youth competition and the perfect running weather due to the weather-related postponement to May. "It was an absolutely correct decision of the organizers to postpone the children's marathon. The high participation and the perfect running weather, are proof of this. It's nice that the children are offered such a stage today," Mahringer continued.
The ÖGK Junior Marathon powered by ORF Radio OÖ was held on Saturday afternoon in four competitions and 15 age groups.
The specially built running oval, whose procedures are optimized from year to year in the "Mini Arena", in the LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld was the venue for the third time. With temperatures around 17 degrees and sunshine, the "Minis" of the 2010, 2019 and 2018 age groups started at noon in small groups over distances of 60 to 180 meters. The concept, which was developed according to sports medicine and psychological criteria without time measurement, focuses on the fun of moving together. The motto is: being there is everything, because the smallest ones do not need timekeeping.
"With our youngest participants, it's not the best time that counts, but the Olympic motto: 'Faster. Higher. Stronger. Together'. Quite a few participants later find their way from the junior marathon to the races of the 'big ones'. The junior marathon is a family celebration of the joy of movement without any pressure to perform. Not only participating, but also watching is a real pleasure. It's impressive that the youngest runners aren't even impressed by the hype surrounding the running event," says Karin Hörzig, the deputy mayor of Linz responsible for sports.
Already a tradition, the mascot run over the distance of a full lap started between the 2017 and 2014 age groups in the mini-arena of the LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld. Eight mascots competed for the favor of the spectators and provided many smiling faces with funny interludes. Led by LiMa (Linz Marathon Lauffeuer), Mostdipf (ÖON), Sebastian (LINZ AG Grottenbahn), Wättchen (LINZ AG Strom), Scharli (LINZ AG Wasser), Flöwi (Generali), Tina Turtle (LINZ AG Bäder), Hyundai Bär (Hyundai Österreich) and Hopsi Hopper (ASKÖ OÖ), the mascots lightened the mood of young and old between the races.
"I'm glad I took part, the weather was perfect today and everything was perfectly organized!
"Melanie was very sad about the postponement and was very happy today and very proud of her first run.
"Sebastian was so excited this morning and is now hugely happy about his beautiful medal!""
"I think it's really great how they take care of the kids here. Everyone is a winner!"
"Doing the award ceremonies right after the competitions is perfect!"
"Mom and dad did a great job cheering me on. It was really cool!"
"It is important that the kids are encouraged to exercise. At the same time, however, there should be little pressure on them. The mini-arena at the LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld offers space for this and the kids obviously enjoy it. The little ones are happy, even if the clock is not running. In this way they are slowly introduced to competition and stay with the Linz Marathon and the sport of running. Happy and enthusiastic children's faces are the best reward for the efforts made in the run-up to the event in terms of organization. This year we adjusted the running course for the "Kids" and the "Juniors". Both age groups ran 380m each. We also held the award ceremonies in three blocks immediately after the running events in order to reduce waiting times for the little ones. This ensures short waiting times after the run, which is especially important for the little ones, and a smooth organizational process. It is particularly pleasing that everything went off without any injuries," emphasized a satisfied Linz Marathon coordinator Wolfgang Scheibner.
Starting at 1 p.m., the "Kids" (born between 2014 and 2017) followed the "Juniors" (born between 2010 and 2013) on a course length of 380 meters. The last competition was run by the young "Teens" (born between 2006 and 2009) starting at 3:50 p.m. with a 2.1-kilometer lap around the grounds and surroundings of the Lissfeld Sports Park. At the finish line, all participants were awaited by a great finish gift, a finisher medal immediately after crossing the finish line, and T-shirts sponsored by ÖGK.
Every year, more than 200,000 enthusiastic amateur athletes take advantage of the wide range of activities on offer at one of the three sports parks - Lissfeld, Auwiesen and Pichling - run by LIVA Linzer Veranstaltungsgesellschaft in the south of Linz. Together with the TipsArena on the Gugl, they form the "sporting spearhead" of LIVA, which, with the renowned Brucknerhaus concert hall on the Donaulände, the "Zeitkulturtempel" Posthof at the harbor and the Kuddelmuddel children's cultural center in the city center, has also been shaping the cultural life of the Upper Austrian capital for almost 50 years. capital city for almost 50 years.
From tennis to miniature golf, the sports parks offer Linzers barrier-free access to sports activities of all kinds all year round. Lissfeld, with its 56,000m2, is the largest of the LIVA sports facilities. Renovated and expanded in 2008/09, the facility offers space for four outdoor clay tennis courts, four indoor tennis courts, a squash box, a badminton hall, indoor and outdoor beach volleyball, soccer, baseball, fistball, indoor basketball, indoor handball, indoor soccer, miniature golf, a sauna and an indoor skate park.
"The Oberbank Linz Danube Marathon is always a sporting highlight in the calendar of the many running enthusiasts. It's an event that puts Linz in the spotlight - far beyond the city's borders - and offers scope for top sporting performances. The new concept for the Junior Marathon, which was developed six years ago, has been perfectly implemented and has proven its worth. With the venue at the LIVA Sportpark Lissfeld, relaxed participation and fun at the competitions are guaranteed for the children. This is clearly shown by the many positive feedbacks and the regularly fully booked event," emphasizes Deputy Mayor Karin Hörzing, Sports Officer of the City of Linz. "It was absolutely the right decision to make up for the children's marathon, which shows the great enthusiasm of the little ones," Hörzing continues.
