Around 1,200 running enthusiasts accepted the invitation and came to the Oberbank Donau Forum yesterday for the traditional Kick Off Event to set a starting point for the Linz Marathon season.
No chair remained unoccupied and all eyes were eagerly focused on the stage. After all, none other than the current marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe was on stage. Paula Radcliffe gave an exciting talk about the ups and downs of her career and how she made it to this level of success. "When I was 11 years old, I was a spectator at the London Marathon. I set myself the goal of participating here one day and running as fast as the winner," Radcliffe said in her talk. Paula Radcliffe attributes the fact that it was enough to set a world record (2:15:25) at the London Marathon in 2003 to the fact that everything simply came together perfectly on that day.
Setting goals was one of the main messages of Radcliffe's talk: "It's better to pursue a dream goal and not achieve it than not try at all." Not only in terms of sports, but also in life, it is important to keep setting goals and looking ahead.
Paula Radcliffe has also experienced many setbacks in her 20-year career. For example, she was unable to win an Olympic medal. Injuries repeatedly set the 45-year-old athlete back. Nevertheless, she managed to fight her way back. Thus, after the disappointing games in Athens, she won the New York City Marathon. This convinced Paula Radcliffe that it is worth setting goals and fighting for them.
"You can learn a lot from Paula Radcliffe's personality as far as discipline and perseverance are concerned," the host of last night's event, Oberbank CEO Dr. Franz Gasselsberger, is convinced. Günther Weidlinger, from the Linz Marathon OK Team, was also impressed by yesterday's Kick Off event: "Paula has such a positive and motivating charisma to spur on runners in her environment and convince them to set themselves goals."
To round off the Kick Off event, former top Austrian runner, Gerhard Hartmann, also gave the event participants some important tips for training for the Linz Marathon. Finally, the guests of the Kick Off event were still invited to pasta and beer in the traditional way.
Photos (c) Klaus Mitterhauser
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