Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 3/30/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            Luminita Talpos Intends To Set Up Meeting With
      Austria's President Fischer By Taking Third Vienna Victory

The women's race of the 27th Vienna City Marathon may turn into a battle of 
two runners, who have won this event in the past three years: Luminita 
Talpos (Romania) and Andrea Mayr (Austria). Talpos had taken the honours in 
2007 and 2008 while Mayr, whose participation had been announced earlier, 
is the defending champion. The Romanian will additionally be eager to write 
Vienna City Marathon history by becoming the first woman runner to win the 
race three times. But with Kenyan Hellen Kimutai signed as well Talpos and 
Mayr face a runner who is well capable of ruining their hopes of another 
Vienna City Marathon triumph.

Adding races at shorter distances organisers expect a record field of more 
than 30,000 runners on 18th April. This figure will make the Vienna City 
Marathon the biggest spring running event in German speaking territory. 
Late entry for the race is still possible. Please visit the event's website 
for further information: www.vienna-marathon.com

Luminita Talpos is a familiar face in Vienna. In 2007 she won the race with 
2:32:21 in warm weather conditions. But then there was a disappointment to 
follow. Usually winners are invited by Austria's President Heinz Fischer 
into the Wiener Hofburg on Monday. But that year the President had to 
cancel the visit on short notice due to other commitments. So Luminita 
Talpos returned to Vienna a year later and said she had three goals: 
"Winning the race, qualifying for the Olympic Games and meeting the 
President of Austria!" She really made sure that she was number one by 
running fast in yet another warm weather race: Luminita Talpos clocked 
2:26:43, which remains her personal best until today. She achieved all her 
goals in 2008 and became only the second woman to win the Vienna City 
Marathon twice. Czech's Ludmila Melicherova is the other one (1990 and 
'91). Now Luminita Talpos returns for more Vienna glory. And victory would 
set up a second meeting with Heinz Fischer on Monday after the race at 
lunch time. 

Apart from her win at the Vienna City Marathon, 2008 had been a very good 
year for Luminita Talpos. She achieved a fine 18th place in the Olympic 
Marathon and then went on to finish ninth in the World Half Marathon 
Championships in autumn. After some problems in 2009 the Vienna City 
Marathon will be the first race since March last year for the 37 year-old. 

Andrea Mayr is reported to have trained well and thus looks likely to 
become the first Austrian sub 2:30 marathon runner. With Hellen Kimutai and 
last year's runner-up Derebe Godana (Ethiopia/2:31:31) also in the race 
this could become a fascinating contest for victory. The 32 year-old 
Kimutai is the one with the fastest personal best in the field. She had 
clocked 2:25:53 when she took the Hamburg Marathon in 2003. Two years later 
the Kenyan showed a fine performance in the World Championships' Marathon 
when she took ninth place. More recently Hellen Kimutai confirmed that she 
still is in top shape: In October 2009 she was second in the Frankfurt 
Marathon with 2:27:50. As well as Mayr and Talpos the Kenyan also knows the 
course of the Vienna City Marathon. Ten years ago she had finished second 
in this race with a fine 2:26:54. 

Athens' marathon flame at the Vienna City Marathon

This year marks a unique jubilee for marathon running. It is 2,500 years 
ago that the marathon was born, when the Battle of Marathon took place in 
Greece 490 BC. To announce the Greek victory against the Persians the 
messenger Pheidippidis is said to have run the distance from the 
battlefield to Athens. After doing so he collapsed and died. To mark the 
birth of the marathon a flame is lighted annually at a tomb on the former 
battlefield. This happens on the day before the Athens Marathon in autumn. 
After the big flame was lighted in November 2009 representatives of the 
Vienna City Marathon proudly received a smaller flame in a lantern. They 
brought it back to Vienna. The original marathon flame will feature during 
the Vienna City Marathon on 18th April. Runners will for example pass it in 
the finish area at the Wiener Hofburg.

More information and online entry for the Vienna City Marathon is available 
at: www.vienna-marathon.com 

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