Vienna is a great place to run a full marathon. I really enjoyed the run and think there are too many positives to list so I will focus on the negatives!
My Garmin Forerunner 305 which has been accurate before gave me the 42.195 mark a whole 600 meters before the end! Probably because of the many turns in the course and the crowded inside track. So I was not able to take the shortest distance on most turns which cost me precious minutes. Also pay attention to the tram tacks, I almost tripped on one of them. Also the relay runners are annoying. They come in with full energy running past you and make you feel like you want to stop running if you know what I mean :). Also (past the) water/banana stations are littered with too many banana peals and cups making you have to slow down.
I did make a new Personal Best but missed my target by 5 min.
Again, this is a great marathon and a beautiful and culturally rich city to visit. If I run this again, I would know how to shave 4-6 min based on what I learned in my 2011 run. I strongly recommend it.

Vienna is a great city, the course is great, the race is great (I unexpectedly made a PR) - but some complaints: no T-shirt except at an outrageous price; total lack of enforcement of the starting corrals, so I spent maybe the first 45 minutes of the race trying to edge past slower runners who should not have been where they were (I promise you, I am not that fast!); and the pre-race "International Friendship Party" was very poorly attended (probably because it offered very little for the price and was in the afternoon). The spectators were OK, though thin on the ground in quite a few areas. I basically think this race does not have quite the same community support as some other big-city marathons, so their resources are a bit more limited - but all in all, a wonderful course, city, and race.

I felt a bit let down by the race. Maybe I did not do my homework properly and got taken in by the hype. A lot is made of the 30,000-plus runners, but 22,000 of them do the half marathon, so the second half of the marathon is a lonely affair - especially compared to running Paris the previous week and London the following week. The cost of the entry does not include a finisher's t-shirt. You can buy one for 25 euros before the event. We also attended the International Friendship party. For 8 euros you get to eat Kaiserschmarrn'. No drink is included in the price. We also did not see the thousands of runners that were supposed to be there. The ballroom was fairly empty. Compared to Paris and London, the 8 euros were a bit of a rip-off.

The advertised cut-off time was 6 hours, but the clearing up vehicles were passing through before the 6-hour runners came through.

The route through the park is great, as they have music playing the whole way into and out of the park. The crowd support along the way was great, and the band at about 37KM played throughout the day, even for the backmarkers.

A well organized race, but you may be a bit disappointed if you have done some of the other big-city marathons.

This was my first real big marathon, with world-class athletes and a big crowd. It felt really good being cheered by so many people in a pleasant city. The weather was nearly perfect - a bit windy and quite cool after the run. I had to walk quite a lot after finish to reach my clothes from the lorries that carried them from the start to finish (since the two weren't at the same place), so it's good to have someone at the finish to give you a warm pullover. The only drawback, mentioned already, is the missing t-shirt; but it's probably the cost for the professionally mastered organization of the big mass. Yeah, and the goody bag was rich and the medal is pretty. Definitely will be coming back.

This is the first full marathon I've run, and overall, it was a fantastic experience. The course is flat and fast, and it takes you along some spectacular sights. The finish area on the Ring - the big, broad boulevard that circles the old town - is especially incredible.

The organization was professional; everything worked just fine. All of the staff I interacted with seemed helpful, friendly and motivated. There is no organized transportation to the starting area, which doesn't matter since the public transportation in Vienna is excellent and there is a subway station right there. Sometimes the refreshment stands seemed a little crowded, which had more to do with undisciplined runners than with the staff, though.

About the crowds, well, where there were spectators I found them cheerful, supportive and enthusiastic. However there seemed to be substantially fewer people lining the streets than last year when I ran the half marathon. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that many international runners couldn't start this year because air travel was shut down for days because of the volcano in Iceland.

Oh well, overall still a big thumbs up for the event.

This is an interesting event as the half-marathon and marathon are run at the same time, with the start/finish at the same point, which makes it a MASSIVE event. The organization was excellent from start to finish. Everything was perfectly handled. You even had the possibility of setting out private refreshments if you wished. The finish and finish party were absolutely fab!!! A culturally impressive track, although I don't understand why the park takes so much space. Massive and very friendly crowd support throughout the race. I highly recommend this race.

The course race is not bad... running in the park and roads inside Vienna.

Paying 99 euros for this race, I expected to get a t-shirt and a pasta party. If I wanted a T-shirt, I had to pay 25 euros. I paid 5 euros for the pasta party, with only ONE serving - and drinks were not included. In all of my marathons, this is the first time that the organizer of this event wanted to get money from the runners in every way possible. The organization is very poor, especially after finishing the race.... Nobody was directing us where to go for food, chips and bags. I think that this is a beautiful race, and I hope that the organizers will think of giving T-shirts and pasta party for all runners - and having more people directing runners after the finishing line.

Top-class marathon. Excellent course with lots of variations between city and parks, with a nice start across the Danube (easy to get to by metro). No wait to pick up your number. In the goody ba there was even some washing powder amongst a few things.

Big expo with lots to look at (and conveniently located near the fairground, which is handy for a bit of a pre-run chill out).

Great support along the way and superb marshaling. Fantastic city to visit with loads of history. Great finish area with food, massage, etc. in city center. Only downers are that the water was in cups (as it was hot this year, bottles would've helped) and some poor runner discipline (cutting across and stopping dead at feed stations).

It was my first marathon, but as a novice, i found the organization, track and warm people of Vienna fabulous. The city is also a great place to know and to rest the day before and after the marathon.
Completely flat, with a good weather.
I would like to come back every year.

I really enjoyed this race and the course was beautiful with interesting sites of Vienna. Pretty fast course: ran a BQ time. It was a beautiful day but a bit warm for marathon running. Not too bad, but not ideal.

Even though they have start corrals, they don't really enforce them, so the start was a bit chaotic. Not too many porta-potties... get your business done at the hotel.


Fans are sparse at times, but the last couple of kilometers are great. They crowd the course like the alpine climbs in the Tour de France and it was really cool running to the finish. The finish area is fantastic in "Heroes' Place." Showers are a great idea and make it nice to hang out in the beer gardens after the race.