Request EM limit - Wutti runs Salzburg Marathon

Eva Wutti (SU TRI STYRIA) is the top runner at the 19th Salzburg Marathon. The 33-year-old from Carinthia does not only focus on the state championship title. With a good marathon, she wants to put herself in a good position for the next tasks and, ideally, to qualify directly for the marathon as part of the European Athletics Championships on August 15 in Munich.

2:32:00 hours - that is the time required by the European Athletics Federation (European Athletics) to create a direct qualification for the women's marathon at the European Championships in Munich. For many weeks, Eva Wutti has been working consistently and purposefully in training to target this brand at the Salzburg Marathon. "Since the 2021 competition year didn't go as I had hoped, my primary goal is to run a marathon that I'm satisfied with in retrospect and that gives new impetus to the motivation and joy for the next tasks in the marathon," she emphasizes. "Of course I have the European Championships in mind, the 2:32 hours were the point of reference in my preparation."

Good general conditions for fast racing

"The fact that the local top runner and Austria's greatest hope for a marathon starting place at the European Championships chose the Salzburg Marathon as the competition where she aims for her high goals shows the importance of the Salzburg Marathon in the local running scene," says the organizer Johannes Longer. "As the organizer, we support Eva in her ambitions and offer her the framework conditions that help her to fulfill her dream of the European Championship. In Salzburg she finds a flat and fast track as well as the usual motivating atmosphere of the running festival in the city of Mozart.”

Favorite for second state championship title

Once the former triathlete has already clocked a faster marathon time than 2:32 hours. At the 2020 state championships, which were held on a circuit in Vienna's Prater in December due to the pandemic, she completed the 42.195 kilometers in a time of 2:30:43 hours and was therefore just as fast to the second as Andrea Mayr at the Vienna City Marathon 2009 Since then, both have held the ÖLV record in marathon running.

A great start to the marathon

Wutti competed in her first marathon as an athlete in Vienna in 2018 and was immediately captivated by the fascination of the traditional distance. “Marathon is a completely different, intense sporting experience. First of all, running a marathon at the limit is more strenuous, but I enjoy the inner dialogue with myself in the most challenging moments of the marathon. Second, running is the sport I love. It was like that before. Thirdly, marathons take place in beautiful cities, participation is always linked to cultural experiences and many great impressions.”

The joy of running is back

After continuous development steps up to the Austrian marathon record in December 2020, which she achieved a week after aborting an Olympic limit attempt in Valencia, Eva Wutti experienced the first sobering year of competition in 2021. Marked by uncertainties about available starting opportunities at the few elite invitational events held in Europe in spring 2021, she chased opportunity after opportunity but failed to break the Olympic limit of 2:29:30. “The uncertainty in training planning and the short breaks pulled me into a whirlpool of constant stress. This took revenge by the autumn. There was a lack of high-quality training,” she looks back.
This experience made her approach the 2022 competition season more cautiously and farsightedly. After a training break in winter due to illness, she focused on the Salzburg Marathon: “Starting the marathon in mid-May is perfect for me. So I had enough time for a reasonable training structure.” The Carinthian is satisfied with the immediate preparation: “I started the training surprisingly well and have developed faster than in previous marathon preparations. The speed in the interval units also convinces me. It was good for me to take the time I needed to set it up. But what is much more important for me: The joy of running is completely back again, which in combination with the training performance gives me a good feeling for the Salzburg Marathon.”

Salzburg course record on the test bench

The last domestic victory for women was 13 years ago, when Ursula Bredlinger won the state championship in 2009. The Salzburg course record is also within reach for Wutti: It is a time of 2:35:05 hours and has been held by Kenyan Risper Kimaiyo since 2011, who two years earlier took part in the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, where she finished the marathon in 36th place.

A first start in an international championship is Eva Wutti's greatest wish. On May 15, she wants to open the door to Munich 2022 in Salzburg.