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Press Release - Vienna City Half Marathon - 1/25/12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

               Inspired by Haile Gebrselassie Paula Radcliffe 
                    Will Run the Half Marathon in Vienna

Preparing for her final chance of winning an Olympic gold medal Great 
Britain's Paula Radcliffe will run her main spring road race in Vienna: The 
38 year-old world marathon record holder (2:15:25) will compete in the OMV 
Half Marathon, which will be staged together with the 29th Vienna City 
Marathon on 15th April. While preparing for the London Olympic race on 5th 
August Paula Radcliffe has decided not to run another marathon before. 
Instead she has now opted for the race in Austria's capital. The event 
features an IAAF Gold Label for the first time this year. The organisers of 
Austria's biggest and best quality road race expect a total of well over 
30,000 runners. Entries for all events are still accepted online at: 
www.vienna-marathon.com

A year ago organisers of the Vienna City Marathon had signed Haile 
Gebrselassie for the half marathon race, this time it is another alltime 
great, Paula Radcliffe. "I am delighted that with the help of our sponsor 
OMV we are able to bring Paula to Vienna in the Olympic year. Her 
appearance in Vienna will be very special," said Race Director Wolfgang 
Konrad. "We knew that expectations were high after Haile Gebrselassie's 
star appearance last year. We have accepted the challenge and now can again 
present an exceptional world-class athlete to our spectators in Vienna. I 
am sure that with her outstanding personality Paula will instantly capture 
the hearts of the Austrians."

"In just a few months, Paula Radcliffe will be competing for a medal in the 
Olympic marathon, as world record holder and in her own country. We are 
therefore especially proud that she will be on the starting line at the OMV 
Half Marathon," said Gerhard Roiss, the CEO of the oil and gas company OMV. 
He further explained: "There is a long tradition of running at OMV; we want 
to get people moving, as is shown by our race sponsorship and also by our 
fitness program for our own employees – OMV Run & Fun. For the tenth time, 
some 500 OMV staff members will be competing in the Vienna City Marathon. 
Austria's largest road race is a perfect fit for us, and I am confident 
that the passion Paula Radcliffe has for the sport will inspire even more 
OMV Run & Fun participants and runners to join in." 

Paula Radcliffe, who had qualified for the Olympic marathon with a 2:23:46 
third place in the Berlin Marathon 2011, has never raced in Austria before. 
"I am really looking forward to competing in Austria for the first time. 
For me this will be an important test. I want to run a fast race and then 
build on that performance for the Olympics," said Paula Radcliffe, when 
speaking on the phone to the Vienna organisers from her current training 
camp in Iten (Kenya).

It was in fact Haile Gebrselassie who had an influence on Paula Radcliffe's 
decision to run a half marathon in Vienna. The legendary Ethiopian had won 
the race in 2011 with a course record of 60:18 minutes and was overwhelmed 
by the support he got from the spectators. Additionally he was invited to a 
reception by the President of Austria, Mr Heinz Fischer. "When I spoke to 
Haile at the Berlin Marathon he told me about the great atmosphere and the 
fast course and said: ,You have to run this race!'," said Paula Radcliffe, 
who has won three World Half Marathon titles and has a personal best of 
65:40 minutes. This is the fastest time ever, but it could not be ratified 
as a world record, because the course in Newcastle is slightly downhill. 

                                 ###

 

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