Marathon plan is set

Neither Vienna nor Linz: Mayer runs in Rotterdam

Julia Mayer

(Bild: VCM / Roman Pfeiffer)

Austria's record-breaking runner Julia Mayer will run the Rotterdam Marathon on April 13 for the first time this year! In choosing her spring race over the classic 42.195 km, the Olympic participant decided against the Vienna City Marathon (April 6) as well as the national championships in Linz and the European Championships in Brussels, both of which also take place on April 13. Julia Mayer explains: "Rotterdam is one of the fastest courses in the spring!"

She was also following the wishes of her coach Vincent Vermeulen, who had favored Rotterdam from the outset. "And his advice is always the best," said Julia Mayer, whose big goal this year is to take part in the marathon at the World Championships in Tokyo (September 13 to 21). To do so, she must be among the top 100 in the "Road to Tokyo", the World Athletics qualification ranking list for the World Championships. In addition, the ÖLV requires a time of 2:28:00 as a condition for a World Championship start, which Julia Mayer has of course fulfilled in the required qualifying period with her record of 2:26:43 from Valencia 2023. With a decent race in Valencia, the top 100 will probably be on the cards for her too!

According to Julia Mayer, Günther Weidlinger, organizer of the Linz Marathon, had tried several times to persuade her to run in Linz instead of Rotterdam. But she stuck with her choice of the race in Holland, as it has a well-known fast course. "I will also have a few good men in the field as pace-setters who can help me to a good time," believes the DSG athlete, whose goal is "of course" a new record. But she doesn't want to get too optimistic with her predictions at the moment. "Let's wait and see how the next few weeks go!"

Changed training
With a view to improving her marathon time, Vincent Vermeulen changed Julia Mayer's training after the games in Paris. He explained this as follows: "Julia's goal must be to be able to run significantly faster over shorter distances." By "shorter distances" he means the 10 km and the half marathon. The coach tries to explain to outsiders what has been changed in training: "The stride length and stride frequency have been changed." He compares it to finding the right tuning "for sixth gear on the highway". A significant reduction in the amount of training is also crucial. "We're doing 20 percent less than before the games." On the other hand, the intensity has been greatly increased. After the last training block, Julia Mayer was very satisfied with the change. Let's see what Rotterdam brings!