Vienna City Marathon – Health and security are our top priority – New: Passport or identity card needed to collect start number

Health and safety are important issues at a major sports event such as the Vienna City Marathon (VCM). The organisers place great importance on this in their work with business partners on behalf of the participants. In addition to around 150 official guidelines which adhere to Vienna’s regulations regarding the staging of events, the organisers have introduced a further 50 measures to ensure the safety of participants and spectators as much as possible.

An important addition to collecting your start number and other documents on April 11 and 12 has been introduced. This can only be done by presenting a valid passport or identity card, including an up-to-date photo, as well as your letter of confirmation of the VCM. As is the case with major marathons in London, Berlin, New York or Boston, the VCM is now introducing this procedure after agreement with partner organisations such as the Red Cross. It applies for the marathon, the OMV Half Marathon and the Krone Relay Marathon and is an important measure to safeguard the health of every participant and to foster event security.

For participants in the relay marathon: The runner, who completed the registration, may collect start numbers for all four team members by showing his passport or identity card together with the letter of confirmation for the race.

[Information about race documents]

An important personal document

The start number is your own personal document and guarantees clear and conclusive identification of a participant during the race. Contact details and any medical details submitted voluntarily by each runner are linked to this and could prove life-saving in an emergency.

It can unfortunately occur that start numbers at international running events are not always used by those for whom they were intended and given to others to take part. This can lead to dreadful misunderstandings which participants are not always aware of and are a clear transgression of the organisers’ regulations.

To prevent terrible confusion

It may be hard to imagine that the “wrong” runner would suffer after receiving the wrong medication or that the “wrong” relatives are informed in a serious case. Unfortunately there are examples of such terrible occurrences.

The Vienna City Marathon team is always on the look out to develop such preventative measures as part of our commitment to improve the organisation still further. We ask for the co-operation of all participants so that we can all enjoy a smooth and trouble-free event. We hope you have a great time at the Vienna City Marathon 2014.

Start Number Collection at Vienna Sports World
Messe Wien, Halle D
Friday, 11 and Saturday, 12 April 2014
Daily between 1000 – 1900

[www.viennasportsworld.at]

[Information about race documents]

RED CROSS: MEDICAL SAFETY IS PRIME CONSIDERATION

The Red Cross believes that medical safety is a prime consideration in its work to ensure that the optimum health measures are provided for all concerned at the Vienna City Marathon. With this in place, runners can get the full enjoyment from the event despite its challenging sporting nature. Experience tells us how important personal identification of each individual runner is: “In the case of a medical emergency, our staff can clearly identify a runner by their start number.

This is the only way we can have access to fast and accurate information about the person concerned,” said Karl-Dieter Brückner, Head of Operations for the Red Cross at the VCM. When family and friends try to find “their” runner at the finish, a clear identification of the runners by their start numbers is also very helpful.

YOUR OWN START NUMBER HOT OFF THE PRESS AND SECURE

The collection of start numbers at the Vienna City Marathon has been overhauled and a new system introduced. Every participant’s start number will be printed on the spot at “Vienna Sports World”, part of the Messe or Expo Wien (11 and 12 April). In this way only start numbers will be produced which are actually going to be used. This will save material and resources. Printing start numbers will be quicker than looking for a particular letter with your start number. Mix-ups and confusion should also be avoided. Everyone should receive the correct start number with the correct allocation to their starting position – hot off the press, for them and them alone and secure.

The system has proved successful internationally. For example, all events organised by the Berlin Marathon and Half Marathon employ this system to good effect. We are delighted that this system will be put into practice for the first time in Austria at the Vienna City Marathon.

 

Source: Vienna City Marathon