Viena's Charm: Ineos 159 Challenge's Perfect Host

Eliud Kipchoge was set to break the last great barrier in modern athletics, the sub-two-hour marathon, in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. After an extensive worldwide assessment process, Vienna, Austria, was chosen as the location for the challenge. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team found there is a high probability of it providing low morning temperatures and perfect marathon running conditions, combined with low humidity. Vienna is also an hour behind the Kenyan time zone, which is close to Kipchoge’s training camp in Kaptagat and wouldn't disrupt his sleeping, eating, and training patterns.

Low morning temperatures

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team found that Vienna has a high probability of providing low morning temperatures. Eliud Kipchoge has expressed a desire to start the race early to match the time of his hard training sessions in Kenya. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone, which means that the race would start early in the morning in Vienna, matching the time of his training sessions.

A temperature of 10 degrees Celsius is regarded as a fair benchmark for perfect marathon running conditions, combined with low humidity. The issue of humidity – the amount of water in the air – was one of the areas identified for improvement after the 2017 Monza attempt when an early morning rain shower gave rise to unexpected levels of humidity.

Vienna was chosen for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge because of its extensive worldwide assessment process. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team found that there is a high probability of it providing low morning temperatures after extensive research into historic weather patterns of the city.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was held in The Prater, the famous Viennese park. The prime location had to be in a time zone close to Kichoge’s training camp in Kaptagat in order not to disrupt the marathoner’s sleeping, eating and training patterns. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone.

Close to training camp

Vienna, Austria, was chosen as the location for Eliud Kipchoge's INEOS 1:59 Challenge because of its proximity to his training camp in Kaptagat. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team wanted to ensure that Kipchoge's sleeping, eating, and training patterns were not disrupted by the race location. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone, which means that the race can be started early in the morning, matching Kipchoge's training schedule.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team also researched the historic weather patterns of the city and found that there is a high probability of low morning temperatures, which is ideal for marathon running conditions. A temperature of 10 degrees Celsius is regarded as a fair benchmark for perfect marathon running conditions, combined with low humidity.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team conducted an extensive worldwide search and eventually chose Vienna as the location for the race. The famous Viennese park, The Prater, was chosen as the venue that would give Kipchoge the optimum conditions to break the sub two-hour marathon barrier.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge is Eliud Kipchoge's attempt to break the last great barrier in modern athletics, the sub two-hour marathon. The race was hosted in Vienna in 2019.

Optimum marathon conditions

Eliud Kipchoge was chosen to run the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna because of the optimum marathon conditions that the city offers.

Vienna was chosen because it is in a time zone close to Kipchoge's training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya. This was important to avoid disrupting his sleeping, eating and training patterns. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team also researched the historic weather patterns of the city and found that there is a high probability of low morning temperatures in Vienna. This was important because Kipchoge has expressed a desire to start the race early to match the time of his hard training sessions in Kenya.

The famous Viennese park, The Prater, was chosen as the venue for the race. This was because it was believed to provide the perfect conditions for the race, including a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius and low humidity. The issue of humidity was one of the areas identified for improvement after the 2017 Monza attempt when an early morning rain shower gave rise to unexpected levels of humidity.

The selection of Vienna as the location for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge was the culmination of an extensive worldwide search that started with a map of the world and ended with a pinpoint in the Austrian capital.

Historic weather patterns

Eliud Kipchoge was attempting to break the sub two-hour marathon in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team found that there is a high probability of low morning temperatures in Vienna, Austria, which was chosen as the location for the challenge. This was because Kipchoge has expressed a desire to start the race early to match the time of his hard training sessions in Kenya. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone, which would not disrupt the marathoner's sleeping, eating and training patterns.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team also found that a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius is regarded as a fair benchmark for perfect marathon running conditions, combined with low humidity. The issue of humidity was one of the areas identified for improvement after the 2017 Monza attempt when an early morning rain shower gave rise to unexpected levels of humidity.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge was the culmination of an extensive worldwide search that started with a map of the world and ended with a pinpoint in the Austrian capital. The famous Viennese park, The Prater, has been chosen by the INEOS 1:59 Challenge as the venue that will give Kipchoge the optimum conditions to write himself into the history books.

After extensive research into the historic weather patterns of the city, the INEOS 1:59 Challenge team found there is a high probability of it providing low morning temperatures. The historic weather patterns of the city also provided low humidity, which was one of the areas identified for improvement after the 2017 Monza attempt.

Extensive worldwide search

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team conducted an extensive worldwide search to find the optimal location for Eliud Kipchoge's attempt to break the sub-two-hour marathon record. The prime location had to be in a time zone close to Kichoge’s training camp in Kaptagat, to not disrupt the marathoner’s sleeping, eating and training patterns. Vienna is an hour behind the Kenyan time zone.

After extensive research into historic weather patterns of the city, the team found there is a high probability of it providing low morning temperatures (Kipchoge has expressed a desire to start the race early to match the time of his hard training sessions in Kenya).

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team also considered the temperature and humidity of the location. A temperature of 10c is regarded as a fair benchmark for perfect marathon running conditions, combined with low humidity. The issue of humidity – the amount of water in the air – was one of the areas identified for improvement after the 2017 Monza attempt when an early morning rain shower gave rise to unexpected levels of humidity.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team also considered the venue for the event. The famous Viennese park - The Prater - has been chosen by the INEOS 1:59 Challenge as the venue that will give Kipchoge the optimum conditions to write himself into the history books.

The INEOS 1:59 Challenge team's extensive worldwide search culminated in the selection of Vienna as the location for Eliud Kipchoge’s INEOS 1:59 Challenge.

Frequently asked questions