Life after the marathon – mozart 100 in the footsteps of The Sound of Music!
The biggest ultra run event of Austria in Salzburg
On 23 June 2012, Salzburg stages a different kind of festival: the mozart 100 – Salzburg Running Festival. The challenge is to run 100 kilometres on a trail with a difference in altitude of more than 2,000 metres. It links the City of Salzburg — a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site — with the Fuschlsee region — where The Sound of Music was filmed on location. This scenic landscape makes the run a unique experience. Although, at first glance, the event may appear to focus only on well trained long-distance runners, it also offers competitions for the general running and Nordic walking community.
“Of course, we primarily address ambitious runners looking for the next challenge after the marathon. In Austria and Germany alone, the potential is 150,000 people. After all the ultra run events that my partner and me ran in the Himalayas, the Sahara or jungles, we wanted to organise an event of international class in one of the most beautiful regions of the world,” says Josef Mayerhofer, one of the two organisers.
However, mozart 100 also is to be an event for a wider public. “The number of ultra runs strongly rises world-wide. Everybody wants to reach the next — logical — goal after the marathon and, at least once in their life, take up the challenge of this magical distance. Those who do not yet dare to run the full distance can opt for a great 54-kilometre course or share one of the two distances with friends and colleagues in a relay team. With legs from 9 km to 30 km, there is something to suit every runner,” explains his partner Michael Fried.
As befits an international running event, mozart 100 starts at five o’clock in the morning on 23 June in the heart of Salzburg — in line with the event’s namesake — on Mozartplatz square. The run takes the athletes along Salzach river and then through the magnificent landscape where the Trapp family had its home. Another highlight of mozart 100 is a tour around the picturesque lake Fuschlsee, after which the runners return to the City of Salzburg. The genuine ultra competitions of 100 km comprise two rounds — one 46 km and another one 54 km in length.
The tourism managers of Salzburgerland all agree: “This event sets a new milestone in the international running scene,” confirms Leo Bauernberger, Managing Director of Salzburger Land Tourismus. Hildegund Schirlbauer, Managing Director of Fuschlsee Tourism, is pleased that the ultra run also presents the beauty of the surroundings of the City of Salzburg: “The mozart 100 run showcases the region around Fuschlsee and we are looking forward to supporting this very special event by ensuring a great atmosphere in every town!”
This concept and the different competitions appeal to runners of all categories. Like Race Director Sepp Gruber, the athletes of the international running scene are very excited: “At long last, there is an ultra run in Austria that is set in an attractive scenery and, thus, ensures a memorable running experience for top runners and Nordic walkers alike.” The athletes have 19 hours for reaching the finishing line — be it with or without poles, on their own or as part of a relay team. The primary goal is to successfully finish the mozart 100 competition.
Further information on mozart 100 is available at http://www.mozart 100.com 
Planet Ultramarathon 
Christine Buzzi
February 7, 2012
That sounds awesome! From what I heard this is truely one of the most scenic pieces of earth in Europe, and for sure well worth a trip to the holy grail of “Sound of Music”.
We’ll definitely make our way to Mozart 100 – what a better way of combining sight-seeing, culture and sports…!
Cheers, C.