Vienna, and not London as originally suggested, will play host to Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2:00 marathon attempt this October. The tentative date remains October 12, although conditions will ultimately decide which day the marathon takes place. A window of October 12 to 20 remains open.

Very excited about Vienna being the setting of @INEOS159. It has all the aspects of a beautiful and succesful course this October.

I hope to see you all there! pic.twitter.com/57fd5wngcY

— Eliud Kipchoge (@EliudKipchoge) June 27, 2019

A public park known as The Prater in the Austrian capital will be the site for the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, which interestingly will require Kipchoge to run out-and-back loops of 4.3km throughout his 26.2 miles. Maybe I don’t know anything, but turning around frequently doesn’t seem like a time-saving method in a record attempt. We’ll see.

According to event organizers, Vienna was selected because of its flat and straight terrain, nice weather during October, clean air and fan access, among other reasons.

The course is situated on a stretch of the park called Hauptallee, a street enveloped with trees. So strong is the reputation of the oxygen-rich avenue that it is dubbed the “green lung of Vienna.” 

London was suggested as the initial location when the project was announced back in May, as Kipchoge’s pursuit was marketed in close connection to Roger Bannister’s first-ever sub-4:00 mile, which took place at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford back in 1954.

But the weather in London is notoriously damp, and the switch to a more predictable locale makes all the sense in the world.