Nursing a cold in a nearby restaurant last night after the concert (the Indian proprietor made a luscious chai for me), I picked up Der Standard, the principal newspaper in Vienna, and read that the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Marathon would be held today, roads blocked, buses and trams stopped, city in suspended animation. Anywhere from 30,000 to 70,000 runners were expected, from around 100 nations. The last marathon I participated in (meaning with enthusiasm from the sidelines) was just outside our house in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. I caught the final hour of today's historic event, as the runners circled the Ring to loudspeakers blaring Strauss waltzes, Goethe overseeing the last stretch as he reclined from his first-class seat in the trees.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Marathon Mann
Nursing a cold in a nearby restaurant last night after the concert (the Indian proprietor made a luscious chai for me), I picked up Der Standard, the principal newspaper in Vienna, and read that the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Marathon would be held today, roads blocked, buses and trams stopped, city in suspended animation. Anywhere from 30,000 to 70,000 runners were expected, from around 100 nations. The last marathon I participated in (meaning with enthusiasm from the sidelines) was just outside our house in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. I caught the final hour of today's historic event, as the runners circled the Ring to loudspeakers blaring Strauss waltzes, Goethe overseeing the last stretch as he reclined from his first-class seat in the trees.
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