Day 19 - Austria

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June 19

Heiko running into exchange point at Museum Quartier

Where's Heiko?

Today the Run entered the beautiful city of Vienna. The setting for the 8:00 a.m. exchange point was in the heart of Vienna’s museum quarter, or Museum Quartier. Today’s exchange, however, featured a special guest: Dr. Reinhold Lopatka, Austria’s Minister of Sport, who is training for a marathon himself. The media and Dr. Lopatka gathered at the exchange point waiting for the passing of the baton. They waited, and waited, and waited, wondering, “Where’s Heiko?”

Heiko Weiner was scheduled to run into the dramatic setting of the Museum Quartier but was nowhere to be found. Photographers were ready in their places, ready to snap photos of Heiko and Dr. Lopatka at 8:10, but even at 8:30, Heiko could not be located!

It turns out that Vienna, like any major city, encounters a ton of traffic around 8:00 a.m. Heiko was stuck in traffic! The runners run in all kinds of terrain — from beautiful country roads to urban highways. The Vienna morning rush hour had delayed Heiko’s arrival. Everyone was thrilled when he finally charged into the Museum Quartier. He gave Dr. Lopatka a few training tips, posed for photos and sent Laurel Dudley on her way.

Perhaps we need to strap a GPS on the runners’ ankles?

Members of the Team with Minister of Sport, Dr. Reinhold Lopatka