Vienna Night Run

The Vienna Night Run sends a large field around Vienna's Ringstraße after dark, with the start and finish near the Burgring and the Natural History Museum. It is a 5 km city run, usually held in late September or early October, and it has been held every year since 2007. The event is also Austria's largest charity running event, so the point is not just chasing a fast time on a short course; it is a mass evening run with a cause attached. The route follows the Ring, the broad boulevard that circles Vienna's old center, which gives runners a simple loop through one of the city's most familiar public spaces. Participation has reached more than 20,000 runners, and even smaller editions have put well over 14,000 finishers on the 5 km course. The charity theme changes with the event: in one recent edition runners supported action against climate change, with a mangrove tree planted for each participant and an extra tree added when someone skipped the race shirt.