The Wiener Höhenstraßenlauf begins on the wooded Leopoldsberg, sending runners along Vienna’s Höhenstraße, the city’s longest road. It takes place annually on the first Saturday in October, having been held since 1949. The main event is a hilly 14.3 km point-to-point road race, distinct from a city-centre loop, with the route closed to traffic during the event.
The course crosses a historic road on the slopes of the Wienerwald hills, featuring granite paving stones and sharp hairpin turns reminiscent of an alpine road rather than a typical urban race. It descends approximately 110 metres before concluding on the athletics track at Sportplatz Marswiese. Fields are modest, typically numbering in the low hundreds, and finishers attending the award ceremony are entered into a prize raffle, with the prize awarded only in person.