Eliud Kipchoge‘s second attempt to become the first runner to break two hours in the marathon this fall will not take place in London.
The attempt, organized by British chemicals group INEOS, will instead be in Vienna on Oct. 12 with a reserve window of eight days through Oct. 20 in case of adverse weather.
The first announcement on May 5 called for the special race to take place in London.
Experts since chose The Prater, a historic park in central Vienna, for its ideal weather conditions and long stretch of flat road called the Hauptallee. It is nearly a six-mile circuit to create a multi-lap course that is 90 percent straight.
The venue also provides more capacity for large crowds, something missing from Kipchoge’s previous sub-two attempt at a Formula One course in Monza, Italy, in 2017. Kipchoge clocked 2:00:25 there in non-record-eligible conditions.
Like Monza, the Vienna bid is being set up to have pacers come in and out of the event, making it non-record eligible.
Kipchoge, 34, may still be peaking as a marathoner. In his last two marathons, he ran the two fastest record-eligible times in history: 2:01:39 in Berlin on Sept. 16 and 2:02:37 in London on April 28.
Next summer, he can become the third runner to repeat as Olympic marathon champion.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
MORE: U.S. marathon rankings ahead of Olympic trials
Follow @nbcolympictalk
