WKO-Businesslauf Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The race starts and finishes in the TipsArena parking lot and loops through the surrounding streets on the edge of Linz, heading out along Ziegeleistraße and Roseggerstraße and returning via Holzheimer Straße and Zaubertalstraße.

Genuinely flat running is rare: only about a quarter of the loop is level, the rest rolls gently up or down. The road climbs roughly 13 metres in the first 500 metres before dropping again by km 1.1. The key section begins at km 1.95, a 630-metre rise averaging 3.5 percent with a maximum of 6.4 percent that tops out at the loop's high point at km 2.6. From there the route rolls back towards the arena, two short counter-rises around km 3.1 and km 4.0 interrupt the descent, and the final 500 metres drop gently to the finish.

The format is what defines the event: teams of three, men's, women's or mixed, start simultaneously, their times are added together, and a team only scores if all three members finish. The field is made up of entrepreneurs and employees, there are no federation categories, and the character is firmly hobby-level. Music and a relaxed atmosphere surround the start-finish area, with showers and changing rooms available in the TipsArena.

Pacing Strategy

A 4.6 km race is an effort at or just above your anaerobic threshold: 18 to 35 minutes of hard running with no time to recover from mistakes. The biggest trap comes right at the gun. All teams start together and the first 500 metres already climb around 13 metres, so getting swept along by the field here costs you exactly where the course decides.

That decisive section starts at km 1.95: 630 metres uphill at 3.5 percent average, 6.4 percent at its steepest. Keep your effort constant rather than your pace and let the split slow. What matters is the top: at the high point at km 2.6, shift back up immediately and use the following descent instead of easing off to recover.

The two short counter-rises around km 3.1 and km 4.0 cost little if you run them evenly. The final 500 metres drop gently towards the finish, and that is where whatever is left gets spent. And since the team result is the sum of the individual times, each runner should race their own even effort, not chase faster teammates.

12-Week Preparation

For most recreational runners the WKO-Businesslauf takes between 20 and 35 minutes, with fast teams finishing well under 20. That makes it a hard, sustained effort at your anaerobic threshold with constant small changes of rhythm, because nearly three quarters of the loop tilt gently up or down.

If you train two to three times a week around a job, a simple structure carries you a long way. One session a week is for speed: short intervals such as six to ten times 400 to 600 metres at your planned race pace or slightly faster, with jog recoveries. A second session is an easy run of 30 to 60 minutes, building the aerobic base that an effort this intense sits on. If a third session fits, add a tempo run of 10 to 20 minutes, brisk but controlled.

Tailored to this course, that means training on rolling terrain. A loop with its main climb from km 2 and counter-rises late in the race rewards runners who can pick the pace back up immediately after a crest. Short uphill efforts of 30 to 60 seconds, or intervals on an undulating loop, train exactly that skill. Two to three weeks out, a dress rehearsal of 4 to 5 kilometres at goal pace tells you what is realistic.

And keep expectations honest: four to eight weeks of consistent training beat any last-week cramming. In the final days, easy jogging with a few strides is enough to arrive at race day with fresh legs.